A DANCE instructor has published her first novel fulfilling a lifelong ambition to get her name on the spine of a book.

Joanna Wright delved into her own personal experiences to write the book Benchmark.

The 38-year-old, from Caversham Heights, runs the Wright School of Dance and Wiggle Waggle, dance and movement sessions for under-fives, but said she always wanted to be a published author.

The mother-of-two said: “I’ve always wanted to write a book, even from a young age.

“I’d had that goal on my wish list for almost 10 years and kept seeing it just sitting there as an impossible dream.

“Then, I read an article, in 2011, about achieving your dreams by working on it for 30 minutes a day, every day. It got me thinking, perhaps I could try it. I had been writing a journal for four years and was starting to really enjoy the process of putting my thoughts on to paper, and the more I read back my entries, the more I realised that I liked my writing voice that was emerging.

“All those things together gave me the idea to start writing Benchmark.”

The novel is about a message of love, friendship and personal discovery of Alana Leevy who was in turmoil from a damaging past relationship and then falls in love with a man who she feels is well out of her league.

Over a 10-year period, the reader is taken on a journey as Alana’s life becomes a rollercoaster of emotions revolving around the complicated Ben Rutherford.

Ms Wright says she hopes Alana’s story can provide inspiration to readers, with its honest and real message of human strength and resilience.

“I hope the reader takes away the feeling of hope, and that wherever they find themselves, there will be a way forward to a better place,” she said.

“With hard work, time and determination, anything is possible.”

“When I first held it in my hands I cried a lot of happy tears,” she says.

“It is incredible to see a dream come to life. When you have worked so hard, and so consistently, and pushed yourself to complete it and then suddenly there it is, in your hands, it’s a feeling I will treasure forever.”  She is now planning to continue writing and publish a second novel.