23/05/2023
This is Karen Woods, a former cleaner turned best-selling author who only learned how to read and write aged 39.
Karen, 53, wants to represent people with bad starts in life, after she left school at 15 and only learned to read and write thanks to an adult literacy course at the age of 39. She has now written 27 novels and is known as Manchester’s Queen of Crime.
Karen said: “I was brought up on a council estate and my mum and dad split up when I was 13. All of those excuses don’t matter, if you get a bit of confidence and self-belief anything is possible.
“I feel I represent all those people who had bad starts in life. I want to be the inspiration for women who think that because they’ve got kids, they can’t do what they want. Nothing is set in stone if you believe in yourself. I'm on my 27th novel now and my dream hasn’t stopped there."
