AUTHOR Joanne Harris immersed herself into cyberspace as she penned her latest novel.

The Almondbury writer’s psychological thriller Blue Eyed Boy, released yesterday, is a new direction for the author, whose bestseller Chocolat was made into a Hollywood film starring Johnny Depp.

Entitled Blue Eyed Boy, it is set in a little village in the north of England and is acted out in real life and online and tells the tale of the murderous-minded BB.

Joanne described writing the book as like completing a Rubik’s cube – a jumble of colours twisting and turning with no completion in sight.

She’d been through a messy split with her literary agent and wasn’t inspired to continue writing – fragments of a plot line she already had were eroded away by the time she spent avoiding reality online.

But there she found her personal online presence and knowledge of the internet actually took her on a journey which wasn’t always planned for the book’s main character.

Joanne admits the novel is dark and creepy, saying: “I’ve been writing it for a while, the idea had been there for a number of years but it was about two years ago when I really got into it.

“I spent a lot of time on the internet, as all authors do, as I’m interested in the way other people express themselves and how they build a community.

“I joined a few communities, they’re very similar to actual communities in that you build friendships with people who you could connect with anyway.

“I’ve seen people vent their political and ideological beliefs, I’ve seen how intense it can get and how rapid the internet can be.

“I began to understand that the small communities that have always informed my writing also exist in the virtual world – the same cliques, insiders, outsiders, gossips, liars, exhibitionists and bullies, as they do in the real world.

“I understood too, how emotionally dependent people can sometimes become on their virtual friends and their virtual communities, even though there can be no way of knowing how honest these avenues of communication really are.

“I wouldn’t and couldn’t have written the book if I hadn’t the knowledge.”

Joanne admits to meeting people she has met online, but added that she is fascinated by the way people’s identities may not be what they seem.

The lines between fact and fiction can become blurred online and it’s something which can be found in the pages of her novel. The hook to Blue Eyed Boy is whether the online postings are fact for BB or fictional.

“The story is quite dark and deep with a plausible character but it’s not based on any one person,” Joanne, 45, added.

“I don’t think it’s possible to exaggerate real life – I always think real life is more extreme than any writer can make up.”

The release of Blue Eyed Boy will take her away from her picturesque Almondbury home and to Canada and Europe over next 12 months, meaning plans for any future novels are put to one side.

Joanne, who is married to Kevin and has a 16-year-old daughter, Anouchka, added: “I’ve got quite a lot of touring to do and it’s something I always find it interesting – to go abroad and see new places and also meet the readership, which is something I like to do.

“If I stayed at home I wouldn’t meet the people I do or see the things I see, I’d just be with my family and friends and only be within my home life.

“Being in different places is stimulating and inspiring too.

“It could be some time before I start on the next one, I’m booked solid for the next 12 months so anything else could be tricky, but ideas never go away.”

l Blue Eyed Boy, by Joanne Harris, is published by Doubleday, priced £18.99.