Small Bedfordshire town proud of its six authors

The town is keeping the book world on its toes with a steady stream of novels this year.

The latest to be published is Marching on Together, the second novel from Ampthill’s P J Whiteley.

Philip’s first book, Close of Play, was a success and he has even won acclaim from Captain Corelli’s Mandolin author Louis de Bernières.

His book comes hot on the heel of Purged, a thriller written by Ampthill Baptist minister Peter Laws.

Also about to publish a first novel is Rachel Lewis, who chairs the town’s successful annual Literary Festival. The Apprentice Queen, will be published by Urbane.

Meanwhile fellow Ampthill resident Simon Michael is working on his best-selling series featuring barrister Charles Holborne. Simon was a barrister himself for 37 years, defending notorious criminals.

His books ,The Brief and An Honest Man, gathered rave reviews and a third book, The Lighterman, will be published this summer.

A few streets away, Robert Daws is famous for his Amazon bestseller The Rock, as well as his appearances as a stage and screen actor.

The sixth Ampthill author is Adam Croft, who has written Exit Stage Left and successful thriller, Her Last Tomorrow.

One resident said: “Six authors is a lot for one small town. We are very proud – and love reading their books.”