One of the island’s most prolific authors didn’t have to look far for inspiration for his latest novel.

Union Mills-based author James Collier, who writes under the pen-name of ’JC Williams’ released his 16th book, ’The Crafternoon Sewcial Club’ recently.

As the title suggests, the novel is set around an afternoon craft club who meet to indulge their love of knitting and other such crafts and for a social get-together once a week.

The group is led by Charlotte, a single mother who finds herself in between jobs and who organised the group as a way of passing the time.

However, an island-wide charity knitting challenge soon has the group’s members brandishing their knitting needles with serious intent.

As is the way with many of James’s books, disaster is never far away and the goings-on of the craft group soon fall into hilarity and calamity in equal measure.

James said the origins of his fictional crafting group is based on an actual club, led by his wife and he even copied the pun-tastic book title from her own craft group.

’My wife Fiona set up the ’Crafternoon Tea’, which is a group where people can come along, bring any crafts they might have and do them with other people while having a cup of tea,’ said James.

’It attracts a wide variety of people of all ages and backgrounds.

’I noticed this and I thought that surely there had to be a story in there somewhere. So I came up with the concept of my new book, the Crafternoon Sewcial Club.

’Many of the characters I came up with in the new book were inspired by the people who come along to this group.

’I wont say ’based’ upon, but I have been very liberal in using whatever inspiration I come across. I did ask their permission before I wrote the book though.

’’What I thought was really interesting though, was that I wanted to get across the range of people that were in the group and, especially, that they are not all old fuddy-duddies, sitting around knitting.

’The ’Crafternoon Tea’ session is a really vibrant craft group and they always generate a great atmosphere together. In the book, there are two characters, Joyce, a 92 year old, and Bonnie, who is 15.

’My character, Joyce is based on a wonderful lady, Joyce Newey, who is 92 and comes to my wife’s group every week. Talking to her gave me a great idea for a character and I wanted to call her Joyce, but I had to double check that she didn’t mind, as the character Joyce gets up to a few things in the book that you wouldn’t expect a 92 year old to do.

’I wanted to demonstrate the difference between the ages and how these groups let people like that get together and interact in a way they wouldn’t have done otherwise.’

James has published 16 books to date and is currently working on the fifth instalment of his popular series ’Frank and Stan’s Bucket List’, which follows the adventures of a side car race team. He specialises in writing comic stories packed with genteel and inoffensive humour, based around the antics of a poor, hapless idiot, as he like to describe his characters.

’People know my modus operandi, if you like,’ he said.

’If you like one of my books, you can pick any of the others and enjoy them. They have the same feel-good, uplifting sense, and are filled with fun plots and a bit of comedy. If you like one, you’ll like them all and, if people buy one, then they tend to go through and read the lot.

’This book I love, though. Its such a warm, feel-good, uplifting, Sunday-afternoon-by the-fire kind-of read and there are lovely characters that you really empathize with and relate to. Like all my books, they do have that hapless character that you just want to succeed. You almost will them over the line and you hope things all work out for them in the end.’

You can find out more at authorjcwilliams.com