A SEDBURY woman’s dream of seeing her story idea come to life has come true 35 years after she first wrote it.

Amanda Aubrey-Burden first wrote Devil’s Messiah as a school play in 1981 but a sudden change in circumstances meant it was abandoned during rehearsals.

She said: “I wrote this originally as a musical comedy play in my final year in high school, but sadly the project was abandoned due to unforeseen circumstances despite rehearsals having started – but the idea never went away.”

Amanda was joined for the launch at Chepstow Bookshop of her debut novel by friends from school who dressed as characters from the book, appropriately enough on Hallowe’en.

The novel tells the story of a young woman and a man she helps who are pulled into a battle that threatens to create hell on Earth.

Amanda reckons she was also “besieged” by one of the less friendly characters after killing her off.

She also thanked Matt Taylor of Chepstow Bookshop who stepped in to host the launch when the original venue became unavailable.

The book is published by London-based Austin Macauley Publishers and is available from bookshops and online.