'I learned I was dyslexic at 23, now I'm a published author'

Diagnosed with dyslexia at 23 years-old, author Andrew Wilson said he "could never have imagined reaching this point".

Now 38, Wilson has just had his debut novel published. He said: "It's probably been the toughest thing I've ever tried to do, but I managed to get there, very fortunately."

The writer from Stafford said he has always loved stories – when he was very young, he attempted to write what he described as Winnie the Pooh fan fiction.

But as he neared his teenage years, Wilson started to realise something was not quite right.

He told BBC Radio Stoke: "When I got to the age when people stopped reading to you and there were no pictures in the books anymore, I suddenly found a full page of words incredibly intimidating.

"English – reading and writing – at school was always my worst subject. I was very lucky I was good at other subjects.

"What I did was spend a lot of time trying to disguise what I saw as my failings."

His struggles persisted into university before he was eventually diagnosed with dyslexia.

"It pieced things together," Wilson said. "I didn't feel emotional about it but I was quite excited to have some extra time in my final exams at university.

"It was joining the dots and putting things together. Now things made sense."

Despite the difficulties he faced, Wilson said he always wanted to write and managed to get himself back into reading by listening to audio books.

He said: "Through my teenage years and 20s, I thought it seemed a ridiculous ambition for someone who barely reads and struggles so much with reading.

"But you get one opportunity in life, you've got to take it and do what you can. I thought 'you know what, I'm going to go for it and try to write something'."

That "something" blossomed into his debut novel Niflheim, which hit the shelves on Thursday and was published by Dorling Kindersley.

The story is described as a thriller set 130 years ago in an alternate Scandinavia and follows an orphan sent to a remote island "where death cannot be outrun".

It was not an easy road for Wilson, who said he had about 120 rejections before his story was picked up by DK.

Now Wilson wants to reach other "reluctant readers" and try to inspire the love of books he managed to rekindle in himself.

He said: "As someone who spent so many years not only not writing but basically not reading, to now reach this point is amazing."

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