Man, 84, writing books after retirement 'boredom'
Freddy King EsquireA man who started writing books in his 80s after he got "bored" in retirement has said other older people should keep pursuing their dreams.
Paul Law, from Middlesbrough, who writes under the pen name Freddy King Esquire, wrote his first book when was 81 and has since written a trilogy of fiction stories based on his service as an RAF navigator in the 1960s.
Now 84, the retired teacher who now lives in Northallerton said he intended to keep writing and had just finished a series of children's books.
"There are many pitfalls and things that could stop you and people lose their enthusiasm - don't let that happen," he said.
After retiring, he said he "became so bored" he decided to try something new.
"At the age of 81, friends start disappearing and I was looking at my future - waiting for a box," he said.
"That's not me, I'm going to start doing something."
'Life is short'
He drew inspiration from his time in the armed forces and set his books during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, the closest America and the Soviet Union came to breaking into nuclear war with each other.
The stories are historical spy thrillers and fictional, but based on some of his experiences with the RAF - which he spent five years with after joining at 17.
Law said his family, including his wife of 61 years and three children, "all love" the books.
"They think it's absolutely superb because there's a lot of information in there about me that they didn't know - some of it, of course, was a bit naughty."
He said he had now turned his sights to writing children's books because "as you get older, you become a child again".
"I think in my dotage I've become about five years old," he said.
However, Law who self publishes the books, said he wanted to inspire other people to be daring in their older age.
"If you've got a dream, go ahead with it and don't let anything stop you," he said.
"Life is short, do what you can while you can."