Author thrilled with recognition

RUNNER UP: Greytown author Glynne MacLean (right) pictured with Gavin Bishop, guest speaker at the Ashton Wylie Charitable Trust Awards. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Runner up in a prestigious writing award for an unpublished manuscript about faith, Glynne MacLean, immediately turned her mind and fingers to writing another book.

The Greytown author was announced runner up in the prestigious Ashton Wylie Charitable Trust Awards in Auckland recently for her latest book, yet to be published, The Protector.

The fiction story tells the tale of a young man's spiritual journey to find faith.

Mrs MacLean said she was stoked with the placing of her manuscript in the awards and straight afterwards started penning another manuscript in the hotel she was staying at - an adult science-fiction story.

"It was an honour to be a finalist, so second place was really cool and huge."

She often changed genre between writings as it helped her stay fresh, she said.

"I keep writing different genre each time I write - where ever it takes me. I then find I go back to another subject with a lot more enthusiasm, lots more vigour."

Meanwhile, she plans to have the manuscript published.

"I need to find a publisher now. It was an awful lot of work for just half dozen people to read," she said.

The judges felt it was a worthy piece of writing.

One of the three judges, William Taylor, said it was a story both young and older adults would enjoy.

The Protector was the only novel submitted in the awards.

"MacLean is establishing herself as a novelist and it is certainly pleasing to discover a novel among the titles submitted this year ... a competent piece of writing aimed at either an adult or young adult readership. Glynne MacLean handles her subject very well. At the heart of her story is the premise that faith is the underpinning of belief," he said.