"It was like a kick in the pants and it was what I needed to start me writing again."
She had three novels written before a publisher accepted one.
"I wasn't disheartened, because I kept getting positive feedback. Publishers said they knew I could write, but it was a matter of finding the right subject and approach."
That came with Goodnight My Angel, originally a supernatural story about internet stalking but which, on the advice of her agent, she changed to have a crime slant.
She had found her forte and when it was accepted for publication, she was "floating on air".
"I love crime writing, because it is genre which is so wide - it encompasses so many elements from internet and computer crime to domestic abuse."
Gradually, teaching commitments began to wane - she taught biology at the former Walton Comprehensive as well as Mostyn House in Parkgate - as her writing career took off, although she still takes writing workshops at Liverpool's John Moores university.
And as with many writers, she sees inspiration everywhere.
"I was driving around Sefton Park and got stuck behind a bin lorry and was watching as they tipped the bins inside.
"Suddenly I got a flash of a body being tipped into the bin and I started thinking about what would happen in real life."
The result was The Dispossessed, the first of her stories set in Liverpool and featuring Det Ch Inspector Rickman and his team. The second, Now You See Me, followed- it is just out in paperback - and the third is due for release in spring next year.
