“I enjoy trying to work out what’s really going on in a story and pulling those threads together to get to the truth,” she said.

Her life of crime writing was brought to Tallangatta and Corryong yesterday as part of the High Road to Reading program.

In 1990 she wrote what she described as the first of a few “terrible” manuscripts, but she has since published seven books.

The first, Frantic (2007) is about a paramedic working alongside a Sydney detective.

About 30 people heard Howell talk at Tallangatta about “my journey as a writer” and how it was influenced by her old career as a paramedic.

A big motivation is helping others pursue their own writing dreams.

“I try to encourage them not to give up, even if the work feels bad,” she said.

“You can write something and the draft is never as good as it seems in your head, but you just have to keep going.”

The High Road program is a statewide promotion to encourage reading.