Let me say, straight away, that I did not write The Stranger In My Life with Janet Holt for the money. I realise that’s what the police thought when they came to my home to interview me for eight hours solid, but honestly, I didn’t.
Does anyone know what most writers actually earn, even well respected writers with a back catalogue of books? Less than £12k a year. Yes, that’s right, £12k. As The Guardian puts it succinctly, Authors’ incomes collapse to abject levels’.
I knew this when I took on the writing of The Stranger In My Life with Janet in 2010, but I’ve always had more than one job; I write websites, I curate magazines, I’ve worked in knowledge management, and I’m married to someone who brings in an income too. In short, I know there is no money in books, unless you are E.L. James or J.K. Rowling. And good on them, I say, but they are not the norm by any stretch of the imagination.
No, I wrote this book over a period of three years because a) it’s a riveting mystery and b) I think Janet deserves for her story to be told.
Janet was interviewed by the police too. Actually, to be more precise, she was arrested. Her solicitor advised her to say nothing while in custody and that’s exactly what she did.
We think the book says it all. Janet doesn’t have to say anything else if she doesn’t want to.
Please do read the blog posts and take a look at our website but for Janet’s full story, please click here.
The Stranger In My Life 