We find out more about the process, her life, and the book.
How did you make the decision to become a full-time writer?
I have always been a writer. After university, I came down to London looking for a graduate job, and the role I got took me to Paris. I would spend my days working at the bank, then come home and write notes or plots that I was working on in my head. I had always considered writing to be a hobby that I loved, something I could do in my own time. But the urge to write started to consume me, and for the past two years, I've been juggling my writing along with a full-time banking job. I was working every spare hour that I had, often completing a twelve hour day in the office, only to come home and write into the night. On the weekends, I would spend 12-14 hours a day writing, and I even used all of my annual leave to complete my first book. Eventually, however, I started to feel exhausted, and I realised that writing was no longer a hobby, and that I had to make a decision.
Was it difficult to decide to leave your banking job?
Not really. If I am honest, I had never considered a career in Investment Banking. After I graduated and moved to London, I sort of fell into it. So when I contemplated leaving, it was less about choosing between two careers I liked equally; it was more a question of whether or not it was financially viable for me to leave my job.
I worked my last day a few weeks ago and I don’t have any regrets. I am very nervous about how my first book will be received, however, but I certainly don’t regret my decision to try, or my decision to leave my career in Investment Banking behind.
How has your day-to-day life changed?
Well, the hours certainly haven’t changed, and if anything, I work longer hours now than I did before. But I can honestly say that I wake up in the morning feeling happy about how I am going to spend my day, focusing on my writing.
Tell us about your novel.
It is called Splintered Memory, and it tells the story of Matt and Charlie Grayson. They have a seemingly idyllic lifestyle, until tragedy strikes, and one of them is left unable to remember anything about the other. The book examines the way different people cope with what looks at face value to be an impossible situation. The story is about love, heartache, trust and betrayal, and is told from the perspective of the four central characters. It's now available to download for Kindle on Amazon.co.uk.
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