Carluke author Thom releases new book

WELL-travelled Carluke author Thom Cross has drawn on some of his own experiences for his new book The Scottish Swimmer of Colombia.

Originally from Kirkcaldy, 68-year-old Thom, who now lives in Market Place, spent 35 years living in the Caribbean and travelled to the impoverished South American country to watch his son Andrei, who competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, compete in a swimming event.

His experiences inspired him to write the book described as an adult thriller.

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Thom said: “I went to Colombia to watch Andre compete in a city called Medellín (home of notorious drug baron Pablo Escobar).

“I found it extraordinary; I lived in Kingston in Jamaica which was violent but had never seen anything like this.

“This is my first novel and it draws on my own experiences and is autobiographical at times.

“It tells the story of a young man, from Kirkcaldy, named Willie Henderson who goes to Colombia with his girlfriend to coach swimming.

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“She gets killed over there and he has to find out who the perpetrators are; it’s a classic ‘Whodunnit?”

For more on this story pick up a copy of the Carluke and Lanark Gazette which is in the shops now.