A WORCESTER-born woman was inspired to write her debut novel after the death of a childhood friend.

Cally Taylor’s supernatural romantic comedy, Heaven Can Wait, is about a woman who dies the night before her wedding and wants to return to Earth as a ghost.

She was inspired to sit down and pen the book after losing a close friend.

Mrs Taylor said: “Like most people, I thought ‘I’ll write a novel one day’ but her death made me realise that sometimes that day never comes, and I needed to get on with it. My family have all been very supportive of my attempts to get the book published.

“My cousin Jacqui Elliot-Williams took my photograph on Malvern Common and my brother David, who is the manager of Lidl in Ronkswood, is helping to advertise my book by parking his car opposite the supermarket with a car magnet with details of my book on the bonnet.

“My mum, who is a headteacher at Broadheath CE Primary School, also sports the magnet on her car and my dad has had some T-shirts printed up with my book cover on the front.”

The 35-year-old writer, who attended Ellerslie school, now part of Malvern College, before studying at the Worcester College of Technology, is no stranger to having work published.

Mrs Taylor won the Helen Mullin Award and Bank Street Writers short story competition in 2006. She has also had stories published in Take a Break and My Weekly magazines.

Heaven Can Wait is on sale in stores across Britain, as well as Russia, Hungary, Spain, Taiwan, China, Brazil and Germany.

For more information about the Brighton-based author, visit callytaylor.co.uk. The book is available from most outlets and online.