Portsmouth debut novelist's book 'imagined virus striking prime minister two years ago'

Caroline Cooper, who works in local government, published her novel She work at the end of March, after she began writing the book in 2018.

The book is based on her dream about the UK ravaged by a deadly flu-like illness – which only targets men and kills the entire male population, including a fictional sexist prime minister.

The 44-year old said: ‘I rarely remember dreams but this one was really unsettling and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. A friend suggested that I write it down and that how the book started to take shape.

‘The book was published in the first week of the lockdown – it’s quiet creepy how similar the situation is.’

But the book is not completely prophetic, and the author says she was not tempted to let her fiction mimic reality.

She said: ‘There isn’t a lockdown in the book because the virus sweeps across the country in about two weeks, so there isn’t time for something like that.

‘I have left things as I have imagined them.’

The novel’s disease – called chromavirus – is created on purpose by virology student Jean, with the book showing both the repercussions of her creation and the past ‘trauma’ that leads to her wanting to kill off the male population.

But Caroline says she didn’t write the book to be a ‘feminist rant’.

She said: ‘I’m not a huge feminist and I don’t have terrible views about men, so I tried to balance it out.

‘The main character is very troubled, but you see why she is so troubled.’

The prophetic book has so far sold more than one hundred physical and Kindle copies, with the author deciding to self-publish the book after becoming frustrated with the publishing industry.

‘I found it a bit frustrating to be honest. Literary agents don’t really reply, and when they do, you are left waiting three months sometimes.

‘So I thought if I don’t do it now I’m going to miss any opportunity and It will look like I came up with the idea after the virus.’

And the writer is using her time in lockdown to pen a sequel.

She said: ‘Without giving too much away, the second book looks at how the main character finds herself in quiet a powerful position.’

She is available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.

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