FROM a doctorate in computer science to a Second World War romance.
Dale Addison has gone from one extreme to the other as he prepares to publish his debut novel.
During his years working in IT, Dale always harboured a secret ambition to write a book.
So after being made redundant from the University of Sunderland, the 48-year-old decided to turn that long-standing dream into a reality.
But far from concentrating on his own area of expertise, Dale opted to jump headfirst into the world of romantic fiction, writing an epic novel that spans the 20th Century.
Dale, of Monkwearmouth, Sunderland, said: “Leaving the university allowed me the time to complete the book and finally look towards getting it published.
“I started writing it in September 2010, and finished the first draft in the summer of the following year.”
Reaper in the Sky will be the first in a trilogy of books described by Dale as an “action and adventure romance”.
In between writing, Dale is now a self-employed IT worker. He was inspired to write the book after listening to war stories from his family.
He said: “My father Colin Addison was in the Merchant Navy and he used to tell me tales of what it was like. That really inspired me to centre the story during war-time.
“However, the book goes through most of the last century and is set in the US, France and Germany.”
Dale has already completed his first draft of the follow-up to Reaper in the Sky and is hoping Wearside readers will take it to their hearts.
“I took quite a bit of time researching it, so I hope people like it,” he added.
Twitter: @craigjourno.
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