SCORES of Bromsgrove bookworms rushed to a High Street bookstore last week to meet one of the town's finest authors during a book signing.

Nicholas Evans, author of The Horse Whisperer, visited Ottakar's last Friday to sign copies of his new book, The Smoke Jumper.

The former Bromsgrove School pupil, who was born in College Road and has now had three books published since 1995 said he loved coming back to Bromgrove.

"With every book I have released I have done a book singing in the town, and every time I come back it's like returning home, " he said.

The new book is about smoke jumpers in America who are fire fighters that jump from planes into the woods to fight bush fires.

"There are only about 400 in America, they are amazing," Nicholas said.

"When I was carrying out some of my research in America for my second book The Loop, I saw a sign on the side of the road saying 'smoke jumpers.'

"I was staring at it that much I nearly went into the back of a police car and had to overtake him to avoid an accident.

"He pulled me over to the side of the road and after he'd given me a warning he explained what the smoke jumpers were,"added Nicholas.

"From that moment on, I knew I had to write a book about them.

"Although probably the first third of the book is about their work the other part is about choice and that moment in our lives where we want something so badly in our hearts that we go against everything and jump into the flame."