I often get asked how I got my start as a professional author. I expect most people who do what I do get asked this question. For me, it dates back to my childhood and my very first novel, which would eventually set me on the road to fame and fortune. Okay, some fame. I’m still waiting for the fortune! I was between ten and eleven years old when I wrote it. My mother held on to it ever since, as mothers tend to do with such things – and it suddenly occurred to me that I’ve been carting the blast...