A RETIRED accountant has secured her first book deal for a romantic novel.

Julie Roberts, from Caversham, has signed a contract with publishers, Accent Press, for her Regency novel, The Hidden Legacy.

The 77-year-old said: “I signed it yesterday. It is quite thrilling. This is the first book deal I have had, it is quite amazing.”

She added: “I have spent all my career writing reports and doing figures that when I retired the last thing I wanted to see was another calculator.

“One day a leaflet came to our door advertising adult classes and there was one for creative writing. I went at 9 o’clock and then when I came out at 12 I had my new career.”

The novel, set in Regency London, sees the clandestine return of a stolen Turner painting to the Royal Academy.

She said: “I like writing Regency because it is a very fascinating time. A lot of my ideas just come out of the blue but I had this idea about a lady owning a property, which would have been a big thing at the time. When I sat down to develop the story I thought it was more unusual to put a painting back, than to take it away.”

The Hidden Legacy was originally started in 2008, but when Ms Roberts finished, she was already working on a second story.

With the working title, A Tangle of Secrets, Ms Robert’s second novel will be completely different as it starts off in New York before moving back to England.

She said: “I am always thinking one step ahead. I have another idea for a story set in London and Dorset about smuggling.”

Ms Roberts is already the co-author of three anthology books, Fish Pie and Laughter, The Guilty Suitcase, and The Virgin Sardine, which are available as eBooks.