In this episode bestselling author Matthew Reilly shares the story of how he rose to fame and how he kick-started his career when he self-published his first book.

He tells Frances Whiting about the importance of perseverance and encouragement from loved ones, and how it's never too late to pursue your dreams.

Reilly has a DeLorean DMC-12 car from Back to the Future, a life-size Han Solo in carbonite hanging on his office wall and an imagination as big as the Star Wars universe. 

It’s that imagination that has fuelled Reilly’s 23 best-selling books that have sold more than eight million copies in more than 20 languages.

Now living in Los Angeles, Reilly has just released his latest action-packed blockbuster, King’s Ransom, a sequel to last year’s The Detective, which introduced his legions of fans to the quirky and endearing private investigator Sam Speedman. 

Reilly tells Frances Whiting ]about his latest book, his memorabilia collection and gives an insight into writing and provides words of encouragement for would-be authors.

Matthew Riley's King's Ransom is out now. 

Frances Whiting's Humankind is a new limited series from The Courier-Mail and Sunday Mail.

Read more from Frances Whiting in QWeekend.

Frances Whiting's novel, The Nocturnals, is out now as is