Diane O'Toole

I was born in Gorton and grew up in Longsight, Manchester, into what was to become a large family of seven brothers and five sisters - talk about fun, laughter, tears, fisty-cuffs and mischief; I could have you captivated for hours on end. Maybe I'll save all that for another book! As a child my playground was Belle Vue, one of the largest amusement parks in Europe in its day. There are many stories I could tell about those days, and maybe one day I will; I have always been known by my family and friends as a great and funny storyteller - it surprises many that I haven't, as a writer, entered into the chick-lit, humour genre. As a young girl I developed an insatiable passion for books and that passion grew and developed with me. I have read almost all the classics; Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Anthony Trollope and, of course, my favourite classic of all, Thomas Hardy.During my teens; Virginia Andrews, Stephen King and James Herbert were amongst my favourite authors, and then after watching a spy thriller movie, I developed a taste for the political thriller; Daniel Silva’s 'Moscow Rules' is probably my all time favourite. I’m also a huge, huge fan of John Grisham’s.For my first novel, Rings of Smoke, I drew on real life experiences, particularly in respect of the protagonist Erin Fallon. With stalkers, a runaway mother and abduction, I had the bones for what I believed was a good story. It took almost four years to write, as I had a full time job.I self-published the book on Amazon in order to test the market. Although I thought I had something sellable, I really needed to know what total strangers thought about it and I have to say that the feedback has been wonderful and very encouraging. Enough at least to spur me into writing the sequel, which many of those who reviewed Rings of Smoke said they were looking forward to reading. Rings of Smoke will be available for publication in September this year, you can pre-order the book now through Britiansnextbestseller.co.ukI am currently more than halfway through writing the sequel and I hope to have that completed sometime this Autumn.On a final note, my ultimate goal is to work full-time as a writer, as I believe that I have many more stories to tell!