And people go on about how single mum JK Rowling had it tough, writing her book in Edinburgh cafes while the nipper slept? People should consider how tough author Martina Cole has had it….
Poor Irish Catholic family living in some Essex dive
Expelled from school at 15
Married at 16
Divorced at 17
A mother at 18
Her father and mother died within days of each other
She and her son, Chris, lived a hostel
Worked two jobs as a single mum
The first time she was paid for writing was when she had a script accepted by the BBC, but it wasn’t until she was 30 that she decided to give it a proper go and sent off a manuscript called Dangerous Lady to an agent she plucked out of The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook
“And I submitted it on the Friday and then on Monday I got this call, this man’s voice, you know, very proper, and he said, ‘Martina Cole? Martina Cole, you are going to be a star!’”
He (the agent) sold the first two books for a then record of £150,000 and life for her and Chris changed overnight. And she’s never for a moment stopped being grateful for that. “I try to have a nice day every day. I try as hard as I can. Because there was a long time when I didn’t have very many nice days at all. It was just all work and graft and paying bills.”
The Guardian (aka a posh paper as it’s described in the article) has the interview.
