A Wirral author with dyslexia has launched her latest novel following the international success of previous work.
Ruth Parry’s new murder mystery novel Thirty Pieces Of Silver aims to not only do great things in the literary world, but also inspire others with dyslexia to defy their learning disability.
Her first novel Thirty Pieces Of Silver - described as a "gripping and interactive murder mystery thriller set in Lowchester in 1949" — is the first in a trilogy of books that follow PC Septimus Plant’s investigative endeavours.
Early signs are very positive, with five-star reviews internationally and Ruth, from Wallasey, is hosting a big 1940s-themed book launch at Fort Perch Rock in New Brighton on Friday, September 8 at 6.30pm.
The latest novel comes off the back of the success of her previous supernatural thrillers — 2016's Divine Timing, The Golden Quill, Burning The Parchment and Restoring The Relic.
All four books sold very well internationally through Pegasus, with Harry Potter’s Rupert Grint endorsing them, coverage from the likes of BBC Radio Merseyside and ITV2 and being nominated for Top Female Authors of 2018.
Ruth says her literary success was nothing more than a pipe dream prior to that.
After an embarrassing moment in front of her class whilst in primary school, Ruth discovered she had dyslexia and buried her natural flair for storytelling — having been convinced she wasn’t good enough at spelling to pursue a career in writing.
Ruth explained: "Whilst in primary school, we had a task of standing up in front of the class and pronouncing how words sounded phonetically.
"When it came to my turn, it was like the letters on the chalkboard had swapped around and I just couldn’t grasp it.
"At the time it felt humiliating and when we discovered I had dyslexia it hurt me because all I wanted was to be a best-selling author."
Ruth instead went on to become a carer and in 2020 she won an award for Services To The NHS during Covid — a career that she has taken great pride in.
Becoming an author, however, was very much a renaissance for the 57-year-old thanks to modern technology and online tools such as Grammarly.
Ruth said: "Back in the day, if you had something like dyslexia that was that — becoming a writer was discouraged and seen as an impossibility.
"I’ve always been a natural storyteller with a great imagination but I suppressed any thoughts of becoming a writer until I turned 50 and thought I’d just go for it."
Ruth writes her novels through her I-Pad — using a talk to type app and Grammarly to assist with spelling, whilst requiring absolute quiet in order to work.
She received incredible feedback from her first four novels, with countless 5-star reviews globally, and to follow up with this overwhelming success, early signs are that Thirty Pieces Of Silver is set to be a big hit too.
Ruth said: "The feedback so far for my latest novel has been amazing and I’m really looking forward to the launch event at the historic Fort Perch Rock from 7pm on Friday, September 8.
"It's free to attend, with 1940s dress optional and I’ll be giving a talk about my journey as a dyslexic author — I’m hoping it will inspire others with dyslexia and show them that it doesn’t have to define you or hold you back."
Thirty pieces of silver is available to buy on Amazon.
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