A PETER Symonds College pupil has fulfilled his lifelong ambition to see his work in print.

Lower sixth form student Reece Bridger, 17, has received the very first printed copy of his self-published novel - Buan: The Perfect Mortals.

After four years pulling together draft ideas for his series it took Reece, from Southampton, nine months to write and edit the book, which the A-level student hopes will be the first of 14 in a saga.

Reece remembers the thrill of seeing his first work, a poem entitled ‘Birds’, in print in a national anthology of poems written by young people, while still at primary school.

“I have been really well supported on my journey to being published and I can not thank enough my family (especially my brother), my friends and beta-readers, my cover artist Patrick Kerkhof, and my mentor Ben Galley for all their help and input,” he said.

The novel is the first of an epic fantasy trilogy following the troubled Harmon siblings who must come to accept the divine responsibilities of heroism that they never asked for.

Copies are now available to order on line ISBN-10: 1909482013 ; ISBN-13: 978-1909482012 and ASIN: B00CHKR4M8.