THEY say life imitates art and this was exactly the case for one author and pilot who crashed his plane as described in a novel he was writing.

Former Argus feature writer and novelist Mike Buckingham, 68, of Crosskeys, had already written a first draft of his latest novel 'Luck Be A Lady', when he crashed into a mountainside west of Pen-y-Fan in 2011.

He said: "The last thing to go through your mind when flying an aeroplane about to crash into a mountainside is ‘That’s funny, I’ve already written a book about this.’"

The aviation enthusiast was flying his Piper Tomahawk aircraft from Swansea to North Wales where its annual service was due.

He said: "I knew bad weather was on the way but I was sure I could beat it. I was left hanging upside down in the straps not knowing whether I was dead or alive."

'Luck Be A Lady' is also the name of an air force bomber which crashes in the hills about the fictitious Welsh mining village of Blaendiffaith in October 1944.

The novel tells the story of two wartime pilots, one American the other British, involved in a love duel for the hand of a bohemian woman artist.

The crash happens in South Wales and it is here much of the subsequent action takes place and the plot twists to its dramatic conclusion.

"Some people who read my column will be surprised by the political convictions of the character for whom they might have the most sympathy," he said.

Mr Buckingham has also written a biography of Alexander Cordell and a humorous novel Cwmikaze.

Luck Be a Lady by Michael J Buckingham is published by GG Books and sold at WH Smiths and local booksellers for £8.95.

For details, visit www.glimpsesofgwentbooks.com