Sam EmanuelA Norwich author has had his first book aimed at teenagers published by the biggest publisher of children's books in the UK.Sam Emanuel

A Norwich author has had his first book aimed at teenagers published by the biggest publisher of children's books in the UK.

Following on from the success of his first three adult thrillers, Alex Scarrow, who lives in Cringleford, has now has his latest book TimeRiders published by Puffin books.

Mr Scarrow, whose older brother Simon is famous for his series of historical novels based in Roman Britain, said the book will be the first of a series of nine detailing the adventures of three teenagers.

The 44-year-old said: 'It's a sort of teen book about time travel. The teenagers are plucked from the very last seconds of their lives in a way that doesn't make a difference to history to become time travellers and work for a covert agency.

'For example, one of them is called Liam and is a steward on the Titanic, and he is taken just as the ship is sinking, so it doesn't make a difference to history as he would have died anyway.

'They are based in New York and their job is to stop others changing the course of history. So in this book, Neo Nazis have gone back in time to make Hitler win, and the kids see New York transformed into a Nazified version of the city. They have to work out what has happened and go back in time and stop the future being changed.'

Mr Scarrow, who lives with his wife Frances, his 11-year-old son Jacob, his Jack Russell puppy Max and his pet rat Frodo, got his ideas for the series while working as a computer game designer in London for 10 years.

He has previously had three books published with Orion Books - A Thousand Suns, Last Light, and most recently, October Skies, which he describes as 'a cross between The Last of the Mohicans and The Silence of the Lambs'.

He said: 'All the ideas for the TimeRiders series were just sitting in the back of my mind and quietly gestated, and then tapped me on the shoulder as pretty much the finished product. It felt like a bit of a freebee, because normally you have to work hard at ideas.

'I'm delighted to be having this book published - this year is going to be quite a big one because the second in the series will be published in August, and a sequel Last Light will be published in May.'

The 400-page book TimeRiders will cost �6.99, and more information about it as well as children's games and entertainment can be found online at www.time-riders.co.uk.

Have you got a story for the Evening News? Call Sam Emanuel on 01603 772438 or email sam.emanuel@archant.co.uk.