My guest on the blog today is Elizabeth Player who, after a sea of nothing (her own words) had two books published last year. She writes romance with a happy ever after. Today, she’s put aside her fictional work to answer some of my questions.  

 

Welcome to the blog, Elizabeth, and congratulations on having two books published last year. How do you go about starting a new writing project?
Might start with a thought, something somebody does or an everyday situation. Sometimes it’s a thought that has been brewing for years.

Have you a favourite inspirational quote?
Always make sure that you buy the very best bed and shoes you can afford… if you’re not in one you will almost certainly be in the other.

Haha, that’s food for thought! What was your favourite book as a child and how do you view it now as an adult?
Jane Eyre. Thought it was a love story and everything turned out well in the end but in fact it’s a brilliant portrayal of the human spirit and how one woman stood by her principles, regardless and rose above the terrible injustices that life threw at her. The message transcends time and is as relevant today as when it was written.

Can’t fault your choice there! What has surprised you most about being a published writer?
The fact that somebody said ‘Yes’ that’s good enough to publish.

Is there anyone in particular who has been influential in your writing career?

J K Rowling. She was rejected so many times but knew she had something. Also members of my writing group.

Ah yes, I love J K Rowling. What are your writing goals long term and/or short term?
To publish another book.

Which genre would you like to write in but don’t think you could?
Thriller with a bit of romance thrown in.

What’s your favourite book?
Gone With The Wind and The Thorn Birds and Poldark (love a family saga).

Who are your favourite fictional characters? (Your own or someone else’s).
Scarlet O’Hara and Rhett Butler from Gone with the Wind.

Which book do you wish you’d written?
Fifty Shades of Grey (Joking – only because it netted her a fortune. Terrible book) Wish I had written Rebecca, Daphne Du Maurier.

Which television show from your childhood would you like to bring back?
Black Beauty.

Your book is going to be filmed! Name your dream cast.
A young Catherine Zeta Jones and Idris Elba – Main characters. Morgan Freeman for Uncle Arthur.

Fabulous cast! And since it’s going to be filmed, you’ll need a theme song. What would it be?
Shine Bright Like A Diamond by Rhianna

What thing or things are guaranteed to cheer you up?
Dogs, puppies – in fact all animals.

Is there anything you would change about your life?
Wish I had enough money to travel first class to Australia several times a year to visit my daughter.

What’s your favourite social media outlet and why?
Face Book and Twitter, I’m just getting to grips with that.

What are the best and worst things about being a writer?
You can carve out your own schedule. The discipline required to carve that schedule is a job in itself.

What’s your favourite first or last line from a book?
Call me Ishmail – Moby Dick

What one piece of advice would you give to other writers?
Never show your work to your family, unless they happen to be book editors.

You’re stuck in a lift with three other people. Who would you like them to be?
Nigel Havers (English Actor) Marilyn Monroe and Ernest Hemmingway

Where do you write?

Back bedroom, overlooking Mount’s Bay, Penzance, Cornwall.

Hmm. And I’m not jealous of that view, at all! Thanks for joining me today, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth relocated to Cornwall ten years ago and began writing. She joined a local writing group and began with poetry and plays for local theatre. It was several years later that her first book was published by Carina UK. Since then she has written short stories for magazines, been included in anthologies, written travel articles and finally this year she has two books published.
A Shangri-La Christmas by Bookstogonow as Elizabeth Player, and Frog Chorus by Melange Books, which is Elizabeth’s first full length romantic thriller written under her pen name of Francesca May.

You can buy Frog Chorus here.