IT’S been a long battle but a dyslexic woman has finally released her debut novel after more than two decades of trying to find a publisher.

T J Hobbs is dyslexic and found it almost impossible to find a publisher to work with her.

But she has now had novel Day Trips to Heaven published by Local Legend.

She said: “It has only taken 22 years, trying to get anyone in publishing interested enough to read my work!

“But finally I found someone who is prepared to work with a dyslexic writer with a story to tell and to invest their time and expertise in getting it ready for publication.

“I only found out about Local Legend from the magazine Kindred Spirit when they announced the publisher’s spiritual writing competition.

“I entered it and was a runner-up. But Nigel Peace at Local Legend still wanted to publish my novel, even though he has had to put up with my dyslexic spelling.”

Ms Hobbs was not diagnosed with dyslexia until she left school, by which time she had become frustrated with how difficult she found spelling.

She said: “I had been labelled by my teachers and told what I could and couldn’t do, and this was still with me in my mind, telling me I would not be able to write a novel.

“Fortunately, the idea nagged at me until I decided to give it a go.

“I think now that my dyslexia has been a blessing and a curse in my life as it has made starting a writing career extremely difficult but it has also made me very determined and resourceful which has pushed me on – especially after getting piles of rejection letters from agents.”

Day Trips to Heaven is now available on Amazon.