Chance
Test Leads to Novel
Joy for Dyslexic.
'Unnatural
Justice' by
Su Ridley.
 A
severely dyslexic woman who struggles to write a shopping list spoke of her pride
after publishing her first novel.
Mum-of-three Su
Ridley, 43, came up with the plot for the Gravesend-based crime thriller, Unnatural
Justice, after finding books her husband read to her on holiday too boring. The former market
trader, of Hatham Green, Hartley, hatched the twisting tale of murder, intrigue,
politics and passion before dictating the 90,000-word whodunit to a typist. Mrs Ridley said:
"When I was at school they just thought I was thick and I left with no O Levels.
I have trouble spelling and writing, and have to read something at least four
times to take it in. "But I have a
great memory and the whole book was in my head." . The novel, which
went on sale last week, deals with a police investigation into a series of horrific
date rapes. It takes readers
from the Thames in Gravesend, where a body is found, to Washington DC when a suspect
turns out to be the grandson of a congressman. Mrs Ridley spent
months researching the book, spending time in the US capital and quizzing police
about their methods. But she had to
battle to get her book published. She told News
Shopper: "We got flat rejections from four publishing houses and I was beginning
to give up hope. But I've been fighting dyslexia my whole life and there was no
way I was giving up. "I decided to
set up my own publishing company and now we've printed the book. What a high I'm
so proud." The author only
discovered she was dyslexic at the age of 40 by chance when her 13-year-old son
Kenton was diagnosed with the condition. She took him for
treatment and was persuaded to take tests, which showed why she had struggled
to read and write. January 2004. Jack
Lefley. With
thanks to the excellent News
Shopper.
Your experiences.
Please do e-mail us your own experiences
so that we can include them - anonymously if you wish - on this page.
A
social worker writes of her experiences with words.
Whoa!
Major Flashback.
Success
with the Direct Learning Reading Comprehension Exercise. | 
