Thursday, 31 March 2016
Sleep Sister by Laura Elliot
Release Date: 31st March 2016
Publisher: Bookouture
Publisher: Bookouture
Genres: Psychological thriller
I am thrilled to welcome June Considine / Laura Elliot to the blog today with a fab author interview! Let's find out about her new book first though!
Two childhoods destroyed. One story they will never tell. Until now.
Beth ran away from her family when she was a
teenager. She left behind a terrible evil that took her innocence. She also
left behind her sister, Sara.
When Beth returns home, she is shocked to
discover her terrible secret is not just hers alone…she shares it with Sara.
Under the shadow of a remote headland, the sisters make an oath they promise
never to break.
Eva’s birth is a mystery that remains
unsolved. Years later with her marriage in ruins, and her future uncertain, she
realizes that to move forward with her life, she must first understand her
past.
But while Eva is drawing closer to the truth
about her roots, Beth and Sara’s lives are falling apart, crushed under the
weight of the secret they carry. They must confront the past and face the
darkness once more. But this time, their story will be heard.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Do
you write under your real name or is this a pen name you use?
I write under the pen name, Laura
Elliot. Under my own name, June Considine, I write books for children. Some years ago a marketing decision was made
by a publishing house, who were interested in publishing my adult novels, that this
name was too synonymous with
children’s literature and Laura Elliot
was born.
Where
are you from?
I’m Irish and live in a coastal
village called Malahide on the north side of Dublin.
List 3 interesting facts about
yourself.
(1) I’ve a dark imagination which
is at variance with my life style but it makes people wonder what exactly I get
up to in my spare time.
(2)I’m not psychic - yet I
sometimes wonder if there is a mysterious force in my life that forces me to
pause at times and wonder. Two examples come to mind. I stayed in a house in
Arizona for a month when the owner was abroad. I’d no idea of the house’s
history but I became obsessed with the belief that I’d accidently set it on
fire. I pulled out plugs every time I went out and had a threatened heart
attack whenever I heard a fire brigade. When we met afterwards the owner told
me that her house had been maliciously
burned to the ground some years previously and rebuilt on the same site.
Psychic or coincidence – who knows?
Another strange experience
occurred when I was driving one day along a country road without my seat belt.
I suddenly remembered a friend of mine who had died in a car crash. She hadn’t
been wearing her seat belt but she came into my mind with such force that I
pulled into the side of the road to fasten my belt. Less than a minute later I
rounded a bend, driving slowly, but, for reasons I’ve never understood, my car
went out of control. It hit an embankment, turned upside down and righted
itself, spun out into the centre of the road and narrowly missed a car coming
around the same bend. I suffered a slight neck strain and no one else was hurt.
I don’t believe in an afterlife and yet…and yet…
What
was the first thing you ever had published?
A poem in the local parish
magazine when I was eleven.
Do
you have a writing routine?
I’ve a very disciplined writing
routine. I rise early and am usually at my desk by seven-thirty. I finish around four in the afternoon but it
usually takes about thirty minutes before I re-enter the real world. I write a
first draft, making changes as I go along, then rework that draft as many times
as is necessary. I can usually recite the opening pages off my heart by the
time my manuscript goes to print.
Do
you have any writing rituals?
Baking break when I’m beginning a
new novel. I never can decide if that is either a highly symbolic ritual or a
bad case of procrastination, but the urge usually ends about three weeks later
when I’ve settled into my new book. I burn scented candles in my writing room
and leave scribbled notes about my characters littered around my desk. Oh, and
coffee…more coffee…
Where
did the idea for your most recent book come from?
True-life events can sometimes act
as a catalyst and help me to begin my stories. But that event will be distilled
during the writing process and will be unrecognisable by the time my book is
finished. Sleep Sister was inspired by a tragedy in the 80’s when a
fifteen-year-old girl was found dead beside a grotto, with the body of her
new-born son beside her. I was profoundly shocked and saddened by their deaths,
and, decades later, the fate of this young mother remains a vivid memory. But my
book is fictitious, as are the characters and the location.
Who
was the first person you shared your book with?
My husband. He takes over the
running of our home when my deadline looms and is always the first person to
read my work.
Do
you have a current work in progress?
Yes. I’m writing a novel about
the media and how the pursuit of a story can destroy lives. And how the person
whose life is destroyed exacts revenge.
Do
you have any advice for budding authors?
If you
have a strong idea for a novel don’t talk to others about it - write it down.
Don’t worry if your writing seems clichéd or your characters one-dimensional.
Just capture that initial rush of creativity. There’ll be plenty of time later for
redrafts.
Plan your novel. Will you have
one narrator? If so, be aware that he/she can’t see around corners or through
walls so that may limit the scope of your story. If using two or more points of
view make sure that each narrator has a distinctive voice that stays in keeping
with their personalities.
Be disciplined. Even if it’s only
three hours on a Saturday morning stick to it. Once you’re focused, it’s
amazing what can be achieved in a short space of time.
Begin with a hook that fills your
reader with an immediate sense of anticipation. Be prepared to ruthlessly
edit…edit…edit, especially the passages you admire but are actually clogging up
your narrative.
Allow your characters
free rein but always remain in control. No matter how dark their lives,
or how far removed their situations are from your own experiences, you can
still draw deep within yourself to
relate to them.
Dialogue is a
powerful medium for moving your story along but the exchanges between characters
should be pithy and meaningful.
Can you sum up your novel in a
sentence? Try it. Most publishers like a
concept, a plotline that is easily grasped – and it also clarifies the core of
your story in your own mind.
It’s essential to have a passion
for writing. Why else would you consider chaining yourself to a computer for a
year or more?
Most importantly,
enjoy what you’re doing and try not to be too disappointed by rejections. They
are part and parcel of a writer’s apprenticeship – and if you believe in your ability
as a writer, it you see it as a skill that can constantly be improved, then
there is a publisher out there waiting to fall in love with your book.
About
the Author
Laura Elliot is the
author of five best-selling novels, Fragile Lies, The Prodigal Sister, Stolen
Child, The Betrayal and her most recent novel, Sleep Sister. Her books have
been widely translated and she has ghost written a number of high profile
non-fiction books.
Aka June Considine,
she is the author of twelve books for pre-teens and young adults. Her short
stories have been broadcast on RTE’s Fiction 15 series and have
appeared in a number of teenage anthologies. She has also worked as a
journalist and magazine editor.
She has a grown-up
family of three and lives with her husband Sean in Malahide, Co Dublin.
Author links – https://www.facebook.com/lauraelliotauthor/
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