Unlike most traditional, season-long fantasy sports sites, which make most of their money from administrative fees and advertising, FanDuel and DraftKings take a cut of every bet. That is what bookies do, and it is illegal in New York.

The worst problem I've probably had was the gambling - you can do your money in the bookies a lot quicker than you can do it in the pub.

I treat my writing like a day job, like my main job, even if for many years I was doing other jobs to pay the bills. I worked as a copy editor. I was a medical guinea pig. I was an eBay power seller of ladies' handbags. I was an assistant to a bookie at the horse races. I bartended. I did anything I could to make ends meet.