Don't Tell Me I Can't......Go From Police Officer To Author

She used to solve crimes, but now Clare Mackintosh writes her own

- Kara O'neill

As I finished typing the last sentence, I hit the full-stop key with a dramatic flourish. The rush was similar to what I'd felt after solving a crime.

But the days of being a police inspector were far behind me now. In fact, I’d just finished my third novel…

Ever since I was a child, I’d wanted to be a writer. But everyone always said how difficult it was, and that the money was never steady. Instead, I found a job in the police force. And within a few months, I met Rob, then 23, at work.

In January 2004, we got married. I was blissfully happy, and my career was going from strength to strength – it wasn’t long before I was promoted to sergeant.

With everything going so well, Rob and I decided to start a family. Struggling to conceive, we tried IVF and I fell pregnant with twins in the summer of 2006.

When Josh and Alex were born that November, at just 28 weeks, they were tiny, but strong.