A teaching assistant has published her first book, eight years after she started writing it.

Emma Beere, of Warwick Close, Braintree, began writing her debut novel in 2010 while raising her two children, now aged 20 and 17.

Writing under the pen name of Kathy Warwick, she wrote most of her 85,000-word book, Emily Unchained, from her mobile phone.

She said: “My children are grown up, but while they were little I used to write as a hobby.

“In the last year I decided to take it a little bit more seriously and complete it.

“I have done the whole thing on my mobile phone.

“I showed someone who works in publishing and he was really impressed.

“I published it three weeks ago and everyone says it’s laugh out loud funny, which is what I wanted.”

Emily Unchained tells the story of a teenage mum, her experiences and relationships she has along the way.

While the story is fictional, Miss Beere, who works at Edith Borthwick School in Braintree, took inspiration from her own experiences as a mother.

She is already writing a sequel to the book, which is hoped to be released near Christmas.

Miss Beere, 39, said: “I love my job, but my passion is books, reading and writing and I would love to do that full time.

“I read about three books a week and I don’t feel complete without one.

“The response has been overwhelming, there are 30 reviews of five stars. I have been told the first draft of my second book should be done by September and, if everything goes according to plan, be out at Christmas.”

The book is available to buy on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle.