I REALISED MY DREAM OF BECOMING A WRITER

Daisy White, 45, is a crime author (dewhiteauthor.com), and lives in Brighton with her sons James, 15, and Ollie, 12

I’LL never forget writing my first acknowledgement page in the back of my debut crime novel. It was a pinch-me moment and really made me feel like an author.

I have my eccentric aunt to thank for my crime-writing career. she loved horses, and when I was 12, she gave me a copy of Jilly Cooper’s Riders.

It wasn’t really suitable for a 12-year-old but I don’t think she knew how racy it was. I remember reading it in my bedroom knowing my parents wouldn’t approve.

But I couldn’t put it down. I was blown away by the glamorous characters and beautiful descriptions.

When I read the acknowledgements page, I was amazed to see how many people went into creating a book, from researching it to publishing it. At that moment, I suddenly felt certain that I wanted to become an author.

After school, I worked for an airline but wrote in my spare time. At first, I wrote romance novels, inspired by Jilly but soon I turned to writing crime.

In 2013, I quit my job and took on odd jobs while I wrote.

And in 2017, my debut book Glass Dolls was published – the first of a series set in Brighton in the 50s.

The book reached the top 100 and I went on to write more, including two standalone thrillers for publishing house HQ. Now writing is my full-time job – and I often think back to reading Riders as a child.

Jilly is an incredible storyteller with strong female heroines. I model my main characters on the women I loved reading about in her books.

Being an author is a childhood dream come true.

■Murder on the Island, by Daisy White (£8.99, Amazon) is available on February 16.