A NEWPORT man has published his first book - which he started more than a decade ago.

Nathan Jones, 47, has published his debut novel Travelling Without Moving, which he described as a ‘post-apocalyptic, clockpunk, dystopian mystery sci-fi hot fever dream type-thing’.

The self-published author, who spent more than 10 years crafting his first work, had always enjoyed reading, but speculative fiction writer Jeff Noon inspired him to write his own book.

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Mr Jones said: “I realised there aren’t many books out there that gave me the same intense buzz.

“If you can’t find the books you want to read, you need to write them.

“I’ve been working on this book for more than a decade, because I created my own world which took some work.

"It’s also had revision after revision after revision as I learned the craft. Plus I’ve taken lots of breaks to read, read, read.

“A year in lockdown, although awful, has given me extra time to pursue a dream.”

Travelling Without Moving is inspired by events from Mr Jones’ twenties.

“It’s about living in a crazy world that feels broken and backwards, just wanting to escape everything,” said Mr Jones

“All given a sci-fi, clockpunk twist.”

The work is self-published through Amazon, with Mr Jones recruiting the help of family, friends, and even total strangers, to ensure it has no errors.

He added that writing is a ‘passion’ not a career, as he only gets a small fraction of the total price.

Travelling Without Moving is on sale via Amazon here.

“It feels amazing to have published a novel, totally mind-blowing,” added Mr Jones.

“I have my own ISBN which is crazy – it feels like I’ve achieved a form of immortality; I will pass away but my book will live on.

“I’ve had incredible positive reception to the book, which tends to be based around the believability of the dialogue, the visual nature of the scenes I paint, and my creativity.”

Mr Jones is planning a sequel but is currently working on a thriller set in Newport and Bristol which is coming along ‘really quickly' and he has several other book ideas.