THE fictional tale of a Spitfire pilot from Barry has been brought to life with an audio book.

When 66-year-old Ron Powell, who lives with his wife Geraldine on Barry Island, retired in 2008 – following 32 years in the RAF – he began self-publishing books on Amazon.

Along with an illustrated history of the Battle of Britain, Hitler’s First Bloody Nose, and two volumes of memoirs, Mr Powell has published two novels: Wings Over Summer and sequel Wings Over Malta.

The hero of both books is Jack Williams, a fictional Spitfire pilot from Barry who takes on the might of the Luftwaffe, firstly during the Battle of Britain and then in the skies above Malta.

Tatnor Media has made an audio book version of Wings Over Summer – with a version of Wings Over Malta to follow in June this year.

Mr Powell said: “When I self-published Wings Over Summer and Wings Over Malta on Amazon eight and five years ago respectively, they both did well, especially in the United States.

“But inevitably over the years sales slowed; that is until December 2019 when, for some reason, both titles suddenly took off again.

“A few months later, Tantor made their approach and, to cut a long story short, I went for it.”

The audio book version of Wings Over Summer features award-winning voice artist and narrator Hannibal Hills.

“Having signed with an American publisher, I was a bit worried the British characters might sound like Dick van Dyke in Mary Poppins, or worse still, be turned into Americans,” added the father-of-two.

“But I needn’t have worried. The voice artist chosen, Hannibal Hills, is fantastic, capturing all the accents with ease.

“I couldn’t have asked for a more authentic rendition of my words. It’s as if Hannibal’s read my mind and - even if I do say so myself – the end result is amazing.”

To find out more about Ron Powell and his other books visit www.ronpowell.co.uk