Who?
I'm Elle, a writer from the South West of England. I can't stand ice-breakers, so this'll be brief. I write novels, am partial to wine, am fond of the seaside, and always look 'a little bit mischievous'. (Apparently).
When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
'Why, for as long as I've lived!' (she says, with a dreamy, faraway look out the nearest window.)
But honestly? I've known for a long time. I wrote my first poem at the age of six, and my first 'book' at around eight. I wrote school plays in primary school. An obsession with ghosts and speculative fiction swiftly developed, finding its way into my work. But before all that, I'd been reading from a very early age, and absolutely loved Ladybird books. I had so many, and would always be super excited to go into W H Smith with my mother to choose a new one.
Within my vast collection was Jayne Fisher's 'Garden Gang' series, which she wrote and illustrated at the age of nine. I was obsessed. Not only did I fall in love with the stories and the wonderful felt-tip pictures, but on the back of the books was an image of Jayne herself; she looked little older than I was. Seeing her made me realise my destiny - I, too, would be a great author (and illustrator!) just like Jayne.
I wrote my own books (folding over numerous pieces of A4 paper, carefully writing my stories on one half of each page and illustrating with pencils and felt-tip), and my mum taught me how to write professional letters, so that I could contact publishers. Which I did. I sent each new book to Ladybird and Frances Lincoln, hoping that my dream would come true. Of course, they rejected me, but the thrill of getting an actual rejection letter, and just thinking that they'd at least looked at my story, was good enough for me.
Where do you like to write?
Everywhere! In my office at home, in cafes, pubs, the workplace, hotels, airports, aeroplanes, trains, park benches. On my laptop, in a notebook, on receipts...
Basically, I write wherever the mood takes me.
What is this place?
Like a cat shifting itself into a box and refusing to budge, this is my little space to write stories. It's a small, wondrous nook in which I mainly practise writing flash fiction. There isn't much else here.
