An Interview with Elizabeth May Ellis
Based in the beautiful British Southwest, Elizabeth May Ellis has a BA (Hons) degree in English Language and Linguistics and English Literature and is a self-confessed nerd. She has been a keen writer for most of her life, focusing her attention on poetry, songwriting, and essays in her younger years before finally venturing into authoring novels in her mid-forties, so is now making up for lost time! She loves penning second-chance romances with a happy ending and finds her inspiration in rural landscapes, real-life people, and real struggles.
When she is not putting her organisational superpower to use in her day job or hanging out with her characters, Elizabeth May Ellis loves long walks with her dog and spending time in her garden. She is obsessed with sweet peas, salvias, and fairy lights, drinks too many lattes and eats far too much cake!
What inspired you to start writing this book?
Ahhh, that’s something I usually keep quite close to my chest. But I can tell you it started with me, a boy, and my own what-ifs…and a dream!
Tell us the story of your book’s current title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?
I think I always knew what it was going to be. It had a different working title which I won’t reveal because spoilers! But I knew very early on that the expression ‘I’ll see you on the other side’ would be spoken in a really heartbreaking way and that there would be a journey of redeeming the expression. For me, the phrase is about more than some afterlife, even if it is referred to that way in the book. It, like the story itself, is about resolving the conflict between looking back and moving forward, letting go of the ‘what-ifs,’ and instead embracing the unknown, and finding peace with who you are in the present. As soon as I penned the chapter where the phrase is used, I knew for certain that it would be the title.
If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?
Oh, that’s a fun question!
The main song would be A Thousand Years by Christina Perri because…well, someone who can’t let go of the one that got away? It’s perfect for Holly!
Some old school songs like Only You by Yazoo (although my guilty pleasure is the Kylie and James Corden version!) and Right Here Waiting by Richard Marx are in the same vein and also have to be on the soundtrack, as does Gracie Abrams’s I Love you, I’m Sorry. Toward the closing chapters, I would have You’re Still the One by Shania Twain and At Last by Etta James.
Gosh that sounds like a melancholic soundtrack, doesn’t it?! If it existed, you would need to put a real banger on afterwards!
What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?
Here’s the thing: When I was growing up there were two things I loved more than anything in the world. One was reading and learning new words. The other was building Lego houses (not necessarily as per the box!) with my dad. I was in awe of him – with no formal training, he designed and built two houses for our growing family. I looked up to him so much that I decided I wanted to design houses too. I sketched out a load of designs that are in a memory box somewhere! But we couldn’t afford for me to go to uni, so I got a job in…admin! I still work in admin nine to five now, although I have spent a few summers teaching English as a foreign language along the way. I absolutely LOVED that, by the way. I never did get around to a job in architecture and, as much as I sometimes wonder what life would have looked like if I had, I’m pretty confident that I’m now doing what I was made for.
Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?
I think most authors will generally say they’ve always had a love of writing and I’m definitely one of them. My earliest memories all seem to revolve around writing or moments related to it: my mother telling me, ‘If you don’t know a word, look it up,’ consuming dictionaries, writing poetry and short stories, playing Scrabble in the evenings. I think it was secondary school when my passion was really honed. I had a really great English teacher who encouraged me and nurtured my love of writing. Then, when my family moved to the Southwest, I was blessed with another English teacher who was equally as encouraging. I owe so much to them and to my lecturers at college and uni (I did eventually go as a mature student, but studied English), who did more than believe in me – they made me believe in myself. There were definitely authors whose works inspired me, but the people who shaped me, influenced me, and pointed me like an arrow toward my writing career were those teachers and lecturers.
Where is your favorite place to write?
Ooh that’s a tough one. I took myself down to an Airbnb in mid-Cornwall last year and loved it. Just me, my laptop, my dog, the moors, and log fires each evening. I got through several of the hardest chapters there. I’m keen to do it again!
I also have a place I go to after I get my hair done – my amazing hairdresser set it up for me! She’s based above a restaurant and once she’s finished with me, I perch myself in a corner of the restaurant conservatory, grab coffee and lunch, and sit and write solidly for a few hours. Something about the light and the life flowing around me, while still being left alone to write, feeds my creativity as much as being out on the moors.
What advice would you give your past self at the start of your writing journey?
I’d probably tell myself the same thing that my FMC Holly says in my novel, when she is preparing a talk to give to some students. She says: “…keep telling your stories. Feed your creativity and don’t let anyone tell you that what you’ve written isn’t good enough. If it’s good enough for you, it’s good enough, period. You are good enough and you can accomplish whatever you set your mind to if you work hard at it.” Maybe don’t rush to publish without professional advice though!
And I would say to embrace every opportunity to develop your skills! Nobody is perfect and there is always, always something new to learn – even the greatest writers still hone their craft!
Most importantly: Don’t let others dictate what you are good at. If you strike out, pick yourself back up and try again. It took me years after receiving my first pink slip to gain the confidence to try again, and I wish I hadn’t waited so long.
What’s one thing you hope sticks with readers after they finish your book?
Probably Holly’s quote above. Or Adam’s when he later says, “Nobody should be pressured to do something they’re not ready for and they definitely shouldn’t be made to feel guilty for not giving in.”
I think I’d like them to still be thinking, too, about the way Holly hung onto her what-ifs and how she was in their grip for so long to the extent that she really wasn’t living her best life. I’d like it to be a prompt for people to embrace opportunities so that they don’t end up with a whole load of could-haves, should-haves, or would-haves stopping them from fully living in the now.
Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.
Atmosphere Press is a selective hybrid publisher founded in 2015 on the principles of Honesty, Transparency, Professionalism, Kindness, and Making Your Book Awesome. Our books have won dozens of awards and sold tens of thousands of copies. If you’re interested in learning more, or seeking publication for your own work, please explore the links below.