A 17-YEAR-OLD dale student is receiving rave reviews for a book he started writing as a school project.
Archie Hunt, who attends Barnard Castle School, began writing his book, Snakes and Ladders, as part of an extended project qualification combining history, economics and English literature.
However, after the summer term ended he said he found himself continuing to write the story.
He added: “At first I wrote six chapters, then ten. The more I wrote, the more I wanted to finish it at a book.”
The teenager, who hopes to go into law, said he sent a speculative letter and sample chapter to online book retailer Amazon and was delighted when they wanted to publish the story.
He added: “They got back to me and said they would definitely want to publish it online. Although it’s essentially a self-published book, they don’t just take anything.”
And in less than a month he has already sold 149 copies with customers from as far as afield as Japan.
The 149-page book, set in a time just before the infamous Wall Street crash, tells the tale of a man driven by success but haunted by the idea of failure.
Snakes and Ladders is available in paperback and as an e-book on Amazon.
He has already received favourable reviews with one reader describing the work as “epic” and another saying “hooked from start to finish” .
