I have a dagger. It sits on the windowsill above my writing desk and it’s shiny. It’s not often that I can brag about my award so forgive me for a brief moment. This feeling won’t last though, it never does. It’ll be replaced by the mental torture involved in novel writing. Yes, torture, because writing has never been easy for me, yet here I am, still at it. I’m obsessed with writing because I’m obsessed with people. They fascinate me, screw me over, inspire me and drive me crazy. They lead me to question the very meaning of life, in particular my life. Writing provides a reliable escape in turbulent times, a point of observation and reflection to concentrate the mind for those of us who just can’t seem to get enough of stretching the depths of our imaginations.

I won the Debut Dagger in 2014 and four years later I NEVER LIE my debut psychological thriller is now available to pre-order on Amazon and Kobo amongst other online retailers. The book clinched me an agent and a publisher, helped along by the recognition awarded to me by the CWA. It wasn’t an easy journey to get here though. After I won the dagger I was approached by many brilliant agents, and rejected by all of them. But I kept at it and eventually I met Ivan Mulcahy at MMB Creative who took a genuine interest in what I was writing next. A partnership was born.

He’s been with me since the conception of I NEVER LIE. I now also have dramatic rights representation by Marc Simonson within the agency having turned my hand to screenwriting in the past two years. I met with Warp films and Little Island productions earlier this year, both were keen to meet this award winning up and coming writer having read a pilot episode (TV crime drama) I wrote – it’s been a busy year and it’s not over yet. I am writing the follow-up DON’T BLAME ME, a standalone psychological thriller that deals with the trappings of instant fame.

The CWA recognition was a real moment for me as a writer. It spurred me on to write the next page. It encouraged me to keep going when I questioned my own sanity. I NEVER LIE, to be published by Canelo on June 11^th, is the result of that perseverance and determination. I hope you enjoy the journey and leave a review so that I may move on to the next leg of this writing career. Support is critical in making that happen. So, let me say this once again, I have a dagger. It sits on the windowsill above my writing desk. It’s shiny and it means a lot to me because it reminds me to keep doing what I love to do, write, even if it isn’t easy.

https://thecwa.co.uk/find-an-author/sabral-jody/