What has been your greatest struggle as a writer?

Without doubt the struggle for most writers is that of getting published. It took me eighteen long years before I achieved this. Along this journey I had countless rejections and false dawns. Even when I managed to get an agent she failed to get me a publisher and therefore quickly gave up on me. I have to admit though at that time I was still learning my craft and my novels weren't polished enough.

I ploughed on undaunted and hopeful. I learned my craft, perfected my style of writing, found my voice and homed in on my genre - the crime genre. Before this I had written some sagas and a suspense novel but it wasn't until I created DI Andy Horton that I finally hit on it. I always write from the single point of view and that of the male. Don't ask me why, it's just what I am comfortable writing.
 
During all this time I was also running a successful marketing and PR agency - there were the mortgage and bills to pay and I loved my work and my clients.

The first DI Andy Horton failed again to find a publisher so I turned my hand to writing two standalone thrillers IN COLD DAYLIGHT and IN FOR THE KILL. None of these secured me that publishing deal. And as by this time my company was also publishing business books I decided to branch into fiction publishing with my own efforts. Therefore my first three novels were in effect self published.
 
Fortunately they did so well that I was talent spotted by a publisher who signed me up to write my DI Andy Horton crime novels. From this I have gone on to write the Art Marvik mystery thriller series (4): the Inspector Ryga 1950s set mysteries (3 with number 4 out soon) and sixteen DI Andy Horton Solent Murder Mysteries.
 
I am now delighted to be published by one of the UK's largest independent publishers, Joffe Books. All my crime novels are published on Amazon Kindle, Kindle Unlimited and paperback and the DI Andy Horton Solent Murder Mystery series is also being published as audio books by Saga Egmont.
 
 Motto - never give up!