AN Aylesbury author who has had trouble getting his first novel published is hoping his e-book will boost his profile and have the same effect as the Fifty Shades of Grey success.

Andy Holmes, 32, has self-published his first e-book, Always The DJ, after being turned down by literary agents.

He said: "I’ve sent my manuscript to twenty agents out of the hundreds that are out there so far.

"It’s really hard to make an impression in such a competitive marketplace where agents and publishers just don’t have the time to look at the hundreds of drafts they get each week."

So inspired by the Fifty Shades of Grey success, he decided to self publish.

Always the DJ tells the story of a mobile DJ, who is about to turn 30 and is questioning everything about his life, whilst searching for love and happiness and a way to forget about the past.

Andy said: "A few years ago I was that DJ.

"The book draws on my own experiences, how it’s sometimes such a lonely profession, after all who entertains the entertainers in this world? The story also looks at the modern family, mental illness, and the impact of music on our lives."

He wrote the first draft in about two weeks after he moved to Cornwall and was applying for jobs. Being new to the area he found he had a lot of time on his hands so wrote solidly for about two weeks.

Andy now works for Communications at Buckinghamshire County Council and has done for the last two and a half years.

He previously worked for Cornwall Council. He did a drama degree from 2005 and 2008 as a mature student but before that worked in broadcasting for about 20 commercial radio stations, mainly in The Midlands and the South West.

He was a DJ off and on from about 18 to 28. He suffered from depression in his 20s, although his 30s have been a lot kinder.

He said: "As a consequence though, because all writers write about what they know, there will always be that undertone of mental illness as a theme in whatever I write, in this case one of the key female characters who I don’t want to say too much about as it would spoil the story, goes through various issues relating to the topic, and the main character (who is loosely based on me and the way I used to feel) is struggling to deal with a couple of key incidents from his past, which was also one of the main hurdles I had to overcome in my own battles with mental illness.

"The main character does end the story in a much better place than where he began it, so hopefully readers will feel inspired by realising that they’re not alone and can reach the light at the end of their tunnels. On a personal note, I wasn’t sure I ever would, but am delighted to say that I’ve never felt better than I do now."

He added: "I haven’t found love yet but you never know what’s round the corner in that respect, but I have found happiness within myself which I think is a pretty important thing to be able to say and I imagine will probably help with finding love too."

Always the DJ is available to buy on Amazon by clicking here: http://tinyurl.com/99cx99t

For more leisure stories and for I Love My Local, restaurant reviews and interviews go to www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/leisure