Rochdale-inspired novel wins international honour

Liam Findlay promotional image with his book cover, The Doom Town Dummies

A children’s novel inspired by the work of Rochdale-based company AromaPrime has received international recognition in the Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards.

The Doom Town Dummies, a supernatural adventure for readers aged 8 and above, earned an Honourable Mention in the Middle-Grade/Young Adult category, standing out among 1,533 submissions from 24 countries.

The book’s author, Liam Findlay, works for AromaPrime, a company renowned for creating unique scents used in theme parks and museums.

Liam credits the Rochdale firm with shaping many of the book’s olfactory elements.

He told Rochdale Online News: “I work for Rochdale's AromaPrime, which makes unique smells for theme parks and museums. The company ended up being a big inspiration when I wrote my book, which involves communication with the dead through the sense of smell.”

To enhance the connection between the novel and its real-world inspiration, Liam collaborated with AromaPrime to develop a collection of scents inspired by the book’s characters and objects.
 

Read more: New children’s novel published after being inspired by 50-year-old Rochdale companyPublished: 23 September 2023

He hoped to demonstrate how storytelling can transcend the visual, using olfactory experiences to ‘illustrate’ the narrative. This innovative approach aligns with his work at AromaPrime, where smells are often crafted to tell stories for attractions.

“The Doom Town Dummies” explores the unique power of smell in sparking emotions and memories, themes central to Liam’s work.

The story even features a fictional smell-making company akin to AromaPrime. “I use lots of AromaPrime's smells in workshops with children, as they are a totally unique way of bringing the story to life,” Liam explained.

This Honourable Mention places the novel among a select group of just 31 recognised titles in the competition. Liam expressed his pride in the accolade: “After all the hard work that went into writing The Doom Town Dummies, it is very special to have it picked for recognition by the Writer's Digest judges in the USA.”

The novel is available for purchase on Amazon.