Soldiers making a difficult return to civilian life inspired Kit Cox to write books.

Mr Cox, from Maidstone, who launched his first in a trilogy of books for teenagers and young adults on Friday was working with the Royal British Legion in Aylesford when he first began to put pen to paper.

“It’s the sharp end of life. You kind of need a little bit of escapism,” said the father-of-two. “You need to step away from things that are very real.

“You need to step into things where the good guys can win at the end as opposed to the realities of life where that isn’t always true. It was almost an escape from that.”

The 43-year-old has also tried stand-up comedy, but the permanent change to his working life began in 2012 with his first book, How to Bag a Jabberwock: A Practical Guide to Monster Hunting.

After that proved a hit, he has been working on the latest books and his new career has proved a pleasant surprise.

He said: “If someone had said to me five years ago I was going to be an author, I wouldn’t have believed it.

“Having the concentration to sit down and write a whole story seemed like a lot, but actually since I got into it the stories just unfold.”

His writing has also become very much part of his life, as he has drawn inspiration from his personal interest in Steampunk, which involves dressing in Victorian clothing.

He said: “It’s sort of eccentric Britishness, and there are lots of nods to it in the books. Some of the monsters are inspired by Victorian monsters.”

His book, The Monster Hunter, draws on some of his favourite spots in Kent. Blue Bell Hill quarry features, while the main setting is a town called Whitaget - an amalgamation of Dargate and Whitstable.

The book tells the tale of junior monster hunter Benjamin Gaul, the 13-year-old son of an English officer and his Sinhalese wife, who is orphaned and sent to live in a children’s home in Kent.

Besides drawing on his interest in the Victorian era, Mr Cox also does his best to remember what it was like to be a teenager.

He already has the second book in the trilogy sewn up, ahead of deadline.
The Monster Hunter is published by Book Guild Publishing, price £9.99. See www.bookguild.co.uk