He may be better known for his non-fiction writing, but for his latest series journalist Douglas McPherson got in touch with his feminine side – as romance novelist Julia Douglas.

Mr McPherson, who lives near Wymondham and is author of the acclaimed study about the circus past and present, Circus Mania (which comes out as an e-book later this year), has been writing for some time under his female pseudonym – a marriage of his and his wife's first names.

But last month his romance novel Nashville Cinderella, which draws on his many years as a journalist writing about the country music scene and came out as a My Weekly pocket novel in 2010, started hitting library bookshelves in a large-print edition.

Asked why he chose to write under a female name, he said: 'It's not uncommon for writers to use different names for different types of book and I wanted to keep the romance writing separate from my non-fiction writing. And people tend to expect a woman's name on a romance.'

And why romance? 'I'd written a few things for My Weekly and they were looking for people to write a pocket novel.

'I thought I'd have a go – I'd written about country music for so many years, and I wanted to write about it in a fiction way.

'There's a lot I know about the world of country music that I could not publish, but I can write about it as fiction. So there's a lot of real life in the book.'

It is the first in a trio of romance novels and will be followed by Closer (set in the world of double-glazing salesmen, for which Mr McPherson drew on his experience of his first job) in March and the Showman's Girl (set in the circus), which he has just finished writing.

Nashville Cinderella, which is published under Ulverscroft's Linford Romance Library imprint, is available to borrow from libraries or to buy, price �8.99, from the publisher on 0116 236 4325.

His next pocket novel, Vintage Clothes and Ice Cream, comes out in April.