Adele Parks: I had to eat canned food to pay the rent, then I got my first book deal of 30 worth £300,000

The best financial decision author Adele Parks MBE ever made was to write her first novel at the age of 30.

She’s now 54 and has since made millions from her best-selling thrillers and romance novels — and she tells Donna Ferguson that she takes the “feminist stand” that she never feels overpaid.

She lives in Surrey with her husband and son.

What did your parents teach you about money?

To be very careful. They were never in debt and never bought anything with credit cards. My dad was an engineer and my mom was mostly a stay-at-home mom while my sister and I were young.

They had plenty of money and we weren’t short, but we only ate out on birthdays and we only got treats at Christmas and for birthdays.

But everyone else did, so I didn’t feel attacked in any way. It was quite normal not to go on vacation every year, at least where we lived. Maybe there was a lot more wealth knocking around. It just wasn’t in Teesside, where I grew up.

Have you ever had trouble making ends meet?

Yes, when I did my first job, in advertising, making £8,000 a year. My parents were very clear that once I left college, I was on my own. Paying rent in London on that salary, even in the early 1990s, was very difficult.

I remember doing things like bringing extra handfuls of toilet paper from the office to make sure I had some in the house. I wasn’t going anywhere and there were weeks when I ate canned food and literally nothing else to make sure I could pay the rent.

I remember my boss telling me to buy more clothes – I had two work outfits that I was rotating – and going to the bathroom crying. I only had one jacket.

That period lasted about two years, until I moved up the career ladder. I remember when my salary rose to £15,000 I thought I was a millionaire.

How much did you make with your first book?

I actually got a two book deal when I was 30, after a bidding war between six publishers for my debut novel, Playing Away, and it was for £150,000 a book.

It was 1999 and I was still working in advertising and getting that contract was equivalent to six annual salaries.

I wanted to be a writer from a young age and left a pitch and a third of the novel on the desk of a famous agent at Curtis Brown, Jonny Geller, who absolutely loved it.

Playing Away became the first bestseller of the millennium, so I quit my day job and wrote the second in four months. All my other books became bestsellers too – I’ve written 23 novels in 23 years and I’ve been paid well for all of them.

What was the best year of your financial life?

Cover story: Adele Parks likes to collect vintage books, including the Cinderella Ladybug edition

It was 2009 when I was offered a very comfortable seven figure sum for a four book deal. I remember getting the call from my agent where he told me how much I was getting and knew it was a life changing amount.

And while I was thrilled and thrilled, my first thought was, I have to be careful not to waste it or do something crazy with it. I think that goes back to what I was taught in my childhood. I wanted to make sure money worked hard for me.

In the end, my husband and I used my advance, which was a huge sum, to buy a house in Guildford, Surrey, tear it down and build our dream house, which has four bedrooms and two offices. We still live there. I’d rather not say how much it cost us but it wasn’t cheap and I’d say we doubled our money.

Do you ever feel overpaid?

I know I’m in a special and fortunate position because the average salary of writers is around £7,000. But I take a feminist stance, never to feel like I’m being overpaid for what I do or that I shouldn’t be in this position. I think I have as much right to it as anyone else.

What’s the most expensive thing you’ve bought for fun?

An 18th century liquor cabinet that was adapted by artists into a funky bookcase where I keep my children’s books.

It cost me a few thousand pounds 14 years ago, which I think is a lot of money for a bookshelf, but I love it. Every time I look at it, it fills me with joy.

The best money decision you’ve made?

Write that first novel. It was a risk to spend all that time writing it. I had a good job then and a good salary. But I took that risk and it worked. After that it would be property. I bought my first home – a one-bedroom apartment in London for £57,000 – when I was 24, with a down payment of £11,000.

Since then I have moved up the property ladder and that has brought me great happiness and security, and in my opinion that is the best reason to spend money.

I think money alone is really very helpful in making your life more comfortable, and you and your loved ones happier.

Are you saving for a pension?

Yes, I’m saving quite a bit now and retirement is a good idea. I’ve identified an amount that I think will keep me pretty comfortable and that’s what I’m aiming for. I don’t intend to depend on anyone when I get old. I hope I can afford it even when I’m old.

I love my house and I can understand very well that people think: ‘I prefer to invest in my house.’ But at the same time you know that you are going to get old and you need money if you don’t earn, to take care of yourself.

We are an aging population and I think we should take as much responsibility for ourselves as possible.

Do you invest directly on the stock market?

Yes – my husband manages it and we go for green and ethical stocks. I am very careful where I put my money. I don’t invest in countries where I wouldn’t feel comfortable, and I like to think my money is going to good causes.

What’s the one luxury you treat yourself to?

Buying a rare or vintage book, such as one I had in my youth. It’s a little indulgence and the book can cost as little as £20. It means that I have endless editions of a particular book, such as Cinderella Ladybug for example, or Jane Austen’s Emma.

Do you donate money to charity?

I donate to St Mungo’s and Shelter, because I think homelessness is heartbreaking, and to Help the Aged and Alzheimer’s charities, because of elderly relatives we’ve lost.

What is your first financial priority?

Making sure my husband, my son and I don’t have to be stressed or worry about money. We have a beautiful life and I feel we are lucky to have it.

I don’t need yachts or helicopters, I don’t need designer clothes. But I like going out to dinner and not worrying too much about it or checking the price tags on everything when I’m shopping like I did when I was young.

Adele Parks’ latest psychological thriller, Just Between Us, is out now.