Ambitious Peterborough Small Business Awards finalist writes first book

38-year-old Amy Braybrook’s lifetime ambition has always been to write a book. And with the release of her first novel, Anything For You, earlier this year, the ambitious 38-year-old has finally achieved her aim.

“Since I was about four-years-old, I wanted to write a book,” Amy explained: “I used to write short stories all the time.”

Speaking to the Peterborough Telegraph from her Stanground home, the Peterborough Small Business Awards finalist said:

“As I got older I dabbled a bit but it wasn’t until 2021, when I did a course with the Fiction Academy run by Authors and Co, that my book finally came to fruition. I released it one year to the day of starting the course.”

Anything For You – which is set in Peterborough – tells the story of Scarlett, a girl who is head over heels in love with her best friend. However, things take a sinister twist when her brother arrives on the scene and threatens to ruin everything. How far will Scarlett go in order to get what she wants?

Amy said the subject matter is something the self-published author has a strong personal interest in:

“I love crime,” she explained, “and I am fascinated by how far people can be driven for love.”

When she isn’t writing, Amy runs her own business, ‘Miss A.M.I’, designing notebooks, planners and books (including personalised options) for personal and business use. She also works as an exam invigilator and is studying mental health awareness.

Amy has some savvy, hands-on advice for anyone who, like her, has long harboured dreams of becoming a novelist:

“The best advice is just to start!” she said. “Get a notebook and pen, or your laptop and just give it a go.

“It doesn’t matter how long it takes you, and you don’t have to let anyone read it until you're ready - or even tell them what you are doing.”

So what’s next on the enterprising author’s radar?

“I have plans for a follow up to the first novel at some point” she said, adding. “I would also like to write a full children’s book too, as well as other adult crime/mystery novels.”Anything For You is available to buy from Amazon, now.