HOVE PARK student Neve Pearce has had her first novel published at the tender age of 16. The book was written as part of the Young Author Mentoring Project and her project mentor was local author Lee McGeorge, who gave encouragement and support.

Neve, pictured right, is currently studying for her GCSEs in Year 11, is a fan of graphic novels such as V for Vendetta and was inspired by the work of celebrated graphic author Alan Moore.

Her book, State of Sleep, is a tense conspiracy thriller and follows the efforts of Frank, the man who takes it upon himself to expose the government’s involvement in sinister events.

Neve said the hardest part of the process was editing because she became attached to her work and found it difficult to cut bits out.

She spent the longest time in the planning stage and enjoyed the writing, the bulk of which she did during the school holidays.

She added: “I feel really pleased that I’ve managed to get a book published. For my next project I would like to write a fantasy or sci-fi novel but it might have to wait until after my GCSEs.

“It probably makes sense to get them out of the way first.”