Manuscript abandoned on wardrobe shelf for 14 years wins publishing deal for town clerk in Milton Keynes

A novel called Psychic that was written 14 years ago and abandoned in a wardrobe has won a publishing deal for the town clerk of Newport Pagnell Town Council.

Shah Roselman penned the story at a time when the publishing world was entering a depression. She'd had three publishing deals cancelled for different attempts at novels, and decided to give up.

She started to pursue a career in the political world, hoping to become an MP.

"Ultimately I decided that becoming a town clerk was the way to go. It's a much more direct benefit for residents than being an MP," she said.

"The book just hung around the top shelf in my wardrobe until my daughter, an English school teacher in MK, picked it up during the first lockdown.

"She thought it needed a revamp. Apparently I’m not young enough, or up to date enough with modern culture!"

Shah's daughter gave the book a makeover to bring it up to date and the pair submitted it to publishers under their combined author name of TS Rose.

"I’m pleased to say that an American Publisher, Loyola Apprentice House in Maryland, USA, has now agreed to publish it on our behalf. Preliminary comments from book reviewers in the States are very positive," said Shah.

The book tackles the tough subject of terrorism, combined with science fiction, and is targeted towards both a younger audience and an older group of readers interested in politics or sci-fi.

It tells the story of Alpha, who is 17, deeply self-reliant and waiting out her last year in a care home. She is forced to break a promise to herself to never to use her psychic ability again - in order to stop a fire that will burn the care home down.

But these efforts bring her to the attention of others, who want to use her powers themselves. She runs, is chased, then finally offered a new home with other people much like her - psychics with powers nearly as strange as her own.

But then a new threat emerges and it becomes clear that one of the people around her is both a threat to her and a terrorist to the country. When a colleague dreams a predictive dream, Alpha knows that she and the others must stop the act that will cause a train to derail, killing most of its passengers.

Yet who can she turn to when she can trust no-one? Just as she identifies her nemesis, she is captured, and must do everything in her power to escape. Only with the help of others is she able to stop the worse from happening.

The book questions the meaning of terrorism, and who can be a terrorist. It challenges the view that populism creates a stronger society.

It will be published this spring and will be available on Amazon and other sources.