Since I can remember, it has been my ambition to be a writer. I have always been writing bits and pieces, but I never really finished anything.

In my early twenties, I decided it was time to start seeing writing as a serious job. I wrote my first romance story and sent it to a Dutch publisher – in the Netherlands, you deal directly with publishers, not with agents. This first attempt was rejected three months later, but by then, I had already written and sent the second one to the same publisher. They published this one and I kept on writing until there were seven.

As my publisher knew that I didn’t find it particularly difficult to write these romances, he suggested I’d write ‘something else, something more interesting’.

I loved reading murder stories and I moved to writing crime thrillers. I am always intrigued about the complexity of the characters and their motives. It is interesting to work out a good plot, challenging to ensure that everything ties together at the end.

I had written and published 20 novels and crime thrillers, when I decided to start writing in English. It was a much slower process to search for the right words, but somehow, more rewarding. However, it wasn’t easy to find a publisher in the UK and, as I soon found out, I’d rather wanted to make my own choices. Accidentally, I came across a printing company in Padstow, TJ International, and they happily guided me to and through the proces of self-publishing.

Tregunna came out in 2015. My 21-st book, my first in English, was initially only meant as a paperback, but soon I also  published it for the Kindle.

But then I was faced with the next problem: what to do with boxes with paperbacks? How do you find readers and customers? For me, writing is relatively easy when you compare it to marketing and promoting. Basically, all I wanted to do was write, and not go out to let everyone know that I had written a bestseller.

It has been a slow proces, but I strongly believe that, with a bit of determination,  you can achieve anything you want.

So far, I have published 25 books, three of which are in English – the Tregunna series, all set in Cornwall. The second book, What every body is saying, was nominated for the prestigious award for Cornish Adult Fiction in July 2017.

Both titles appeared in the Top of Amazon’s Bestsellers Lists, which, for me, was proof that I made the right decision to self-publish my English books.

 

I always have plans for the future. In the beginning of 2018 there will be a new book in the (Dutch) ‘Barbara’-series about a policewoman in Amsterdam.

There are also plans to have some of my Dutch books translated into English and published as ebooks. More later.

Later in the year, I hope to have finished a new book in the Tregunna, to be published in the Summer.

And I am currently researching and plotting a stand-alone novel based on a friend’s story.