Legends about Ilkley Moor have inspired writer Martyn Bedford's latest novel.

The author, who quit his job as a journalist with the Telegraph & Argus after landing a £100,000 publishing deal for his first two books, hopes to finish his latest effort shortly.

The new book, as yet untitled, will be the follow-up to his third novel The Houdini Girl, which will be published in paperback by Penguin on February 24.

"One of the two central characters is a bloke who has given up his mundane office job to try to prove the existence of a black beast in the countryside," said Mr Bedford.

"The central female character used to live in a road protest camp and has left that to try to get back into the mainstream. She's a pendulum dowser and teams up with the guy to try to find the beast.

"The novel is about their search and also a weird, dislocated love story of these two people who live at the margins of society."

Mr Bedford, who lives in Ben Rhydding, Ilkley, with his wife Damaris and daughter Josie, also has his short story Representative of Automotive Components included in a new collection called Fortune Hotel, to be published in paperback on the same day as his novel.

He said there were no specific locations mentioned in the new book, which is expected to be published in October, but the setting was recognisably Ilkley Moor.

"One of the themes is the need of people to believe in something and the nature of belief," he said.

"All of my local research has been done in Ilkley. People will take it as being set in Exmoor because it's based on the Beast of Bodmin.

"I don't mention any towns or cities in the book but anyone who lives in Ilkley or knows the area will recognise it. I read about a guy who went to live in a camper van to look for proof of the Loch Ness Monster and partly the idea for the male character came from him."

Mr Bedford said he also started reading about Ilkley Moor's ancient sites, links with UFO sightings and legends of black dogs called boggards which Victorians said roamed there.

Meanwhile, Mr Bedford will be at a free event at Bradford Central Library at 7.30pm on February 24 to launch Fortune Hotel and The Houdini Girl. He will be joined by Toby Litt, who has also contributed to the short story collection, and Sarah Champion, who edited it.

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