From Two Sales to Bestseller: UK Author Goes Viral When English author Vicky Ball sold two of her books at an event in December, she was delighted. She shared the news on X, and said she was pleased because at some previous events she had not sold any books at all. But she's now sold many more copies than that, after her post went viral and was seen millions of times by people around the world. Her first novel, called Powerless, quickly climbed up Amazon's bestseller lists in the teen and young adult categories. Ball, who is 48, told The Guardian that it was "amazing" to hear from people around the world who had bought her books. Her second novel — Abandoned — has also been doing well on Amazon, and has gotten good reviews from customers. Like so many authors, Ball had to fit in her writing around her work and family life. She wrote her first book during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. She was working as a teacher at that time, so she spent weekends writing with her laptop on her knees. Now Ball works at a university, and she's also studying writing in her free time. She also said she's gotten lots of support from other writers on social media. Asked by The Guardian if she had advice for other authors she said: "Just write!" She said she begins writing before she has planned all of her story. "It's like a journey," she said. "You never know where it's going to go."