Originality by Design: Whatever Possessed Me to Become a Writer ~ by author Elizabeth Keysian

Whatever Possessed Me to Become a Writer ~ by author Elizabeth Keysian

Apart from writing to the Puffin Club when I was about nine—saying I wanted to be an author, and looking for advice—and producing some awful poetry full of teenage angst, my writing journey really began in 1997.

Some of my inspiration came from all the crushes I’d had (I was a sucker for unrequited love and admiring from afar.) I’d lie awake and picture scenarios where the exalted one would suddenly notice how wonderful I was, and whisk me off to bed/into the sunset/to the altar (depending upon how healthy I was feeling at the time.)

The rest of my need to write resulted from frustration with other authors and script writers. I would read or watch a potential love scene that didn’t play out the way I wanted, so I’d rewrite it in my mind.

Well, that accounts for the romance part of my writing journey. The historical part has always been with me. My father used to take me to castles and museums when I was a child. He had to really, as he was a headteacher and therefore in sole charge of me during school holidays (my mother worked). He also encouraged me to be quiet during these long vacations—I was an only child, with few friends in the village where we lived so I didn’t get out much and was always under his feet. He achieved the calm he needed by burying me in books (mostly published by Puffin, as mentioned above) and providing stacks of blank white paper upon which to write or draw.

I did try the drawing, and managed some passable stuff in pencil, but I was too messy to work with any other medium. Besides, both parents had been to art school, so I had to rebel, and choose writing over art, right?

Sadly, the creativity died when I had to prepare myself for the real

world of university (a history degree, naturally) and the need to earn money, which I did as an archaeologist, an illustrator, a special needs teacher, and a museum professional. The catalyst to start writing again came in 1997 when I moved county for a new job and had to leave my partner behind for six moths while he finished up his own job as archaeologist on a Knights Templar site in Essex, England. Coming home to an empty house each night was making me drink too much of the local beer and eat too much hard goat’s cheese (I have an allergy to cow), so writing was a great distraction.

The other incentive was that we’d been to Cape Town that summer

to visit family, and I wanted to raise enough money to go again.

I started putting my fantasies and daydreams into words and submitting to Mills and Boon, in hopes of making enough money by the year 2000 for the flights back to Cape Town. I shall pause here, to allow the reader time to laugh at my naivety. Yes, I got some interest from that publisher and was asked to submit several complete manuscripts, but I just couldn’t get the formula right. I now know it was because I fleshed out my stories with too many subsidiary characters. Whoops.

Then came the illnesses, which meant there were long spells of time when I couldn’t write at all. Chronic fatigue in 2000, worsening migraine and chronic daily headaches shortly thereafter, then RSI in both wrists as a result of working too hard on a museum exhibition. NaNoWriMo kept me going when I was well enough to write, and then I broke my foot.

Having to sit in a chair all day with your leg propped up can be a bit boring, so I started tapping away on my laptop and trying to finish some of the stories I’d begun. Finally, in 2015, after eighteen years of failing to be published by Mills and Boon, I entered Harlequin’s So You Think You Can Write contest, which operated via the Wattpad platform. Hurrah! People wanted to read my stories! I wasn’t a complete failure! I didn’t qualify in the contest, but I met some awesome fellow writers and learned about pitch contests.

In 2016, just after losing my job due to the chronic illnesses, I entered several stories into the #PitMad contest and got a bite from Nina Bruhns, senior editor at Entangled Publishing. I went on to publish five books with them, one with Soul Mate Publishing, and a few novellas which are self-published.

This year I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (an autoimmune disease I’d never heard of before) that can mess up your health quite badly AND I damaged my back, which made writing difficult yet again. But there IS a silver lining—while lying in bed in pain, or unable to move or sleep, you can cook up some pretty stonking plot lines! I’m getting treatment for hypothyroidism now, which has helped a bit, and my hunger for writing is returning. You have been warned, people! There’s life left in this old dog yet!

My latest offering is A TREACHEROUS ENGAGEMENT, Book #2 in the Marry in Haste series, and I’ll be finishing Book #3 and writing Book #4 during this November’s NaNoWriMo. I hope…

If you’ve stuck with me and read the above ramble, thank you.

**Note: All photos are property of Elizabeth Keysian and may not be reproduced without permission

Bestselling author Elizabeth Keysian adores history and archaeology, and writes romances that give the reader an experience of travelling back in time.

Elizabeth Keysian

She feels very British-despite her Viking ancestry-and loves creating rich backdrops for her stories based on real places and actual experiences. She used to be a re-enactor, so has sampled the living conditions, clothing, and smells of the past. She’s also sampled the food, which was actually pretty good.

Her characters battle their problems with both tears and laughter, but she always guarantees them a Happily Ever After, no matter what she’s put them through. You may connect with Elizabeth by clicking on the links below.