Seven months ago, 17-year-old supermarket worker Estelle Maskame told the Press and Journal her dream was to be taken on by a publisher and to make a career out of writing.
Now that dream has become a reality.
The Peterhead writer, who has taken the internet by storm with her three-part teenage romance series Did I Mention, revealed on Twitter – where she is followed by more than 126,000 people – that she had signed up with publishers Black and White to begin printing the series for her legion of fans.
The books chart the illicit love affair of soon-to-be step-siblings Eden Munro and Tyler Bruce, who are thrust together over a summer break.
Prior to the deal being announced, Estelle had been posting chapters of her novels online for free – where she attracted her massive following.
Last night, Estelle said the deal was “crazy”.
She said: “It kind of happened really fast. Honestly, it was a bit out of the blue.
“The night that I got the phone call from Black and White saying they wanted to publish it I think went about screaming around the house for a few hours. They got in contact with us – I was really lucky. It was really easy how it all came about.
“It follows the story of a teenager. She goes to spend the summer with her dad in a different state – it’s set in America.
The girl ends up having three new step brothers and she ends up falling for them. It’s about their struggle with society. It’s not really considered normal for step siblings to be in a relationship.”
As part of the book deal, Estelle has since removed her work from websites. Initially, reaction to the decision to do so was mixed.
“Everyone kind of went a bit wild. Everyone (the fans) is a bit obsessive about it. Because it’s been online for them to read over the years, a lot of them has really grown attached to the novels, so a lot of them were a heartbroken knowing it’s going to be offline.
“But they’re all happy again now – knowing why they’re being taken down. My family is really proud and my friends are really happy for me,” she explained.
Estelle added that she would continue to focus her efforts on the series for now, but had ideas for future novels.
Black and White are expected to announce the publishing details of the series in the new year.