A Dorchester-based author is releasing her first book, which is about a love story set during an apocalypse.

Mother-of-two Lucy Ghose’s debut novel The Poison Balance is set to hit bookshelves on January 23.

It follows the budding relationship between the feisty lab intern Amy Weston and socially repressed professor Joel Harket as they fight to stave off an impending apocalypse.

Ms Ghose, 44 , said she wanted to subvert the typical conventions of the sci-fic and dystopian genre.

“Science fiction is a male dominated genre, and many sci-fi novels and films have male protagonists. As a female author, I was determined to change this, and have created a feisty, mixed race female protagonist who is fighting to have her voice heard.

“I also wanted to make romance a key theme as most dystopian novels ignore this key aspect of human existence – after all, at the end of the world, who would you turn to? Strangers, or your loved ones? For me, the answer is a simple one.”

Dorset Echo:

Having studied in at the University of East London, she moved from Leicester back to her birthplace in Dorchester where she lives with her family.  It was here where her writing career began, and she has always had a close affinity to her hometown.

“I went to school and college here. I did work experience some years ago in the news department of a local radio station, Wessex FM and I did several stints at the Dorset Echo in Dorchester while I was at university but came home for the summer holidays.

"The thing I like about here, is the history and that it is so close to the sea. I love the hills, the chalk drawings, the golden cliffs, and the poets who lived here – you can see why they took inspiration from it.”

Her passion for her hometown still endures in the strong sense of community she felt after recently suffering from a stroke. 

“People know me of old in my village. And when I got ill recently, all kinds of people popped up, wishing me well, offering my family meals, even doing my children’s school laundry when I was in hospital – really, a village is family, and you can see why! I was humbled by the community support, and I am very grateful.”

The Poison Balance will be published by Cranthorpe Millner Publishers and available to buy on paperback (£11.99) and Kindle format.