Madeleine Gray had a very successful career in finance but gave up her job to follow her husband to Bermuda, only to find she had an undiscovered talent.

Ms Gray, who has no previous experience in writing, will have her first novel 'The Cuckold' published on Thursday, and has already finished a second book.

"Bermuda makes you stop and find out things about yourself," explained the author, whose real name is Stephanie Windsor and who had never even thought of writing a book before coming to the Island from London four years ago.

The 40-year-old said: "I loved my work in the UK and thought I would do it forever. I would never have started writing if I had not moved to Bermuda. Now all I want to do is write."

'The Cuckold' describes the explosive combination of a meek wife with a dependable husband who develops an affair with a sex mad, philandering stud and discovers erotic needs she never knew she had. She subsequently struggles with the consequences of her affair.

The book is described by Ms Gray's publisher, The Book Guild, as "an intimate portrayal of modern marriage teetering on the brink".

The author, who ran a successful interior design business specialising in children's rooms before deciding to retrain for the financial sector ultimately becoming national sales leader for a major insurance broker, before moving to Bermuda in 2005, got the idea for 'The Cuckold' during a lunch with girlfriends discussing children with fathers out of marriage.

Ms Gray, a mother-of-one, stepmother-of-two and grandmother-of-three, said: "I wrote one page which I read to my husband who encouraged me to continue. Then I made a draft, like a business report, with an outline for each chapter.

"I thought about the characters and how they relate to each other. Each character has a different opinion on the events in the book."

Ms Gray explained that she would try to write for a couple of hours every day. Each evening she would read a chapter to her husband who in turn gave her his feedback.

"After a while you begin to live the characters. When I was writing the last eight chapters of the book I enjoyed it so much I could not stop writing."

Ms Gray used to travel a lot with her work and enjoyed reading books which would absorb her during the journey. She said: "Those are the kinds of books I want to write. Just a fun thing, nothing serious."

With no previous book launching experience, Ms Gray bought 'The Writer's Handbook' to get advice on how to get 'The Cuckold' published. She sent her manuscript to 20 publishers she found in the book, two of which offered to publish it.

Ms Gray said she had not realised how much work goes into making a book. 'The Cuckold' took eight months to complete, but she added: "It has taken about one year from finishing the book to having it launched."

She continued: "I feel blessed and thankful to be published. But my feelings also range from excited to terrified. I have only seen the cover, but not the complete book yet."

An avid reader and a member of a book club, Ms Gray loves reading books by authors ranging from Philippa Gregory to Thomas Hardy. She explained that she was particularly affected by Hardy and had studied his life.

Ms Gray is a keen sailor and cook who loves living in Bermuda with husband John Windsor, who works at Ironshore. She says she has a fatalistic approach to life. "I enjoy not knowing what will happen next, but will make the most of our time here. There is no place in the world where I wouldn't go," she explained.

Her advice to aspiring novelists is to keep trying. "If you are passionate it will come through in what you write. And don't be put off by people saying it is difficult to get published."

'The Cuckold' will be available in bookstores in the UK, the US and Bermuda. It will be available at The Bermuda Bookstore after June 25. It can already be pre-ordered at Amazon.com

The public is invited to the book launch party at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess next Monday from 6.30 p.m. where the author will be signing copies of the book.