A best-selling author who grew up in Winchester returned home to mark the release of her latest book.

Author Alice Peterson gave a talk on A Song for Tomorrow, which is inspired by the true story of singer-songwriter Alice Martineau, at the event at Waterstones on the High Street.

Alice lived on Christchurch Road, St Cross and attended St Faiths Primary School and Peter Symonds College.

She has since published two non-fiction books, and eight novels, including the bestselling title, Monday to Friday Man.

She said: "I first read about Alice Martineau back in 2002. I saw a picture of a strikingly beautiful blonde-haired woman. I thought she was a model until I noticed the headline: Alice Martineau: Young, talented – and waiting for a triple transplant.’ "I read on, discovering that Martineau suffered from cystic fibrosis, a life-shortening genetic condition.

"As I continued to read, what I found extraordinary about Martineau was that she wasn’t only fighting to stay alive - her life expectancy was thirty years old and in the article she was twenty-eight - she was still determined to achieve her ambition to be a singer.

"When I discovered six months later that she had been signed by SONY, I was thrilled. I felt no one deserved it more.

"I connected instantly to Alice Martineau’s story. For me, aged eighteen, my own professional tennis career was cut short when I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.

"Alice Martineau was born with cystic fibrosis, so her outlook and experiences will have been very different to mine, but I felt we both knew the determination and grit it takes to carve something meaningful out of life when seemingly insurmountable odds are stacked against you."

Alice Martineau died in 2003 months after her album Daydreams was released, and Alice Peterson decided to contact her family to see they would be open to her writing a novel inspired by her life.

"Over the past eighteen months I have enjoyed every single moment of researching Alice’s life with the Martineau family, Alice’s friends, her boyfriend, doctor, vocal coach, Sony and the CF Trust," Alice said.

"I have walked in Alice's footsteps, spending time in the studio where she trekked to most days.

"I have been moved by the wonderful relationship she had with her boyfriend; it was certainly a love story that had its challenges: how do you allow yourself to fall in love, to be loved, when you know you might not be able to plan a future?

"I have felt honoured to listen to precious memories the family have shared with me. I have been in awe of Alice’s bravery and ultimately I have felt uplifted by her spirit."