A glitzy pageturner by our own Jackie Collins

And as expected by the titles ‘Trinity’, ‘Addicted’, ‘Scandalous Lies’ and ‘Deadly Obsession’, there is no shortage of glitz and intrigue in Nigel May’s collection of page turners.

Former celebrity journalist Nigel (47) has had a long association with TV and pop stars, interviewing Boy George and jet skiing in Miami with singer Dannii Minogue.

And the popularity of his books, of which he has two more planned for the next 12 months, have even seen him compared to the world famous Ms Collins who passed away last September from breast cancer aged 77.

The author sold over 500 million copies of her books in more than 40 countries and had 30 New York Times bestsellers to her credit from her descriptions of the secret lives of Hollywood’s most famous.

But few are bigger fans of her work than Nigel, of Thorney, who had the “treasured moment” of her asking for copies of his novels when they met at an event last year.

Nigel said: “I met her the week before she died and she asked me for my books. She was the queen of what she did.

“I love Jackie Collins’ books. She has always been a major heroine of mine. Her books are wrapped in mystery, intrigue and drama. She writes the best page turners.”

Nigel has been a features editor on Now! magazine, a showbiz reviewer on Channel 5 and editor of the East 17 official magazine, and he is also a host on shopping TV channel Create & Craft.

He said: “I’ve always had that great interest in the celebrity world. When I decided I wanted to write a novel it had to be something that I knew I wanted to write about.

“People want escapism, they want to forget about what happened in their day and get lost in another world.

“Working as a journalist, I like that celebrity trash world. The books I tend to read are blockbusters or ‘bonkbusters’.”

Nigel’s first book was released in 2009 and a recurring theme is the use of strong female characters.

He said: “I take characters on a journey and when you get to the end people think ‘wow, I did not expect that’. I never want readers to get bored by a book.”

Nigel’s latest book, Deadly Obsession, is a gritty novel described as “grit meets glamour” with exotic locations. It features Amy Barrowman who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks but falls in love with and marries millionaire Riley Hart who is later gunned down at the nightclub they own.

Amy is then determined to avenge his death, only to receive a mysterious letter detailing a list of suspects including Riley’s sworn enemy.

All of Nigel’s books can be bought at www.amazon.co.uk.