A FORMER archaeologist from York and now full-time mum of three young children is using any spare time that she has to build a career as an author.

Amy Flint, 39, of George Street, off Walmgate, has a long-held interest in ghosts and is currently writing a paranormal fiction series about a ghost hunter called Porter Biggleswade, who lives above a crystal shop on the Shambles.

The 39-year-old has so far published two books in the planned ten-book series - Shadows in the Mist and The Haunting of Delavere Hall.

She is now close to completing the third - The Ghosts of Kings - while raising a four-year-old, two-year-old and 14 week-old with her husband John Wrathmell.

Amy said: "I am very lucky, I only need a maximum of six hours sleep a night. I keep the computer running throughout the day. If I get a spare five minutes I run to my laptop and write some more."

Her idea for the Porter Biggleswade series came to her after moving to York from London in 2011.

"I discovered that ghosts are a key part of York life," she said. "It seems that most people have a ghost story to tell."

Explaining her inspiration for the Porter Biggleswade series, she added: "I was inspired by the idea that we are surrounded by phenomena we don’t understand, but there are people out there trying to. With so many ghost-hunting clubs, societies, programmes, I was interested in looking at it from a different angle. To have a character who connects with phenomena but can’t explain how, and wants to explore it in a credible way."

Amy has incorporated some stories that she has heard about alleged ghosts in York into her books.

Porter Biggleswade is a paranormal investigator, nicknamed ‘the Shadow Reader’ for her ability to see ghosts. She works for the Paranormal Investigation Unit (PIU) in York.

Porter has had ghostly experiences for as long as she can remember, and has become a rising star in the field of paranormal investigation.

Amy used to be an archaeologist and worked at the British Museum and in Pompeii.

She also has a master's degree in forensic archaeological sciences.

She said: "I've moved from fact to fiction writing.

"I used to write at the British Museum. I wrote academic reports. I've always been interested in writing."