Ex-popcorn boss wins book prize

Mason became a writer after running a successful popcorn company

The former boss of a popcorn company who left to write romantic novels emerged as this year's winner of the Romantic Novel of the Year on Thursday.

Sarah Mason, who was once voted one of the top five British entrepreneurs, won for her debut novel Playing James.

Mason's book tells the story of a journalist who writes about an unhappy policeman for a column and ends up falling in love with him.

In 1998 the Cheltenham-based writer was named one of the UK's top business people while running Devereux Renny, a popcorn producer with a turnover of more than £2m a year.

She had been importing popcorn from the US but then decided it would cheaper to produce her own.

She sold the company soon after and started a career as a writer.

"Perseverance is very important. It is unlikely you will get picked up straight away," she said about her writing career.

She said the worlds of big business and writing were "completely different.

£10,000 prize

"One is quite aggressive and you're judged on things like how you dress," she said.

"But in writing if I turned up in my pyjamas and said 'here I am' it would be considered creative."

The prize of £10,000 was presented at the Savoy Hotel in London.

Another finalist, Sheila O'Flanagan, had previously worked as Ireland's first female chief bond dealer. She was nominated for her novel He's Got To Go.

"I worked with 17 men who all looked at me in disbelief when I said I was leaving to write romance novels, but then all went out and bought the book," O'Flanagan said.

The shortlist also included Kate Thompson with The Blue Hour, Vivien Kelly's Two Red Shoes, Cynthia Harrod-Eagle's Julia and Jenny Maxwell's Grey Lady.