One Step Too Far (Seskis)

Author Bio
• Birth—N/A
• Where—Hampshire, England, UK
• Education—University of Bath
• Currently—lives in North London, Engnald


Seskis was born in Hampshire, England and grew up in an atmosphere of self-help. Her father among other things built a boat in the front garden on their commuter belt housing estate and took them all over the world with his free air travel and limited budget.

She tried selling bacon butties with her granny in the Halfway Hut at Wentworth Golf Club and door-to door encyclopedia selling in the US before settling down to study business at the University of Bath.

After university, she went on to work in marketing and advertising for more than 20 years and it was this experience which stood her in good stead when she found herself with a book to market. This was a book which she'd had the idea for whilst on holiday in Venice. Here's its brilliant starting-point:

It's funny how easy it is, when it really comes down to it, to get up from your life and begin a new one. All you need is enough money to start you off, and a resolve to not think about the people you're leaving behind.

The writing went swimmingly and soon she had a manuscript to sell. But life doesn't necessarily go according to plan and seven literary agents turned her down, so at the end of 2011 she decided to go it alone: "I worked out the pros and cons of starting up my own company and there were so many more pros, I thought if I do it and fail, at least I've tried."

This is where her marketing knowledge really helped, as she knew how to publicise her book and has been remarkably successful in building its sales. Within a year she had sold 100,000 ebook copies and 10,000 in hardback and she's just got herself an agent and signed a three-book deal with Penguin.

So what's the second secret of her success? The book has had stunning reviews, and is a genuinely page-turning commercial novel, as its numerous reviews suggest. (Used with permission from Writers Services.*)

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