A writer from North Somerset has been named as one of the winners of the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA) 2021 awards.

Louise Douglas, from Blagdon, came out on top of five finalists in the Jackie Collins romantic thriller awards for the best romantic novel with thriller, mystery, crime or suspense elements, with her novel The House By The Sea.

Commenting on the winning novel, one judge said: “I loved this book, it kept us hooked from beginning to end.”

Louise took inspiration from family holidays to Sicily, and her passion for Inspector Montalbano. The novel is mainly set in the real-life locations which represent the fictional towns and cities in the TV adaptations of the Andrea Camilleri books.

RNA Chair Imogen Howson, said: “In a year when we have had to deal with anxiety, isolation, lockdowns, and some very surprising product shortages, romantic fiction has remained a source of escapism and comfort – an almost literal lifeline.”