He has trained winning racehorses and made props for a hit fantasy film.And now a south Norfolk man is celebrating his latest venture – a first novel that is already proving a hit with readers and bookselling websites.

Geoff Martin has seen Conquest –The First Horseman selling out on the Amazon and Lovereading websites.

The book, published by Pegasus, is a thriller which sees terrorism in the form of a weapon of mass destruction coming to England and its hero is a tramp.

Mr Martin, 66, who lives in Hethersett, spent nine months writing the novel and he already has plans for four sequels based around the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – all featuring the hero, Peter Cahill.

Part of his novel is set in a fictional church in Wymondham.

As well as planning for the sequels the former racehorse trainer and armour maker has secured a deal with Pegasus to publish another set of novels set in Scotland.

The first novel in that series, St Robert and The Devil, is out later this year and is about the aftermath of the Battle of Bannockburn.

Looking back on his first novel the father-of-two said: 'It is a good yarn and has a good set of characters. It is very relevant thriller for the modern world.

'I am very pleased with how it has turned out. When I can't sleep I tell myself stories to get to sleep and the writing all started when I was given a computer two years ago for Christmas.

'I could not even type and was never very technical.'

Mr Martin is also in the process of creating a third strand of novels based around triplets who share a paranormal bond.

Mr Martin and his wife, Lou, used to train racehorses, with Willie Carson riding a winner for them. Mr Martin also made armour and worked on the film Dragonslayer.

Mrs Martin said she was very proud of her husband's foray into the literary world.

To order a copy of Conquest – The First Horseman visit https://pegasuspublishers.com/