A former secondary school teacher in Falmouth and Helston has gone on to write her first book.

A Parallel Life is the debut novel for Lorraine White, who taught English at Falmouth School between 1979 and 1987 - initially as Miss Lawry before she married - and then at Helston Community College between 1997 and 2017.

During that time she also worked one evening a week with Falmouth Adult Education and as an academic tutor giving teacher training at Truro College.

Lorraine, who lives in Falmouth, said: "After a successful career educating others in English language, English literature, teacher training, mentoring and lecturing, as well as bringing up two children, it was time to do some writing of my own.

"A Parallel Life loosely evolved from an idea that came to me a few years ago after listening to a BBC news item focusing on an area of Liverpool where there were mothers and their children, but no fathers.

"From this, and a strong interest in psychology and mental attitudes influenced by family backgrounds, the story of ‘A Parallel life’ took shape."

Falmouth Packet:

Lorraine White, a former teacher in Falmouth and Helston, has written her debut novel

It tells the story of a successful author, Myra Vilas, who described as a beautiful and confident woman with a dreadful secret, which becomes inextricably linked with her latest novel: an account of a dystopian future set in the 24th century.

As her manuscript evolves it becomes clear that the fictional future Myra is creating bears startling resemblances to characters from her actual world, with names being anagrams or puns of their real-world counterparts, but their stories are darkly different.

Lorraine added: "What better time than the present for people to read?

"There is a poignancy about the novel. The main character, a writer, imagines a world where townships are physically isolated from each other by insurmountable walls.

"She imagines a dystopian world where the government deliberately provides misinformation and where the royal family has become obsolete."

A Parallel Life is available direct from the publishers at www.unitedwriters.co.uk, as well as on Amazon. Kindle copies are also available from Amazon and Apple iBooks.