Rejected by 50 agents, winning has changed my whole life
In 2019 Louise Morrish won the Daily Mail First novel competition with Operation Moonlight, published this week.
Winning the First novel Competition meant everything to me because all i’ve ever wanted to do is write and be published. it’s also given me the confidence to put my work out there. Luigi Bonomi, my agent, was someone i had hoped would take me on years ago, so that’s also a bit of a dream come true!
i have the backing of wonderful editors, copy editors and proof readers who all believe in me. One thing i’ve learnt from my editor is how to take constructive criticism. if you’re precious about your work, you won’t get very far.
i didn’t tell anyone i was entering the contest. i was at a very low ebb — i’d been rejected by more than 50 agents over nearly ten years. i’d been on the Faber writing course, which was helpful, but it hadn’t got me a publication deal.
i wouldn’t say it was a last- ditch attempt, but i was getting jaded. At 45, i felt i was getting long in the tooth.
i didn’t expect to win, i just knew that at last somebody in the industry would read my work. Then Luigi called and said: ‘You’ve won!’
My advice to anyone thinking of entering is do not give up. it doesn’t matter how old you are. i’m 48 now.
My son Andrew is 22 and a medical student. My twins, William and Ellen,
are 18 and heading for university. When they were young, i had to snatch five minutes here and there, feeling guilty to be indulging in what people called my ‘ hobby’. Since winning the contest, and landing a book deal and agent, i no longer feel guilty about writing! Writing brought me so much joy during Covid, it took me out of a horrible situation into other characters’ lives that i had control over.
My novel, Operation Moonlight, is a dual timeline historical novel, set in 1944 and 2018. it follows the story of reclusive Betty Shepherd, who’s about to turn 100. Her carer, Tali, persuades her to join the Century Society, a group of supercentenarians who meet to reminisce.
But Betty is hiding a dark secret from the war years, and doesn’t want to remember. Then Tali discovers some old letters and a gun hidden in a suitcase, and the secrets refuse to stay buried...
My family and i plan to spend the money from the advance on seeing the northern Lights, it’s been a long-time family ambition and we can’t wait.
i’m massively grateful to my publisher and the Daily Mail. i’ve been a librarian for 25 years and now run a busy secondary school library three days a week, which means the other four days i can legitimately say i’m writing, and nobody can argue with that any more!