“Finding a publisher had its challenges, rejections are inevitable, but I had given up my dream once before, I was determined not to do it again.”
Bestselling author Louise Jenson had put aside her childhood writing dream – until a car accident left her immobile and in need of some joy…
An author was all I ever wanted to be. As a child I loved writing mysteries, illustrating the pages and designing the covers of my book series ‘The Fantastic Five’ (absolutely in no way influenced by Enid Blyton’s ‘The Famous Five’). As a teen, writing became my sanctuary, my safe space, a way to try and make sense of my feelings.
I remember with clarity sitting in front of the careers advisor during my final year of school holding my dreams out to her in the palms of my hand.
‘An author,’ she had raised her eyebrows. ‘That’s unrealistic and unattainable.’
‘But I love writing stories. There’s nothing else I want to do.’
‘You can’t make a living out of stories,’ she was adamant, and she was the expert, or so I thought.
To my shame I left her office with my head hanging low, my hopes in tatters, and I followed her advice of getting an office job. Something sensible and stable and a million miles away from what I wanted to be doing.
I didn’t write again.
My thirties were a car crash, literally. In an instant I lost my mobility and this, coupled with chronic pain led to clinical depression and anxiety. My life became very bleak, without being able to walk I lost my sense of freedom, my sense of self. I knew, if I wanted to recover (and I wanted to recover) I needed a positive mind set but I was desperately unhappy.
‘You need a hobby’ my spinal consultant said. ‘Take up knitting.’ It didn’t appeal to me but I knew he was right. I needed… something. I remembered the joy I used to find in writing, the comfort, and, tentatively, I began writing a short story about two best friends, Grace and Charlie. In my minds eye I could see Grace digging up a memory box the girls had buried as teenagers, trying to find a clue to helep her understand Charlie’s last words ‘I did something terrible, Grace. Please forgive me.’
Grace and Charlie transported me to another a world where I forgot my immobility, forget everything except unravelling the mystery I was creating. I wrote through the night when pain jabbed me awake. I wrote in hospital waiting rooms.
Finally my ‘short story’ reached 90k words – a book!
Finding a publisher had its challenges, rejections are inevitable, but I had given up my dream once before, I was determined not to do it again. Eventually I found a home for my debut, The Sister. It’s indescribable, the myriad feelings as I watched my story reach, and stay at, the number one spot on Amazon for weeks, first in the UK and then in other countries. It quickly sold over half a million copies and was snapped up for translation by 25 territories.
My accident changed my life in ways I didn’t expect. It opened up the opportunity to pursue my dream nearly twenty years after I had given up on it.
I shall never give up on anything again.
Louise Jensen has sold over a million English language copies of her International No. 1 psychological thrillers The Sister, The Gift, The Surrogate, The Date and The Family. Her novels have also been translated into twenty-five languages, as well as featuring on the USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestseller’s List. Louise’s sixth thriller, The Stolen Sisters is newly published.
When Louise isn’t writing thrillers, she turns her hand to penning love stories under the name Amelia Henley. Her No 1 Bestselling debut as Amelia Henley, The Life We Almost Had, is out now.
About THE STOLEN SISTERS:
Sisterhood binds them. Trauma defines them. Will secrets tear them apart?
Leah’s perfect marriage isn’t what it seems but the biggest lie of all is that she’s learned to live with what happened all those years ago. Marie drinks a bit too much to help her forget. And Carly has never forgiven herself for not keeping them safe.
Twenty years ago The Sinclair Sisters were taken. But what came after their return was far worse. Can a family ever recover, especially when not everyone is telling the truth…?
Having trouble starting, sticking with or completing a writing project? Meet your Creative Gremlins! Seven Creative Gremlins is the perfect travel companion for any writer, brand new or experienced, who is embarking on a creative journey. With wit and hard-won wisdom, published author Nicola Jackson and creativity coach Teresa Wilson explain how these Creative Gremlins are the cause of writers’ doubts, fears and stalling strategies – and (most importantly) offer you the tools to help you get past them in order to achieve your writing dreams.
Pick up your copy today for just £1.99 ebook/£6.99 pbac
How a life changing accident returned one author to her writing dreams