AN author living in Ayr has sold out the prestigious Boswell Book Festival.

Successful crime thriller writer Pat Young, originally from Auchinleck will rub shoulders with some of the best in the business when she appears at the festival on May 11.

Pat told the Advertiser: “It’s a dream come true to be appearing there among big names like Alfie Boe, Kirsty Wark, Susan Calman and Sue Black but selling out all the tickets? Unbelievable!”

This is now Pat’s fourth book which she describes as a gripping psychological thriller called ‘Revenge Runs Deep’. It’s about a boss who bullies his employees, making their lives hell and how far some might go to get revenge. The official book launch will be at the festival.

Pat says her background has inspired her writing and even chose the village she was bred for the story’s setting. Pat added: “I grew up in Auchinleck and chose the area for the setting of my second book. The nail-biting climax takes place behind Auchinleck House, home to the Boswell Family.

“When I start writing a book I know the beginning and I can see the end. The bit in the middle is like a movie I’ve still to watch. I see it in my head and write the story. Sometimes it feels like I’m just the typist.

“My Ayrshire background is very important to me. At the Boswell Festival on May 11, I’ll get the chance to tell a sell-out audience why so many of my stories are set there. Margaret Skea, who writes historical novels set in Ayrshire and I will be interviewed by Theresa Talbot, best-known as the voice of traffic news on Radio Scotland.”

The Boswell Festival is a cultural event inviting writers and the public to engage in Scottish history, biography and memoir. It invites all kinds of literary study and work, but it has never had anybody local speaking at it before.

More info at www.boswellbookfestival.co.uk.