A Stevenage author is enjoying commercial success with his first book - written amid a hectic work and family life that left him just four hours sleep a night.

Jimmy Paraskevas, whose sci-fi novel After Dark has received unanimous five-star approval from Amazon customers, finally made the decision to act on his lifelong passion for writing last year.

“I started writing when I was eight years old but only recently finally decided to do something about it,” the 32-year-old of Benbroke Place, said.

“I work full-time with a long commute to south London and have two young sons aged four and 18-months. To get the book written, I would start writing when the kids went to bed at 8pm and work through the night until about 2am. I would then get up again at 6:30am to go to work again. I did this for six months.”

He added he could not have done it without his wife Natalie, who was “the rock” who enabled his dream to become a reality. “She would deal with all of the bed time routines and tantrums as I glued myself to the computer. She also read the book through with me chapter by chapter, letting me know how it was making her feel along the way – this was really important. She also came up with the title,” he said.

“It just goes to show what any of us can do if we put our minds to it.”

Published by AuthorHouse under the pen-name Jimmy Para, the thriller explores a world gripped by a virus that turns the infected into killers.