AN AUTHOR had a rush of inspiration over lockdown and published three books – and one has even been published in Thailand.

Phil Hall, 54 lives with his wife on St John's Road in Wallingford and works in IT support.

As the country went into lockdown and he started working from home, Mr Hall decided to take the spare time and energy he saved from not commuting and channel it into writing.

He said: “I have got a full-time job which allows me to work from home and because of the lockdown I am sat at my PC pretty much eight hours a day anyway.

“When I have had quiet moments, I have decided to catch up with my writing. I am now on my fourth book since March.”

As well as a writer, Mr Hall is a guitarist and a martial artist, but his true passion is writing.

By the time Mr Hall was 18 he had already written several books and the silence of lockdown has allowed him to focus on writing once again and publish his work.

He said: “I’m in the office today and there is a lot of rushing around.

Read also: New Tesco Express opening on Friday

“Sometimes you just hit a wall and sometimes you never get it back and just give up on a story, but with these ones I just thought I would keep going.”

To this date Mr Hall has self-published five books of a variety of genres.

He has published memoirs/travel, fantasy fiction, comedy/adult fiction, self-help for content writers and self-help for novelists.

Over lockdown the author focused on writing and self-publishing three books.

These include two self-help books – ‘Trade Words for Cash’ and ‘Writing Your First Book’, which are both available as e-books.

His most recent and successful book is called ‘Pattaya 2020’ and the paperback book has sold 1,000 copies since April.

Oxford Mail:

Set in the Thai party city of Pattaya, Mr Hall’s fictional travel book takes the reader on a journey through culture shock, love and near-death experiences.

Mr Hall said: “It is a fictional travel novel; it is a bit of a dark comedy.

“It is about three guys that go to this place which is a bit risky for a stag weekend and it all goes wrong.”

The author lived in Thailand for five years teaching computer science and English. He met his wife in Thailand and his son is currently living there.

He said: “I was lucky I used to live in Thailand, I have got a lot of friends over there and they helped market the book for me.

“I have actually got the Pattaya book in book shops in Thailand with a publisher out there.”

Read also: Wallingford Mayor unhappy that district council say splash park won't be opening

The fictional dark comedy can also be found for sale much closer to home in The Wallingford Bookshop.

Mr Hall is now writing more, including another self-help book called ‘How to lower your blood sugar’.

After teaching in Thailand for five years, his goal is to get the books translated into the Thai language.

He is also trying to get a deal with the Thai education ministry to put the self-help book into the country's curriculum.

To find more books published and written by Mr Hall or to buy his latest work visit: https://philhallbooks.co.uk