I was a working journalist in 1985. It took me 8 months, 5 days a week, from 5 to 7 each morning to write my first mystery novel, because I had to write nonfiction magazine articles daily for money.
My NYC agent sold the book and five others in 1987. The first book was published in December 1988.
After it was published, a pretty fan at a 1989 writer's conference held Kill Cue up and "Take a picture."