IN 2013 Bude based author, Richard Peirce, signed a three-book deal with Penguin Random House South Africa for three books.

‘The Poacher’s Moon’ and ‘Giant Steps’ have both sold out, and ‘Nicole’ will be published this summer.

Following the success of the first two books and the existing anticipation for Nicole, Richard has been offered a new three-book contract.

All his books are based on true stories but read like thrillers, and have conversation and awareness messages woven into them. The Poacher’s Moon told the story of two rhinos, which survived a violent attack by poachers.

Giant Steps followed the lives of two elephants, and Nicole chronicles the amazing 22,000km trans-ocean journey of a great white shark, named after the actress Nicole Kidman.

Richard is currently writing the first book in the new series, which is about the mass captive breeding of lions and other predators in southern Africa for various money making purposes.

He said: “This is the grimmest story I have told so far and the most difficult book I have written yet. The captive breeding of sentient wild species for human gain is bad enough, but when you also uncover the cruelty and bad husbandry, it is even more difficult to take.”

Richard and his photographer wife, Jacqui, live for a part of the year in southern Africa, and were on the road for four months researching the new book, ‘Cuddle Me, Kill Me’.

He campaigns tirelessly full time for wildlife conservation, and in a recent TV interview, was asked why he does what he does.

He said: “We have lost roughly 50% of this planet’s wild species in the last 45 years, so sitting around doing nothing isn’t an option for me. It’s impossible to know whether my work makes a difference and if so how much, but I guess it is in my DNA to at least try to contribute to positive outcomes.”

Nicole will be published in the UK on August 25 and will be available online from Amazon and others, as well as from good bookshops. Cuddle Me, Kill Me is due out in April 2018.