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On The Table Read Magazine, “the best book magazine in the UK“, Elise Williams talks about her new book, A Lock Up On Crete, inspired by her own experiences of traveling.
Written by JJ Barnes
I interviewed Elise Williams about her new book, A Lock Up On Crete, the experiences that inspired her to start writing, and the advice she has for other authors.
I’m Susan but I write as Elise, an anagram of my late Gran’s name Elsie. I will be the big 60 next year and quite frankly, I will be embracing it. I live in the rolling countryside of Lancashire and frequently visit Crete where I have some connections. In 2004 I was hurtled into the world of Education and continue to work as a pupil mentor in a high school where I focus on supporting pupils with literacy difficulties.
After I had made lots of memories while traveling in my twenties, I knew then that I needed to keep them alive by novelizing them.
It was only when my 2 children started to play out with their friends that I had a few hours to lock myself away in the office and furiously tap away on the keyboard. It was the summer holidays and one of those inclement British summers so it was a good excuse to stay indoors and start my writing.
It was about 12 months in total.
My latest book took about 12 months also.
After working and living in the south of Crete in the winter of 1983, I felt a novel coming on, loosely based on my observations and experiences. The plot developed further into a work of fiction with various fictional characters added to the mix.
Because I was getting my inspiration from my own memory and experiences, I had to be careful not to go off on tangents and stick to a definite plot and structure. Otherwise it may have read as a travelogue, which I didn’t want.
In this novel there are 3 main protagonists. They are all loosely based on myself and my 2 female friends whom I travelled to Crete with. However, as the plot developed and fictional events unfolded so too did our characters and personalities. I would say that the character of Zoe (me) is the main protagonist though.
My main antagonist was inspired by my experience dating a Greek male at the time (1983). Although the novel is loosely based on real events, I have been mindful to protect their integrity and identity.
The inciting incident of my novel is the LOCK UP! Does the double entendre title suggest that a character is sent to prison or does it suggest a character may have a second property they Lock Up and leave till the next time they visit?
The main conflict of my novel is the deceit and events caused as a result of the antagonist’s jealousy. The main issue being the defacement of the protagonist’s passport by the antagonist and the consequences that ensued.
With it being loosely based on true events, I was able to write from memory and freely. However there were plenty more fictional plots along the way with the other characters.
My book needed a lot of editing. I did a lot of the editing myself, editing on the computer then on paper then back to the computer. After I self-published on Amazon, I ordered an author copy and a work friend edited it with fresh eyes. To be honest, it was when I received a negative review on Amazon with reference to some dates that I had mixed up and a mention of poor editing did I re- edit the whole novel again. Up to date I have received 10 reviews with 8 of them positive.
Honestly, just get your thoughts down on paper or computer. The rest will follow. Be kind to yourself. If it doesn’t go any further than a draft, at least it is yours and no one can take that away from you.
Yes. I have already started a series entitled: ‘The Greek Adventures collection.’ The collection will combine Greek holiday themes with a splash of Greek mythology. Again, they intend to be light-hearted easy reading novellas.
Yes! I am most definitely proud of my accomplishments. I never thought I would be able to self-publish and receive up to date, 215, four-star customer ratings. And yes it was worth the effort as I would rather be writing my novellas and using my brain and imagination than watching something for the sake of it on TV or similar.
Facebook: Elise’sEasyreads Williams
Instagram: elisewilliamsnovels
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