Simon Tolkien

As a child, Simon adored his grandfather

If you're an aspiring author, it's not necessarily and advantage to have a grandfather who is one of the most revered novelists in the English Language.

Perhaps that's why Simon Tolkien spent two decades as a lawyer, before getting his first novel published this year.

Simon's book - The Stepmother - is a far cry from his grandfather's histories of Middle Earth and its creatures.

It's a courtroom drama, packed with dramatic twists, involving the high profile murder trial of the wife of a (fictitious) government minister.

It's rooted in every day reality and draws heavily on his experiences as a solicitor and a criminal barrister.

He told Breakfast this morning: "I didn't start writing until I was 40 - it was one of those New Year's resolutions that worked."

Simon's first book was rejected by several publishers - the Step Mother is his second attempt at novel writing.

Simon felt unable to match JRR Tolkien

"As a criminal barrister I specialised in violent crime, so I thought I would take what I know and write about it."

In the past few years, Simon has had a well-publicised argument with his father over the film version of the Lord of the Rings.

He feels this has fed into his first novel.

"Fathers are in a strange position: they do not automatically bond with their children in the way that mothers do."

click to watch our interview in full with Simon Tolkein

The Stepmother, by Simon Tolkien is published by Michael Joseph/Penguin at £9.99