AN Inverkip horror writer has opened a new chapter in his career by landing a publishing deal for his fourth book.

Dave Watson is departing from his usual genre for a supernatural western called Adonias Law.

It is also the first book he's written which is not set in Scotland.

Dave, 42, from Inverkip, said: "It's more of a thriller with spooky undertones.

"It is set in Napa Valley, California in the late 1800s and is about a retired bounty hunter's efforts to track down a demented serial killer who's kidnapped his daughter."

Dave says he was influenced by Stephen King's Dark Tower novels, Quentin Tarantino movie Django Unchained and old western films.

He said: "The main idea though, came from a song called Carolina Low by the band The Decemberists.

"There's a line in the song and the first time I heard it, I got chills and immediately had an image in my head of a gunslinger type bent on dishing out some violent comeuppance.

"It built from there, that was the real lightning bolt moment, when I knew I had to write a story based on that image."

The dad said it took him a while to find a publisher but he found kindred spirits at Stirling Publishing in Edinburgh and they are releasing it in 2021.

Meanwhile busy Dave is also going back to his roots by contributing to Haunted Voices: An Anthology of Scottish Gothic Storytelling.

He has written a poem called The Cravin, a tribute to the famous Edgar Allan Poe poem of the same name.

The volume will be released as an audiobook, paperback and ebook.

There is a kickstarter fund to raise money to cover fees, printing, recording costs and marketing.

To contribute visit https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hauntedvoices/haunted-voices