How I got published
The crime writer tells Dolores Gordon Smith how he figured it was time to get serious or forget it
ROD REYNOLDS
‘First, an admission: I didn’t always want to be a writer.
‘Or to be more accurate, although I’ve always loved books, I never imagined being a writer when I was younger because it seemed such an impossibility – like dreaming of being a footballer or rock star. At age 29, I hadn’t written a word of fiction since school.
‘What changed? A few things. Approaching thirty and feeling unsettled in my career made me reappraise things. Having a writer friend say, “Why can’t it be us?” made the odds seem less daunting. And most of all it was hubris: the feeling that I could do better than some of the rubbish I read.