It is a delight to welcome my friend and fellow author Elizabeth Ducie back to the blog to learn more about her writing and what she chooses to write. Elizabeth is and active member of her local writing circle and a prolific author. Thank you for taking time today to share your love of writing, Elizabeth.
Thank you for inviting me to your blog today, Val. I spent thirty years writing audit reports, training manuals and text books for my day job, before I gave it all up to tell lies for a living. But I guess the real question is ‘what do I write now I’m a (supposedly) full-time writer?' And that’s a different picture. I did write my last technical text-book during lock-down and it came out in 2022. But that was an aberration.
I began writing creatively nearly twenty years ago, initially concentrating on short stories. I’ve published six collections, two co-authored and four solos. But I quickly turned to novels, starting a mixed-genre story, as I didn’t realise I should concentrate on one audience at a time.
From there I moved to a life of crime (writing). I published a trilogy of international thrillers, drawing on my experiences in the international business world. They were enjoyable to write but quite complex and I had the characters in my head for around six years in total.
Looking for a change of pace and new characters, I decided to try my hand at cosy crime closer to home: think Midsomer Murders set in Devon. And I’ve settled into a nice regime of one book per year in a series I can see running for a while yet. Although some of those pesky characters from the thrillers refused to be consigned to the past and moved sub-genre with me. At the time, I wondered if this was a risky undertaking and as you will see, that proved to be the case.
Alongside all this fiction, I kept hold of my non-fiction roots with a series of business manuals for writers, based on the workshops I originally delivered at the Swanwick Writers Summer School more than a decade ago. I’m not planning on adding to that series, but I do update it periodically.
Last year, as I was working on the plot of cosy #4, the hazards associated with allowing characters to control their own destinies hit home. I was six chapters in when I realised I was working not on a light-hearted puzzle set in the English countryside, but a darker piece with international settings. That’s right: part four in the thriller trilogy was born! Which is why I’ve spent the past few months working in parallel on two novels, in two separate sub-genres, featuring the same set of characters. The thriller came out in September; the cosy is launching right now. This is not a situation I intend to repeat in the future.
Obviously I’ve done very little new writing for a while now, concentrating on editing and publication. That all changes next month. Whatever we call it, and whatever the scandals surrounding the organisation of NaNoWriMo, November is writing challenge month for many writers. And this year, I’m going to take a break from novels (of any genre) and write a month’s worth of short stories. Coming full circle, you might say. And after that, who knows?
The Author
Elizabeth Ducie has been writing since she was very young. When a teenager, essays and poetry helped her win her first overseas trip via a newspaper competition. She returned to creative writing in 2006 after 30+ years as a technical writer.
Since then, Elizabeth has had great fun experimenting with different types of writing including articles for content websites and on commission. She has written short stories and poetry for competitions, and has had a couple of wins, several honourable mentions and some short-listing.
In 2011 and 2012, she worked with friend and fellow-writer, Sharon Cook on the writing and publication of two collections of short stories, 'Life is Not a Trifling Affair', and 'Life is Not a Bed of Roses'. This led to her belief in the validity of self-publishing as an alternative route to the traditional one; and the establishment of her own imprint, Chudleigh Phoenix Publications.
Elizabeth’s debut novel, 'Gorgito's Ice Rink', is set in Russia and based partly on her travel experiences. It was started in 2006 and finally published in October 2014 and the following year, was runner-up in the Self-Published Book of the Year Awards.
Elizabeth then moved on to writing the Jones Sisters international thrillers: 'Counterfeit!', 'Deception!', and 'Corruption!'. The fourth in that series, 'Redemption', is due out 1st September 2024.
Her fifth novel, Murder at Mountjoy Manor, came out in October 2021 and was the first of her Coombesford Chronicles, a series of cosy mysteries set in an English village. It was followed by Villainy at the Village Store and Calamity at Coombesford Church. The fourth book, Silenced at the Summer Social, is due out mid-October 2024.
Elizabeth also writes non-fiction. The Author Business Foundation series is based on lectures and blog posts aimed at helping writers set up and run their own small businesses. The latest part in the series deals with the topic of Indie Publishing.
Elizabeth is a member of the Crime Writers Association and ALLI (The Alliance of Independent Authors). She is a regular workshop leader at the Women in Publishing Summit.
Elizabeth admits to spending far too much time on social media, but has met some great writing buddies that way.
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