APPEARANCES can be deceptive as the front cover of Barbara Butcher's first novel proves.

The book entitled The Other Canal has a canal scene from Alperton on its front but if you look a little closer the reflection of the Houses of Parliament can be seen in the water.

Barbara, of Hazlemere, said: “Although it looks as if it is about a canal it is actually about British government and conspiracy theories.

“It opens in Thailand when an elderly lady is arrested. Her son is trying to get her out of Thailand.”

She said she has been in Thaliand before and has carried out numerous research over the six years she has written it.

Barbara said: “The characters seemed to take on a life of their own. It was brilliant. I got to know Nigel, [the protagonist], very well.

“It is very exciting.”

It will be available on Amazon and Matador from October.

She said people want to know what is the process of writing. She said she researched publishers and in the end published it herself with Matador.

She sold 100 books at a book signing in Holmer Green.

Barbara said she had a lot of good feedback which is why she made the decision to go ahead and self publish. She said: “A lot of people have said to me- it has got to be a film. Dominic West would be Nigel.”

She will be at Waterstones in High Wycombe on August 20 from 11am-6pm, doing a talk at Beaconsfield Library on September 7 for one hour at 11am and at Hazlemere Library on September 10 at 11am for one hour. There will be a book signing at Amersham Watersones on September 17 from 10am-4pm. It is £7.99.