A 73-YEAR-OLD ex-armourer for the RAF is hosting a Meet the Author session to talk about his new romance novel.

Peter Perrin, who became a published author at the age of 73, will be giving live book readings and answering audience questions at Liden Library on April 23.

At 3.00 pm on Monday readers are invited to learn about the Swindon writer and his venture into the Seasoned Romance genre, which explores the themes of love between characters in their senior years.

Peter Perrin said: “It’s fairly unusual for a weapons sitter who works with small arms and missiles to go into fiction. None of my work suggested I would ever write a novel.

“I was 59 when I came up with the idea of writing the book. I saw it as a moment to challenge myself and give me a sense of purpose. When it comes to older people in general, young people write them off when they’re fifty or sixty years old, so I wanted to write a positive story.

“I’d never even read a single romance novel before I started research, but my publisher Devine Destinies said that was a good thing because it reads like a true story.”

His novel Grace’s Turmoil came out in December. The story concerns a 68-year-old female divorcee who has given up on love in later life, that is until she meets a senior RAF man who begins to change her mind. The author wants the book to show people that they can still have romance and intimate physical relationships in their elderly years.

But Mr Perrin made it clear his novel was a far cry from Fifty Shades of Grey: “My publisher told me, ‘your novel isn’t erotic, it’s sweet.’ That’s why it was given a flame rating of two out of seven.”

He added: “Don’t write off older people in romance fiction. Their wealth of experience and emotional baggage makes them rich and colourful characters, and their voices deserve to be heard.

“The fact that I’ve become a published author at the age of seventy-three should be an encouragement to all people of a similar age, and I urge them to have a go at writing a novel themselves. Even if it doesn’t get published it will be a great mental exercise for you.”

The author joined the RAF in his youth and served for 15 years, during which time he participated in expeditions to Yemen, Singapore and Madagascar. He has since worked in engineering and quality control.

Speaking of the question and answer session at the library, he said: “I’m excited and daunted. It will be fascinating, and I hope to talk about my route into writing.”