Robert Donohue has spent years in law enforcement.

The Vicksburg resident is a former lieutenant and division commander with the Vicksburg Police Department as well as a former narcotics officer and crime scene investigator.

Currently, he is working as a public safety officer at Mississippi College, while also pursuing his master’s degree at the school. His objective is to teach law enforcement and homeland security courses, he said.

With lofty ambitions, one may think Donohue would not have much time for anything else, but in addition to his full-time job and school, the father of two found time to pen his first novel, “Child of Creation,” and he will be participating in the Mississippi Book Festival, which is scheduled for Aug. 18, in Jackson.

“I am looking forward to the festival,” Donohue said, it will be a great opportunity to interact with both authors and readers, as well as a place to learn.”

When Donohue was younger, he said, he had not enjoyed writing, but now finds it as a way to unwind.

“Writing was always a bit of a chore when I had to do it in school, but as I matured, working in the highly challenging world of law enforcement, I began to use writing fiction as a stress reliever when time allowed,” Donohue said.

Inspired by authors like Terri Brooks, David Eddings, JRR Tolkien, R.A. Salvatore and George RR Martin, Donohue’s Epic Fantasy novel, “Child of Creation” is book one of a planned series, he said.

In the first of the series, Donohue said, “Readers will meet Lark, who is on the run from marauders who have come to his village and destroyed it, killing everyone in it, even his parents,” Donohue said.

In Lark’s attempt to hide from these pursuers, Donohue said, he meets some interesting characters, one of which includes an elf that teaches him there is a larger world that exists outside of the village he had known.

“I tried to take lessons from the great stories on how things fit together while creating an entirely new world that has its own ways of fitting people together into interactions,” Donohue said.

“Much of what I learned about people as a police officer for most of my career can be seen in how the characters interact in my book and my world. I wanted the ‘Then Came a King’ series to be a story that could be believable and realistic while being entirely fantastical from the standpoint of who lived where,” he said.

“Child of Creation” is available at Lorelei Books, in Vicksburg and online at Amazon, barnesandnoble.com, ITunes, Google play, Kobo, or good reads. 

For more information about the Mississippi Book Festival, visit msbookfestival.com.