BANK worker James Hearson has had many jobs in his life.

Among them are deckchair attendant, lorry driver and even working in quality control for a tampon company.

But writing is something the 58-year-old Wool resident had never tried but had always been passionate about.

Now James has just seen his first novel Nimrod - Hunter of Souls published, the first of a trilogy of Detective Inspector Hugh Samways novels.

The novel, initially published as an e-book and now available as a hardback, is set in and around Purbeck.

Dad-of-two James said: "I don't think I could have written this book around 20 or 30 years ago.

"I have worked with such a hugely enormous range of people and I think this has allowed me to tease out facets of characters and so on."

Nimrod tells the story of Detective Inspector Hugh Samways, who struggles to adjust to the life of a single man after ten years of marriage and an acrimonious divorce.

With money tight, he buys an old boat, Nimrod, where he retreats at the end of the day, drinking too much and wrestling his conscience over Jan, the new woman in his life.

The assignment of a new Detective Sergeant, Phoebe Holmes, coincides with the disappearance of a man off a secluded Dorset beach on St Valentine’s night. The mystery deepens with the murder of his friend in the county hospital and the discovery at the crime scene of an udjat, the all-seeing eye of the devil.

Old Redvers Johnson, local sage and mystic, adds to the intrigue when he calls Phoebe Holmes a divinare, someone who can see the dead.

Set against the backdrop of Dorset and the Jurassic Coast, the race is on for Samways to catch a serial killer before he becomes the next victim.

Although a work of fiction about a murderer on the Jurassic coast draws comparison with Broadchurch, James has never seen the hit ITV drama, which is filmed in West Bay.

He says the story is based more upon historical events in the area.

"What was fundamental was how the historical events of 200 years ago had a bearing on bringing a serial killer out of retirement.

"I'm hoping these teasers will pull people in to the story. The story is set in the Purbeck and Lulworth area so it's further down the coast from Broadchurch.

"There's so much rich history in Dorset. There's the Romans and the association with Maiden Castle, the Black Death coming to this country through Weymouth and Thomas Hardy, who captured the essence of what it is to live in the world.

"If you put that together, it's incredible. I wanted the history part of the book to be like another character."

James has received some encouraging feedback for his book so far.

"It was fantastic to get the book published and for people to be able to hold the product in their hand as opposed to an e-book.

"I've been very touched by some of the comments some people have left about the book.

"The manager of Waterstones in Dorchester told me that she picked up the book and couldn't put it down and that gave me a lot of confidence."

Former JP Morgan Chase worker James, who now works as an IT project manager in the Africa division of Barclays in Poole, said his writing career may have raised a few eyebrows.

"It's probably been a source of amazement!" he said.

"We're quite a diverse bunch and have all sorts of different occupations. I love that my boss has read it, whether that translates to a pay rise or not I don't know!"

James is now working on the plot for the second book in the trilogy, The Winter Solstice.

He and his family, wife Rachael and children Rory, 25, and Elizabeth, 20, have lived in Dorset since 1997. Border collie Megan has been a more recent addition to the family.

James hopes that Nimrod - Hunter of Souls increases people's interest in the area.

"Some people who've read the book say they are interested in the area and want to come here.

"They realise it's not actually a county of killers!"

James would encourage anyone who finds themself seemingly stuck in the nine to five 'grind' with a desire to write, to just take the plunge.

"I think you just need to start writing in essence and you will evolve your own style.

"For me it was about finding the next hurdle to go over, getting the book put on Kindle, I would say 'look at doing everything one step at a time'.

"I would say just give it a go and keep on going."

*Nimrod - Hunter of Souls, A Hugh Samways detective novel, is available from Waterstones Dorchester or in hardback or ebook format from Amazon.