A best-selling author who learnt to read and write at 39 has now written 27 novels
- last year
A best-selling author who only learnt to read and write at 39 while working as a cleaner has now written 27 novels.
Karen Woods, 53, wrote her first book at 39 after taking an Adult Literacy course – and has now written best-selling books and sold-out theatre shows.
Hailed as Manchester’s Queen of Crime, the author credits reading and writing with changing her life and says she wants to represent people with bad starts in life.
Now, Karen has signed book deals with publisher HarperNorth, and has appeared on TV shows including Loose Women and The One Show.
Karen said: “I was bought up on a council estate and my mum and dad split up when I was 13.
"All of those excuses don’t matter, if you get a bit of confidence and self-belief anything is possible.
“I feel I represent all those people who had bad starts in life. I want to be the inspiration for women who think that because they’ve got kids, they can’t do what they want.
“Nothing is set in stone if you believe in yourself. I'm on my 27th novel now and my dream hasn’t stopped there.
“I write real books and real problems and I’ve been called Manchester’s Queen of Crime. I've always wanted to wear a crown.”
Karen left school at 15 when she was pregnant and tragically gave birth to a stillborn baby at seven months.
When she left education, she hadn’t learnt to read or write as she had trouble concentrating and would regularly skip school with other students.
She worked as a cleaner and at 39 was offered a promotion – but was told she would need to write emails as part of the job.
She attended an Adult Literacy Course and after two attempts, passed the test required to graduate from the program.
“When I used to work as a cleaner and got the promotion, I lost loads of sleep thinking they would find out I couldn’t read or write,” said Karen.
“I thought I could blag my way around it, but they sent me on an Adult Literacy Course and as the lessons went on I started to take an interest.
“Once I got the certificate in my hand I realised anything was possible – I could read and write and was the same as everyone else.”
While on a wellbeing course, she revealed that her dream was to write a novel – and just three months later, she finished hand-writing her first book Broken Youth.
Against all odds, Karen’s book was picked up by Manchester based Empire Publications, and since then she’s written 20 books for the publishers.
Now, Karen has had book deals with publishers HarperNorth, who have published her last seven books, and has written sell-out shows at the Lowry Theatre and Middleton Arena.
Karen Woods, 53, wrote her first book at 39 after taking an Adult Literacy course – and has now written best-selling books and sold-out theatre shows.
Hailed as Manchester’s Queen of Crime, the author credits reading and writing with changing her life and says she wants to represent people with bad starts in life.
Now, Karen has signed book deals with publisher HarperNorth, and has appeared on TV shows including Loose Women and The One Show.
Karen said: “I was bought up on a council estate and my mum and dad split up when I was 13.
"All of those excuses don’t matter, if you get a bit of confidence and self-belief anything is possible.
“I feel I represent all those people who had bad starts in life. I want to be the inspiration for women who think that because they’ve got kids, they can’t do what they want.
“Nothing is set in stone if you believe in yourself. I'm on my 27th novel now and my dream hasn’t stopped there.
“I write real books and real problems and I’ve been called Manchester’s Queen of Crime. I've always wanted to wear a crown.”
Karen left school at 15 when she was pregnant and tragically gave birth to a stillborn baby at seven months.
When she left education, she hadn’t learnt to read or write as she had trouble concentrating and would regularly skip school with other students.
She worked as a cleaner and at 39 was offered a promotion – but was told she would need to write emails as part of the job.
She attended an Adult Literacy Course and after two attempts, passed the test required to graduate from the program.
“When I used to work as a cleaner and got the promotion, I lost loads of sleep thinking they would find out I couldn’t read or write,” said Karen.
“I thought I could blag my way around it, but they sent me on an Adult Literacy Course and as the lessons went on I started to take an interest.
“Once I got the certificate in my hand I realised anything was possible – I could read and write and was the same as everyone else.”
While on a wellbeing course, she revealed that her dream was to write a novel – and just three months later, she finished hand-writing her first book Broken Youth.
Against all odds, Karen’s book was picked up by Manchester based Empire Publications, and since then she’s written 20 books for the publishers.
Now, Karen has had book deals with publishers HarperNorth, who have published her last seven books, and has written sell-out shows at the Lowry Theatre and Middleton Arena.