A CRIME novelist is hoping Barry residents can help her in her quest to write a coastal-themed trilogy.

Rosie Claverton, now living in London but formerly in Wales, needs assistance for her series entitled The Amy Lane Mysteries with her first novel Binary Witness about an agoraphobic hacker and street-wise ex-con, who hunt down a serial killer in Cardiff.

The second novel is focused on gang culture in Cardiff, with the surrounding countryside and coast exploited for their own ends, and the third is about the antiquities trade and South Wales' historical connections to smuggling.

The 26-year-old said: “I am interested in hearing from people with experience on the water around Barry and the rest of the South Wales coast, as well as those interested in local history, particularly smuggling and sailors.

“I started to write the series because I was tired of crime novels set in New York or London, or Scandanavia and little English villages. The Welsh can be criminals too!

"I'm fascinated with Wales' relationship with the sea historically and to the present day, particularly the castle defences in the north and the development of industry in the south.

"I hope readers will enjoy the unlikely duo of Amy Lane, reclusive nerd, and local boy Jason, fresh from prison and repenting of his sins. I also think they'll enjoy the strong sense of location, from Butetown to Barry, with chases from Cardiff Central to the Taff and a lonely hike across the Valleys in a typical storm. Rain in Wales always feels like coming home to me."

The novels will be published as ebooks by Carina Press, with the first Binary Witness due for publication on May 5 and the second out in September.

To contact Rosie, visit www.rosieclaverton.com or Twitter @rosieclaverton