ASPIRING author James Collett has found an usual way of publishing his work.

Fed up with going through literary agents, the Cheltenham resident has been hiding copies of his book around the town centre to drum up interest in his writing.

The 94-page non-fiction book titled, A Jumble Sale of Spite, is hidden in bookshops and the library.

James, a recovering alcoholic, is hoping his memoir-style book will help others.

He has printed out the copies himself and bound them with treasury tags.

He said: "It is a journal about being an unpublished writer and the trials and tribulations of trying to get published.

"Just after Christmas I gave up drinking and started treatment for alcoholism. Along with that came a renewed energy for writing. The book is about what I am doing and how I am being more positive about life."

The 26-year-old is hoping it will drum up support for his first novel, A Drinker's Travelogue, which is set to be on sale for Kindle on Amazon in the next few weeks.

He said: "It is based on things that I have observed and experienced from living a lifestyle of heavy drinking.

"It is a semi-comic novel about serious subjects."

His favourite style is realistic writing.

James said he had given up going through the traditional publishing routes.

"I am mostly hiding the books for my own amusement with the hope it might get people to read my other book," he said.

"I have also accepted that the online path of publishing work is the way forward. I know what I have written is a decent book but instead of being negative, I took matters into my own hands."

James plans to hide a section of his journal every month.

So far he has hidden about 15 copies and he plans to spread his work a far afield as Bath and Bristol.