TWO MILLION milestone!

Deep breath before my good news...
When I first set up this website, I was still on that difficult, long and winding road, trying desperately to get my first book deal. Do you remember the angst? The highs and the lows? My goodness, what a journey we've all shared here. Regulars will know that it took me ten years before I finally signed my first contract as an author. I've logged the highs and the lows on this blog as honestly as I dared, so you can probably imagine how I feel today, announcing the extraordinary news that I've now sold TWO MILLION books!

I know, I know. It's an off-the-scale  'pinch me' moment. I vividly recall posting when I hit a million sales and being humbled and overwhelmed because I couldn't even picture a million people. I never in my wildest dreams imagined I'd double that achievement!
This new figure is for sales of all my books to date - my four thrillers with Thomas & Mercer (an imprint of Amazon Publishing), my first two book-club reads with Bookouture and my foreign editions across more than 20 territories. 
It's been a real roller coaster ride, that's for sure, since my first book Recipes for Melissa was published in 2015. Along the way, I've changed genre to psychological thrillers and had the wild experience of a  'breakout' book in I Am Watching You. I wrote that first thriller out of contract, pretty much as a last throw of the dice (when the sales of my first two books were initially a little quiet). I genuinely had no idea how well the book would do, not just in English but across the world in translation.
It taught me that the author's life is never about one book or one edit; it's very much a long game. And I hope it will be reassuring to other writers to never give up believing, wherever you are on your writing journey.
For me today is mostly about counting my blessings. And saying thank you.
First - a massive thank you to all my publishers across the globe, especially Thomas & Mercer/ Amazon Publishing who've helped me sell a million copies of I Am Watching You in English alone! I want to thank all the patient editors who've believed in me and helped me through inevitable 'hiccups' along the way - you know who you are -  and an extra big thank you to my wonderful agent Madeleine Milburn and her superb and very dynamic team.
And of course, most important of all,  hero-grams go to you  - my lovely readers. Word of mouth played a big part in the success of I Am Watching You and so many of you have kindly continued to recommend my writing to others. I would be nowhere without you and am grateful for every single message and every single review.
​You really are the best!
I sign off with something cold in the fridge, ready for a celebration this evening. I'm going to be doing a Facebook Live at 8pm UK time (this evening Tuesday May 18th) to say thank you and to give away some prizes so do pop by on my Facebook Author page for that HERE.  Anyone who asks a question (in advance or live) or comments during the live will be in with a chance!
Meantime, it's back to work. I've started writing a brand new thriller while also making plans to launch Her Perfect Family this  Autumn.
Turns out my author life has evolved from that long and tricky winding road to one very delicious rolling road  ...