Leigh Russell vs the Daleks
WritingPosted by K J Bennett Sat, May 08, 2010 21:21:31
[Edited. See why at - http://blog.kjbennett.co.uk/#post33 ]
Reinventing yourself at the age of 55 might be a dream to so many, but for Leigh Russell it became a reality. By day, Leigh is a mild-mannered secondary school English teacher, but by night she miraculously transforms into a bestselling crime novelist.
Wednesday 5 May 2010 saw Leigh speaking at the Verulam Writers’ Circle meeting in St Albans, covering topics such as how she managed the transformation and how she markets her work. It was while walking in her local park one day that Leigh saw a man walking past a set of bushes. Realising she was the only person around, Leigh had one of those ‘what if’ moments: ‘What if I walked around the corner behind those bushes, and found a body?’
Many people have these flashes, but not many transform them into life changing moments. Leigh spent the next few weeks writing a story with no particular aim of publication, but when she completed it she realised it was actually quite good. Using the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook as a guide, Leigh selected three publishers and posted off her manuscript. With two weeks – yes, TWO WEEKS – she received a call from No Exit Press and the rest, as they say, is history.
Leigh’s debut novel, Cut Short, soon sold out and is about to commence its third reprint. Her second novel, Dead End, is due for release in June.
Leigh is a regular blogger, an avid signer of books (her own), and a great speaker. Perhaps her publishing success can be attributed to having the support of Dr Who’s most infamous enemy: she must be one of the few people to have actually sold a copy of a book to a fully functioning Dalek at a book signing. And it paid in cash!
- Comments(3)http://blog.kjbennett.co.uk/#post30
