An Aberdeen author has pledged to donate the proceeds of his newest book to the charity which supported his family during a cancer diagnosis.
Roy Burnett will launch his third published title, Brace for Impact, at a special event on Thursday, July 3, at Clan House in Aberdeen.
Roy began writing while living and working as a Regional Manager in the Middle East in the 1980s and has already sold more than 900 copies of his first two books Eye for an Eye and Retribution.
His latest novel is based on the life and times of his uncle Jimmy Johnson from Aberdeen who served with the Gordon Highlanders and the Commando regiment in World War 2.
Despite being wounded and spending two years as a Prisoner of War, Jimmy remained resilient until his liberation just before the war’s end.
The book is a testament to the human spirit, filled with adventure, romance and action to captivate readers.
Roy has chosen to donate all the proceeds from the sales to Clan, following the support the charity provided his daughter Lyne when she was diagnosed with cancer in 2019.
Lyne attended the charity’s Aberdeen wellbeing facility for listening support and complementary therapies while she was undergoing multiple surgeries, chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment.
Roy’s grandchildren, who were, aged 9 and 14 at the time, received further support from Clan’s children and family services.
Roy has been a committed supporter of Clan from the time of Lyne’s diagnosis through to her getting the all clear in 2024 and has remained actively involved since.
He is a volunteer for the charity and often drives the Clan minibus from Clan House to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary to deliver accommodation guests to their hospital appointments.
He hopes the proceeds from his next book launch will help provide support for other families going through a cancer diagnosis.
“I’ll be forever grateful to Clan for the support they gave my family during one of the most difficult chapters of our lives. Since my daughter’s recovery, I’ve tried to give back through volunteering for the charity, which has also been very rewarding for me.
“It’s my hope the book sales will raise lots of money to help others who are navigating a cancer journey,” said Roy.
Members of the public are welcome to attend Roy’s book launch at Clan House, Westburn Road from 6.30pm on Thursday, July 3.
The event will follow the launch of Clan’s third sculpture trail, The BookBench Trail, which will see 41 large BookBench sculptures installed across the north-east, Moray, Orkney and Shetland from June 30.
Clan chose the BookBench sculpture, which depicts an open book, because of the charity’s lifeline listening support service which enables anyone impacted by a cancer diagnosis to open up and tell their story.
Fiona Fernie, Clan’s CEO, said: “Roy’s donation honours his family’s own personal journey with Clan and the timing of his launch event is particularly fitting with The BookBench Trail highlighting the importance of opening up and sharing your story as the first step in accessing our support.
“We are incredibly grateful to Roy for his generous donation to Clan and we hope to welcome many people to the book launch event at Clan House on July 3.”
Tickets for the book launch event are free and can be booked by visiting https://bit.ly/459P6jy.
For more information please email: fundraising@clancancersupport.org.