Danvers Resident Publishes First Novel 2 Decades In The Making

DANVERS, MA — More than two decades after Danvers teacher Sue Thomson began her passion writing project the first orders of "Trevor" shipped out this week.

"It's one of those things that is like: 'Oh my gosh. It actually happened,’" Thomson said. "It’s not a dream anymore. It’s actually happening."

Thomson, who grew up in Topsfield and teaches sixth-grade English Language Arts in Middleton, told Patch she first began writing the story of "Trevor" more than 20 years ago before a rapidly growing family and career put her creative writing plans on the shelf.

But as her three children grew into adults, she said she found time to add to the story here and there, until some gentle nudging from her family led her to determine the time was now or never to finish and publish the book.

"Three years ago they looked at me and said: 'Are you going to do this or what?'" she said. "They were encouraging. But they were also like: 'You are either going to do it or stop talking about it.'"

Thomson, who wrote the book under the pen name S. Hilbre Thomson, decided on the former course and finished the book with the help of an editor. Over that time, she shared the process of writing, editing and making tough content decisions with her students.

The book, which is available on the Amazon and Barnes & Noble websites for either print or digital delivery, began shipping on Monday with pre-ordered copies arriving on Wednesday.

"It's a lot of work that was put in there.," she said. "Now it's up to me to talk with people and get them to carry print copies, so there is still work to be done."

Thomson said she has spent this week marketing the book — with some North Shore cafes having agreed to sell hard copies.

The story centers around a North Carolina father named Matt Stone who experiences tragedy with his wife and son. He then moves to New England where he comes across a boy named Trevor, who so reminds Matt of his late son that the father begins to struggle with reality and develops an obsession that leads down a dangerous path.

"I wanted to write something suspenseful," she said. "I like the kinds of books where you are thinking the whole time you are reading.

"I wanted to create a character who is supposed to be the bad guy. But you do feel for him because he's been through so much."

Go here for more information on the book, the local author or arrange for a book signing.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza).