AN AWARD-WINNING author from Cardross has launched a brand new book – her first for adults.

Dusting Down Alcudia, written by Dawn Nelson, is a romantic thriller centred around a female archaeologist, Nina, and her hunt for a fabled Roman necklace in Mallorca.

The story was inspired by a trip Dawn took to Alcudia with her husband, Ian, in the early noughties, when she fell in love with the mediaeval old town and surrounding Roman sites.

She said: “One day, whilst sitting outside a café – the one I base the café in the book on – I thought ‘what if someone came here hunting for Roman treasure?’ and a story began to form in my mind.

“I knew I wanted a lady archaeologist to lead the story and to mix in a bit of romance and adventure.”

To celebrate the launch of Dusting Down Alcudia, Dawn has made a short pdf character book available for free on her website. If you’d like to pick your copy up, go to the website danelsonauthor.com/dusting-down-alcudia-character-booklet/.

Dawn’s first children’s novel, Dark Isle, was published by Strident Publishing in 2007. It won the Royal Mail Award for Scottish Children’s Books the following year and has been followed by two sequels as well as The Children’s History of Glasgow.

Dawn is currently working on a sequel to Dusting Down Alcudia, set in Perthshire and featuring a hunt for Jacobite treasure.

Dawn joked: “I blame Outlander for inspiring this one.”