AN English teacher has been pleased to get recognition for her work after publishing her debut novel.

Catherine Robinson, who lives in Waddington, has released her book ‘Forging On’ which is based on anecdotes from her son growing up learning to become a farrier.

She has taught across East Lancashire for more than 30 years and so far all 12 of the books reviews on Amazon from readers have been five star.

The 58-year-old said: “To see my novel published I was very pleased.

“All the feedback has been flattering, it has all been very positive.

“I was pleasantly surprised at how well it was all doing.

“It’s great to see that the work has been appreciated and that you’ve been recognised for your work.”

Dr Robinson was born in Accrington before moving to Liverpool to study at Christ College in Liverpool.

She also completed a PhD in creative writing at Lancaster University.

The novel is set in a fictional location but is based on her son’s upbringing in Green Haworth and move to Yorkshire for work.

The mother-of-one previously retired but now teaches part time at Stoneyhurst College, after spending her career teaching English at Moor Head High School, Rhyddings High School and Mount Carmel.

The book has been published by Orion, after her agent pitched the novel to several publishers in the hope it would be picked up.

Dr Robinson said:”Most people who teach English will write a bit, and when I retired a few years ago I found I had more time.

“My son always came back with these stories and I just started writing them down.

“He was not overly keen about it all when I started so I obviously changed bits and used imagination, but that’s where the idea came from.

“I was working on this just for fun when I told the publisher about it and they liked it.”

The coming of age novel follows the story of a boy named Will and the unlikely friendship formed with his fellow apprentice and gruff boss Stanley.