Photo ©Jamie Rickets Photography
I am a six-times Sunday Times Bestselling author of ten books, have been shortlisted twice for RNA awards (for Novel of the Year in 2010 with Fairytale of New York and again in 2012 for Contemporary Novel of the Year for It Started With a Kiss), have been published in fifteen languages and been a bestseller in four countries, have sold a million books and still can’t believe all of the above has happened to me!
I always wanted to be a writer. My first ambition was to write a book worthy of display on the shelves of wonderful Kingswinford Library (which, at the time, was not much bigger than somebody’s living room, but to wide-eyed five-and-a-half year old me was a palace of dreams). Consequently, my childhood and teens were filled with lots and lots of ‘Chapter Ones’ and grand schemes for amazing stories that would set the world alight (if only I could write more than one chapter of them).
Then someone at sixth form college suggested that writing books was ‘childish’. So I stopped writing. It was a daft thing to do, but for the next ten years I didn’t write, choosing to believe the Sayers of Doom instead of listening to what my heart was telling me to do.
Fast-forward to 2001, when a lovely friend gave me a very old, reconditioned PC (which I was later to immortalise as Old F the coffee machine in my debut novel, Fairytale of New York). There was something about messing about on a computer keyboard that kickstarted ideas in my brain and one day I wrote a paragraph that began: This city is not mine by birthright… Seven years later, after one fatal PC crash, a very embarrassing email to a dodgy ex (who I’d sent the story so far to, asking for him to send me the chapters I’d lost) and a fantastically scary friend called Lindsey who wanted to read more than I had written, that paragraph had become Coffee at Kowalski’s – a novel I uploaded onto Authonomy.com which, amazingly, was spotted by an editor at AVON (HarperCollins) and published as Fairytale of New York in 2009.
Fairytale became an instant bestseller, reaching number 8 in the Sunday Times Bestsellers List and staying in the top 10 for five weeks. To date, it has sold over 150,000 copies (I thought it would be awesome if it sold 500, so you can imagine my shock when it passed the 100k mark…)
My next five novels, Welcome to My World, It Started With a Kiss, When I Fall in Love, Take A Look At Me Now and I’ll Take New York have all become top 20 Sunday Times Bestsellers, followed by A Parcel for Anna Browne, Searching for a Silver Lining, Christmas in St Ives (an ebook novella and prequel to Somewhere Beyond the Sea), Somewhere Beyond the Sea and The Day We Meet Again. To date, I have sold over one million books worldwide. I am also the founder of WriteFoxy – offering a whole host of resources for writers at all stages of their writing careers, including inspiration days, online resources, vlogs and more to be announced soon. I’ve been vlogging about writing and my books since 2010 and you can watch them and subscribe to my channel HERE.
One note for you, if you’re a writer: the dream is possible. It happened for me, so it can happen for you. Never stop believing and never stop creating awesome word-worlds for people to wander through. And if you’d like to know more about writing (or anything else), email me at mirandawurdy@gmail.com!
Photo ©Jamie Ricketts Photography/Express & Star
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mirandadickinsontheauthor 
Well done Miranda, better make this yearly look forward to my Christmas present off Pam.
Aw, thanks Barbara! xx
Hi Miranda, Just finished ‘When I fall In love’ and can so empathise with Lucas. I have stage 4 Metastatic Endometrial cancer and have started a message box for my loved ones. Hope I can make things easier for those I leave behind. Hugs and Blessings xo
Just finished take a look at me know whilst in Thailand. What a brilliant book. I couldn’t believe when I turned to the first page where you said you wanted your books to be on the shelves of kingswinford library as I grew up in wordsley. The story about San Francisco has only added fuel to my fire to visit there very soon. Thank you xx
We used to work together miranda in Hagley hall units.what a terrible job we had working for them two idiots.well all I can say is well done to you.I have read your books and remember fondly US sitting at the church garden and you telling me you were writing a book. Love mandy…..I was the one with the bike ha ha
So awesome to know you are from kingswinford, I grew up there so couldn’t believe I’d read it right as I finished ‘I’ll take new york’ which by the way had me hooked from beginning to end. Well done for getting the black country on the map….now to decide which of your books to read next 🙂
Hi Miranda, last year I left the Black Country to run a busy pub near Pewsey, Wiltshire. A couple of weeks ago I ordered a NYC travel guide for my impending holiday and was too excited to wait for it to arrive so i went to check out the village charity shop. Walking towards the book section a copy of Fairytale of New York sprang off the bookshelf. It was as though it had waited for me to walk past, so spotting the title i decided to buy it for my holiday reading. I kept it till last week’s flight to JFK and as soon as i read your aspiration to grace the shelves of Kingswinford Library, I was even more certain your book had sensed a fellow Midlander and picked me that day! Due to sight seeing and holidaying, I’m in New Orleans for this second week, I’ve only finished reading the book this afternoon. I can honestly say it’s been an absolutely bosting read mate, all the better as i could soak up the nyc atmosphere for real! I was hooked and loved the characters and the storyline. Having since read Remember from this site too, I have rediscovered my joy of reading. My reason for writing….. I’m just wondering who is going to do all the work when i get home as i plan to read the rest of your books! Thank you, please keep up the good work. 😁
Hello Miranda. I am an avid reader, I’ve read thousands of books. My favourite authors include Jill Mansell, Sophie Kinsella (I was a fan before the film!) and Katie Fforde. I am on page 173 of Take a look at me now. I am very much enjoying your book. I find your description of her first shift in the diner to be… too accurate, so much so that it almost pains me to continue reading! I write this because I wanted to tell you that (so far) I love the book, I intend to read all the other books you have written (you write very likeable and engaging protagonists and interesting plot-lines) but this scene touched me immensely. Until two months ago I had spent 10 years in hospitality and never have I come across a book which describes the trade as frankly as you have. I wanted to tell you that I appreciate how much thought you put into this scene – the hospitality trade is too frequently regarded as a lowly and easy job, however, you have shown this is not the case. Maybe I am talking nonsense but I feel that too many authors nowadays don’t really know what it feels like to graft. Proper hard work. I like you because you do, which comes across in your writing. Thank you. Thank you for not belittling ten years of my working life.
Kind regards,
Your latest fan.
Hi Eirene, thank you so much for your lovely comment. I’ve worked in hospitality too and I know how hard it can be – I always want my characters’ jobs to be true to life. I really hope you enjoy the rest of the story, too! xx
Miranda I love love love your books! I can’t wait to get in from work and after sorting out my 3 children diving into your latest which I’m almost done but don’t want to finish cos I’m loving it so much!!!!! I have to add that I first began reading as I found you were living in kingswinfird area and I come from
Lower gornal and now Manchester ! Please keep writing I live your stories so much ! Karen Smillie x. My grammar and punctuation is shocking please forgive
Hi Karen and thanks so much! I really appreciate you reading my books, especially being a Black Country girl :o) I live in Lower Gornal now – talk about a small world! Happy reading xx
Just finished Take a look at me now. Wow what a good read i could not put it down. I was so hooked on who was Nell going to choose. Thank you for another brillant book.
I have just finished I’ll take New York. I have honestly never loved a book more. It was an emotional roller coaster. It make me angry and upset but so happy and all mushy when I finished it! I have many more of your books and I can’t wait to start another one. I’ve recently been going through my own emotional dilemmas and this book has given me hope that happily ever after can happen. It also made me want to book a trip to New York this winter. Thank you so much!
Miranda! I love this! I love you! (And not just because I’m also from Wolverhampton.) You’re an amazing talent and your words make me smile…they make me smile a lot. They also make my nan smile, which in turn makes me smile even more. All in all, your work is resulting in a great deal of smiling. Please don’t ever stop doing this 😊 Xx
Hi Ms Miranda, you have written that people from all over the world message you about your books. Let me add that you have a fan in Pakistan as well. I picked up your book “fairytale in New York” from an airport bookshop three years ago and since then I have read it numerous times. Whenever I feel down, I seek advice from Rosie and Mr Kowalski 🙂 they have always been helpful in my life’s hurdles 🙂 I only wish I find someone like Ed but guys like him are hard to find nowadays 😉 Just want to say thank you as your words have touched so many lives (including mine). God bless and love you 💚
Hi Miranda I have just finished your book It Started with a kiss ! What a lovely story and I was so thrilled to read about the visit to Cannock Chase for the bike trails (I live 5 minutes from the chase and enjoy walking my Dalmatian ‘Charlie’ there most days 😁). Can’t wait to read more of your books, well done ❤️
Hey there,
I’m Suhani from India and I just wanted to share my experience sorta. So I ordered a mystery box from instagram and came across 10 books which I had no idea about and this one book- It all started with a kiss caught my eye and I read the summary and the book and ohmaigawd I’m so so happy to come across this masterpiece and I genuinely have seen changes in my attitude lately (all positive) and I’m very definite that a part of it is because of this novel.. thankyouso much!
I just finished reading The Secret Voices and I loved it. Started reading it yesterday and could not put it down. Reminds me so much of Val McDermid but totally different, in your own unique way. Ready to read the next installment so write quickly.
This is wonderful, thank you so much, Bev! I adore Val’s books so I’m very flattered by the comparison! Cora’s second case, The Silent Child, is out now and I’ve just written the third book in the series, which will be out in April. There’s a lot more to come! Thanks so much for reading xx