THE voice of the speaking clock has launched a new career as a romantic comedy writer.

Sara Mendes Da Costa, who lives in Hove, has voiced BT's speaking clock since 2007 when she became the fourth person to do so.

However, Miss Mendes Da Costa hopes to show she also has a unique voice for narrative with her debut novel Peanuts & Eggcups.

She said she “loves this story”, but is nervous about its reception.

The voice over artist told The Argus she had spent 13 years on the book, which she began before her gig as the Speaking Clock when she was on a beach retreat in Spain taking a break from her “severely stressful” career as the owner of a telemarketing company.

The book has been so long in the making that, according to Mendes Da Costa, she had to go back and insert references to Facebook and erase mentions of long-since-dead celebrities.

She told The Argus she is very happy to continue being associated with the clock and would never resent being asked to perform her signature line: “at the third stroke, the time will be…”

Her debut novel tells the turbulent love story of a late-twenty-something called Maggie Parsons, who faces a difficult decision between two suitors, who are brothers

The book’s heroine finds herself caught between the brothers and, unbeknownst to Maggie and the reader, manipulated at various stages by a saboteur.

Miss Mendes Da Costa’s book, reviewed so far by three online bloggers, has received a perfect score of 5 stars. It is yet to reach the desk of any professional critics.

One blog reviewer praised the new author for her sense of humour, saying there are plenty of “laugh-out-loud moments” in the book.

Another noted the care taken by Mendes Da Costa to flesh out the characters in the protagonist's friendship group.

The reviewer said: “You feel that at any moment, you could be sucked into the story itself and become another member of their adventurous gang.”

Peanuts & Eggcups is published by Clink Street and is priced at £14.99. The eBook Kindle version costs £3.99.