Besides playing Christ in an Easter re-enactment and supporting his wife the vicar, a local author has found time to write chick lit.

Craig Donovan, 45, husband to Reverend Rosemary of Christ Church in Epsom Common, has just penned his second light-hearted and humorous novel.

The book is called Letters to Rosemary, but Mr Donovan said: "It was not intentional. It was a working title but then stuck."

The novel begins with the mysterious arrival of a letter addressed to Rosemary in the summer of 1991.

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Joanna May, a twenty-something who has just moved into a new house, fights but cannot resist the temptation of opening the airmail letter.

Further letters and a bit of investigation help her to unravel the mystery as she and her friends also deal with dilemmas over men and settling down.

Mr Donovan said he had the idea of the letter when he moved into a new cottage in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, where the novel is set, about 12 years ago.

He said: "It came out of moving into a new place. You do get all manner of random mail."

After the move, he said mail addressed to different people kept arriving.

He said: "It was all mostly junk mail but I thought ‘what if there was something you were interested in?’"

He said a blue airmail envelope might prick your interest, adding: "That’s why it says simply to Rosemary. It might just set it apart."

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Craig Donovan, playing Christ, leads the procession at Easter

Mr Donovan has managed to self-publish his book while living in the vicarage and continuing his day job at a Western Union office.

Last Easter Mr Donovan played Jesus in a procession through the streets of Epsom which ended with a crucifixion re-enactment in the marketplace. He said: "I led a procession of people shouting kill him."

His first novel was also self-published and entitled The Wrong Girlfriend.

Letters to Rosemary is available from amazon.co.uk priced at £5.46.