A TEENAGER has signed a book deal with a major publisher in the hope of following in the footsteps of JK Rowling.
Estelle Maskame, 17, from Peterhead, who works part-time in a local supermarket, began working on a series of books when she was 13, the first of which was called "Did I Mention I Love You". She quickly amassed a sizeable social media following, not only in her native land, but also in the United States.
And the subsequent online publication of two other full-length novels "Did I Mention I Miss You" and "Did I Mention I Need You" have seen her gain over 125,000 followers on Twitter, while the trilogy was downloaded more than three million times by her fans.
Ms Maskame said earlier this year she wanted to be a full-time writer, yet feared it might be an "unrealistic dream".
But, earlier this month, she signed a contract with Edinburgh-based Black & White Publishing and her "DIMILY" series will now be published in Britain and across the world in 2015.
The stories are as far removed from the north east of Scotland as it would be possible to imagine: they chart the illicit love affair of Eden Munro and Tyler Bruce, who meet during a summer vacation and endure all manner of contrasting experiences.
"I've always loved writing and I had this idea about a boy and girl who loved one another, but all kinds of obstacles were placed in their path," she said.
"I wrote it, and I stuck at it, and eventually I finished it. But I never thought the first book would be the end of the story. I had other ideas.
"At the start, I didn't think anybody would read it. After a few days, I had 15 readers. So I asked friends to pass it on to their pals and it kept getting re-tweeted.
"It just took off from there. Suddenly, there were loads of people who wanted to know what happened next."
Maskame's followers are voracious readers and the Scot has had to grow accustomed to every plot twist being feverishly discussed.
But she managed to pass her exams while immersing herself in the books and is now ready to make writing a full-time career.,
Her potential has certainly been appreciated by Campbell Brown, a director at Black & White.
He said: "It's a joy to find a talent who started writing seriously at such a young age and she has already built up a huge and loyal following for her work.
"We're really looking forward to bringing her trilogy to as wide a readership as possible, both in the UK and overseas.
"Estelle's work is a brilliant addition to Black & White's list and we're delighted to be working with such a fantastic new talent."
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