Civil servant retires early to spend time with her pet dogs and springboards into a surprise new career as a successful novelist

A former civil servant who took early retirement to spend more time with her beloved dogs was taken by surprise when it provided a springboard into a brand new career as a successful novelist.

Working in IT for the Civil Service for 35 years, when Michelle Torlot, 57, left in 2018 she had not really planned beyond devoting more time to her pooches – Charlie Brown, a German shepherd/Labrador cross, River, a white German shepherd, and Obi, a chocolate Labrador.

Putting pen to paper as a distraction when Charlie Brown died in 2019, before she knew it, Michelle, of Lowestoft, Suffolk, says her stories gained so many fans that she was earning an income from writing.

She said: “It started out as a hobby really, a way to cope when one of my pups died. I never thought it would turn into the new career that it has become.

“But now I’m constantly writing. I put five chapters out online at a time and I get messages from fans telling me to hurry up, because they want to read what happens next.”

Michelle, who is single, had been planning a relaxed retirement, sharing her days with her dogs, who she trains to compete in agility competitions.

“It was great that I made the decision to retire,” she said. “It meant I had a really special year with my dog Charlie Brown before he passed away, aged 12, in 2019.

“It was his passing that led me into writing.”

Before losing her dog, Michelle had invested funds from her retirement collection in a PlayStation.

She said: “I couldn’t decide what games to get and someone suggested Red Dead Redemption. When I played it, I loved the storyline.”

Starting to read Red Dead Redemption fanfiction online, Michelle was fired with enthusiasm and began to write her own.

She said: “I started writing my own fanfiction for the video game and noticed that people loved it.”

She added: “When Charlie Brown died writing became my way of coping. I suddenly found I was doing it all the time, I think it took my mind off the grief.”

As her stories gained popularity, Michelle started writing her own original work too.

She said: “I got an idea for a series about werewolves and, as I wrote the stories, I put them up online for people to read on Inkitt, an online reader-powered publisher.”

She added: “I started posting dystopian and fantasy stories, too. Now, I have about 10 books available on the platform, with my biggest hit being the Wolf Wars trilogy.

“It’s very much a dystopian thriller saga.”

Uploading her work to GALATEA, an app which adapts original stories into immersive experiences for readers by enhancing them with chat fiction, sound and visual effects, has seen Michelle’s books become a roaring success.

Fans pay to access the content on the app and Michelle’s work has become such a hit that it now earns her a regular living.

She said: “I think if I hadn’t lost Charlie Brown, I probably wouldn’t have been as prolific as I have been, because I really needed to write to take my mind off my grief.

“Initially, I was just writing for me so the fact that other people enjoy my work too is a great bonus.”

She added: “I want to try my hand at different kinds of genres, but right now I’m really enjoying exploring dystopian and fantasy worlds.

“I steer clear of vampires though!”

Meanwhile, Michelle’s family and friends have been blown away by her success.

She said: “They’ve all been so supportive. When I first started writing the fanfiction, a friend messaged me to say that she had been reading one of my books and was late for work because she got so hooked that she lost track of time.”

She added: “It was a quite a nice compliment that my books were so captivating.”

Despite her success as an author, Michelle says her dogs still come first.

She said: “I’m still taking them to competitions and I recently added a new puppy to the family.”

She added: “He’s a black Labrador called Axel and is just 13 weeks old.

“Working on the books is great because I’m not bound to any working hours. I can spend as much time as I want to with my pups and write when I can.

“It’s also nice that I can do it from the comfort of my own home. They don’t have to miss me when I’m working.”

Now Michelle writes full-time, advertising her books GALATEA, where people pay to access them.

She said: “Right now, my main focus is completing the Wolf Wars trilogy, I’m about two thirds of the way through the final book.

“But I’ve already got an idea for a new series running around my head. I don’t even have time to watch TV anymore, I’m always writing or coming up with the next storyline.”

She added: “I never thought this would be my life and sometimes I still can’t believe it. I have a brand new career doing something that I love.

“As long as people keep reading, I’ll keep writing.”

View Michelle’s book collection here: inkitt.com/michelletorlot