A KEIGHLEY dad has completed his debut fantasy novel – years after he first put pen to paper!

And The Wooden King was topping best-seller charts within a fortnight of its publication.

Ian Kelly said public feedback had been "great" and he hopes to arrange a charity book-signing event at the Sue Belcher Centre, Bracken Bank, his home neighbourhood.

"I set about writing The Wooden King with all guns blazing many years ago," says Ian, 57, a quality assurance and health and safety officer at Topdental in Silsden.

"However I ended up shelving the book part way through and it sat gathering dust until one evening my youngest daughter, Macey, who was nine at the time, suggested I read her part of it, which I did.

"She liked it, and that was the encouragement I needed to complete the book.

"I have loved writing it and creating a world that is as real in my mind as the air that I breathe, and living the lives of the characters within the story was a joy – especially that of the Wooden King!

"The story's innocence and the love that the characters show for one another, and lengths they go to in order to protect the world they inhabit, is wonderful. I found it hard to let go as the final chapter ended!

"I have received some great support and feedback from those who have read it, which helped it achieve the number-one bestseller slot in its category within two weeks of the launch – which is just amazing. I can't thank people enough."

The Wooden King sees three siblings, Holly, Jasmine and Melody, set off in search of their ever-escaping dog Charlie.

Charlie eventually leads the children to a place where they discover, in a cave-like dwelling, the gigantic trunk of a rare oak tree. They learn from the Wooden King why the trunk is there and how he desperately needs their help.

Ian adds: "Should the girls decide to help the Wooden King he will take them on an adventure like no other to retrieve a rare golden acorn and an emerald key.

"To achieve this, Holly, Jasmine and Melody will need the Spirit of the Acorn to guide them, Mother Nature to whisper words and a tremendous amount of magic that nobody has seen before!"

The Wooden King is available in paperback and Kindle e-book form from Amazon.