A Hackney writer has secured a two-book deal for her coming-of-age urban thriller based in the borough.

Hodder is going to publish Patrice Lawrence’s first book, Last Man Standing, next spring.

Mother-of-one Ms Lawrence, who lives in Powerscroft Road, Lower Clapton, said: “It’s not really about gangs, it’s about a boy whose older brother has been involved in bad things, he gets drawn into his brother’s legacy, it’s about family and choices.

“What I didn’t want to write was a book about a black boy that was in gangs because it’s a cliché, black writers are often expected to write about gangs and crime, but young adult fiction is much more flexible I think you can write about anything as long as it’s a good story,” added Ms Lawrence who works full time at a carers’ organisation.

“Writing has always been part of me since I was very little, I like being in other worlds really, it’s comforting, I like making up people, as I’m quite solitary, that kind of helps.”