IN COMMON with many people, Ross Friday had an ambition to write a book. More specifically, he wanted to have a book on sale around the world before his 30th birthday.

And thanks to a lot of hard work he achieved his ambition with almost two years to spare when On First Name Terms with Angels was published in North America.

Surprisingly perhaps, there's no sex and very little violence or swearing within the pages. "I was conscious of the fact that my mum would be doing the initial proof reading," joked Mr Friday.

"But seriously, I thought if the writers of TV programmes as intense as ‘24’ can manage to avoid bad language without losing any of their characters impact or realism then why can’t I? In trying to do so I found ways of writing extreme situations powerfully without resorting to the easy option."

Neil Sean, Sky News showbiz reporter, has described the emotionally complex debut novel as "inventive, poignant, witty and highly original".

It took Mr Friday, who lives in Rainham, just a year to write the novel despite working full-time as a marketing executive at the Kent Messenger Group's head Office in Larkfield and still managed to help organise a Kent-wide toy appeal with the Salvation Army last Christmas.

Now the new author is hoping for success saying his fictional tale "will strike a chord with many" as it tells the story of complete strangers who unknowingly affect each other's lives during one fateful night along a one mile stretch of road.

"Many of the characters are tragic, funny and completely flawed... just like most of us," he said. " I think that's the secret of their appeal. I’m told this book is a movie waiting to happen and that’s exactly the direction in which I’d like to take it."

Mr Friday left Rainham Mark Grammar School with four A levels but English Literature was not one of them and he has never attended writing classes.

"This lack of traditional training might actually have helped me to create a more unconventional approach to storytelling," he said.

* On First Name Terms with Angels is now available through www.rossfriday.com where you can read the first chapter and discover more about the novel. For your chance to win a signed copy join the VIP Club via kmfm