A WRITER who grew up in America but has lived in Gwent for 22 years is in the running for a prestigious Welsh literature prize.

Terri Wiltshire’s first novel Carry Me Home - a portrait of contemporary and early-19th century Alabama - is in the longlist for Wales Book of the Year 2010.

The book follows the chain of events that take place when character Emma Scott claims she was attacked a “black hobo”, switching between the turn of the 19th century and today and exploring how one lynching hit several generations of a family.

The inspiration for the book came from a desire to understand more about her background in the Deep South, Ms Wiltshire said.

Ms Wiltshire was born in Alabama to her father Paul, an army colonel who brought his family briefly to Chepstow in the 1960s when he served in the now-closed Caerwent US Army base.

After working as a local news presenter for NBC, her research for a children’s book saw her returning to Gwent to live permanently in the 1987.

“I have a real love-hate relationship with my home,” said Ms Wiltshire, “because people have definite ideas about what the state is about.”

“The book is about coming to terms with who you are where you come from.”

Ms Wiltshire, who also runs a corporate-role play business and has starred in several productions at the Dolman Theatre, said she was “very, very excited” to be nominated for the award, and told the Argus it was in Wales that her creativity was initially sparked.

“I first started writing stories when I was a little girl and lived in the Castle View Hotel, opposite Chepstow Castle,” she said. “I’d never seen a castle before and many of my stories were about King Arthur.

“I was also introduced to drama here and those are the two things I have continued to do all my life.”

The shortlist for the award will be announced at the Hay Festival in on June 6, with the overall winner to be crowned at a ceremony in Cardiff on June 30.