A BOURNEMOUTH-born author has borrowed some of the magic from her hometown for her first novel.

Catherine Fowler, who lives in Littledown, brings modern-day witch Adrianna Jasmine Poppleapple Mariposa Forthright Punch to life in her book Sweet Jasmine, Cakes and Magic.

Miss Fowler, who writes under the pen name Catherine Sabatina, said Bournemouth residents will spot some familiar places in the novel.

“I’m a Bournemouth girl, born and bred, so there are some places that feature in the book,” she said.

“Pokesdown, Bournemouth Pier and Burley are all in there. But I also have family from London, and I felt it was important that a lot of the novel is set there, because it’s such a familiar place to people from around the world.”

The book follows a London girl who dreams of owning a cake shop.

Miss Fowler said: “She is a very independent girl who doesn’t want to fall in love because it can cloud your judgement.

“Eventually though, she does surrender to love, but it’s not as simple as that.”

The author, 34, wrote her debut while working as an exercise instructor, fitting in writing around at least 23 classes a week.

She said: “I found myself doing a lot of the writing late in the evenings.

“I quite enjoyed working like that, but you do have to make yourself do it. The majority of the writing was done in afternoons and weekends – whenever I could find the time to do it.”

Fans of the book, available on Amazon, through the Amazon Kindle and at Waterstone’s, Castlepoint, are waiting for Miss Fowler to write a follow-up.

She said: “It ends on a cliff-hanger, so people have been asking when they can expect the sequel.”