THREE years ago, Pauline Toohey made the life-changing decision to leave behind a 25-year career with Victoria Police to pursue her dream of becoming an author.
The Werribee resident knew it would be difficult to swap her old life for writing, but the gamble has paid off.
Toohey’s first book, Pull of the Yew Tree, was recently released by London-based publisher Indigo Dreams and has been picked up by Werribee’s Dymocks store.
The novel is also available in book stores across the UK.
Toohey says the book, the first in a trilogy, took about nine months to write and more than two years to get published.
“Like everyone, I sent off my manuscript to publishers and waited for someone to accept it,” she says. “It took two years, but I wasn’t going to give up.”
The book is set in 15th century Ireland.
“What I write is what I love to read,” Toohey says. “I love the period from the 12th to 15th centuries. I knew my story was going to take place around there so I just had to find the place and characters. The second book in the series took two years to write, but it was easier to write. The words come as they come.”
Toohey is about to release the first book in a series based on her years as a police officer.
She says that while the crime series will draw on her experiences, she’s not the main character.
“The series is based on my 25 years as a policewoman, but it’s a light-hearted look at how humans are expected to work in a robotic environment and turn off their feelings,” she says.
Toohey says that while her former career was emotionally, mentally and physically challenging, there are times when she misses being a police officer.
“I miss it dreadfully,” she says. “I miss the people, the ups and downs and the lifestyle of being a policewoman. But the body said. ‘I can’t do this any more’.
“It was time for me to find a new direction in life.”
