Gerald Seymour used Ampney Crucis in one of his spy stories as the birthplace and origin of the main character.
Christina Jones, in her novel "Nothing to Lose", moved Ampney Crucis from Gloucestershire to the Dorset coast near Bournemouth and gave it a run-down greyhound racing stadium!
Before villagers pick up their pens to complain about her geography, please read Christina's explanation. She writes...
I unashamedly pinched Ampney Crucis because my Dad (he died 7 years ago - sadly long before I started writing books) and I used to visit the village and decided it was the place where he wanted to live. In "Nothing to Lose" I moved it to the south coast in memory of my Mum who always wanted to live in a beach hut!
Therefore I felt I'd done as much as I could to make their dreams come true - even if it was only fictional and far too late.
2000AD, famous for the Judge Dredd stories, is a British Science Fiction comic, now in its 34th year. It has been a very successful launching pad for getting UK artists into the vast American market.
And its connection with our village?
They have been running a series of detective stories since 2008 called "Ampney Crucis Investigates" by Ian Edginton & Simon Davis, and yes, the lead character is Ampney Crucis! - the dashing gentleman dandy who's a dab hand with the old detective lark, especially when concerned with dark creatures from beyond the veil!
