Soldier's Wanderers story set to take off

11:06pm Wednesday 24th October 2007

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When soldier Mark Cox was injured after 16 years serving in the armed forces he turned his hand to writing.

And he focused on his home town of Bolton and his favourite club, Bolton Wanderers, for inspiration for his first novel.

Now the book, entitled The Wanderer, is to be stocked on the shelves of the Reebok Stadium superstore.

The futuristic tale of people and class is a fictional work set in the aftermath of nuclear war and started life as a thread on Whites website forum the-wanderer.co.uk.

The book, which is set in the Bolton area and features landmarks including Winter Hill, has been self-published through AuthorHouse.

Provost Corporal Cox, aged 36, from Smithills, said: "When I received the first copy it was like nothing I've ever experienced. I didn't realised what I'd achieved until I held a copy.

"I've already had feedback from two men who have bought and read the book through the AuthorHouse website and they loved it.

"I'm very grateful for the support that Wanderers have shown me."

Cpl Cox, a father-of-two who has served in Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Cyprus and Northern Ireland, is now posted in Oxfordshire after sustaining a hip injury that has prevented him from being deployed on military operations.

An initial ten copies of his book were being put on sale at the Reebok store this week, for £7.99 each. Any further copies will be sold at £9.99.

Barry Calvert, Head of Retail at Bolton Wanderers, said: "We've agreed to stock this novel as the author is from Bolton and the club is a pivotal feature of the story.

"The superstore should provide the ideal platform for the author to get his book to a like-minded audience. Promoting literature helps to underline the message that writing is a crucial life skill."