Ella Griffin sells us on her writing...plus a book giveaway

Introduction and interview by Tracey Meyers

**Giveaway is now closed**

In 1997, I spent four whirlwind days in the southern half of Ireland.  (Truly not enough time!)  The visit was only supposed to last three days, however on our way to the boat that was going to take us to England, our rental car got a flat.  "Too bad" my traveling companion and I said with grins on our faces. "Looks like we'll have to spend another day here." This all took place during spring break my junior year in college.

I bring this up because today's guest, Irish author Ella Griffin joins us to talk about writing and her new book, The Heart Whisperer (reviewed here). Though it hasn't been until fairly recent that I learned of Ella's work, I still feel a connection to her as once upon a time, before she was a writer, she worked in Advertising - my area of study during college.  As you might imagine, once I learned this I was eager to learn more about her.

Though she loved writing ads, she still had a desire to write books.  It was eventually her husband who gave her the confidence to follow her dreams of becoming a writer.

Before I turn this post over to Ella, I want to share her philosophy, which is part of her good reads author page information:

My philosophy is inspired by the parking machine in Dundrum shopping centre. 'Change Is Possible'. 

Not only do I appreciate this philosophy from the view point of a former aspiring advertising person, but always from the point of view of a dreamer.

Thanks to Orion Books, we have FIVE copies of The Heart Whisperer for some lucky readers anywhere in the world.

You can find Ella at her website, Facebook and Twitter pages.

What types of things inspire your creative process?
It can be anything. A stranger’s profile. A snippet of conversation. A half heard song. I usually get inspired when I’m doing other things. Swimming, walking, driving. It’s maddening! Sometimes, I have to pull off the motorway and put on my hazards so I can jot them down in my phone.

Even when I was very small, I had a compulsion to describe everything around me - I see the world through a sort of perpetual waterfall of words. When I think of the right one it feels like slotting a the right piece into a jigsaw. I am addicted to that feeling.

Great books and films inspires me but nothing is as thrilling as watching two people talk and wondering about their lives, their love affairs, their families.

The inspiration for The Heart Whisperer came from a picture I saw on Facebook – a friend’s friend’s girlfriend. This girl had a tangle of coppery hair and freckles and a contagious, face-splitting grin but there was something about her eyes - something hurt and hidden.

I knew I’d never find out what it was so I had to make it up. I took her face and gave her a dark history. A beautiful, successful mother who had died when she was only six in an accident that was her fault.


In what ways is advertising writing similar to writing a novel? In what ways is it different?
Writing ads is fun. It’s exciting and exhilarating but it’s all over so quickly. The ideas come in a rush. You can make someone laugh with an ad. You can charm them. And sometimes you can touch them but it’s only for a moment or two.

Writing a book is a long, slow burn. You have to create a whole world and there are times when you wonder if it’s ever going to come together. But a novel gives you a chance to really move someone.

I had a tweet from someone who’d read Postcards from the Heart last week. One of my characters gets cancer and this woman was a cancer survivor. She wrote to say how much she related to the story. That was huge for me.

Which do you prefer to use to write - a word processing program or pen and paper? Why is this one your preference?
My handwriting is appalling. I have what I call my ‘postcard writing’ and if I write longhand I start with that but, after a page or two, it all degenerates into a scrawl.

For my first book I used ‘Word’ and I had a massive box filled with pages of character backstory. I threw it out at Christmas. It think it weighed slightly more than Victoria Beckham.

But I wrote The Heart Whisperer using an amazing programme called ‘Scriverner’. I’m addicted to it now. It’s intuitive and fluid and it has a fabulous interactive corkboard function.

I spend a lot of time pushing virtual cards around that board, trying to get the tension in the plot just right or fiddling with the balance between humour and sadness.

I couldn’t live without it.

What was your greatest apprehension about attempting to write a novel?
I had a whole wardrobe of colour coded apprehensions. I wheeled a different one out for every stage!

I was afraid that I’d never finish it. When I did finish it, I was afraid that nobody would read it. When it was published, I was afraid that everybody I knew would read it and hate it.

I’m good at apprehensions!

Do you consider yourself a celebrity? Why or why not?
God no! For obvious reasons. I’m not one.

Have you ever been approached by a fan when you were just out and about during a normal day? If so, tell us about that experience. If not, what do you think it might be like if you were?
I was in a book shop a few weeks ago and a girl in her twenties came over and asked me to sign The Heart Whisperer. She was very excited. But sadly, she was not as excited as I was!

Describe where you live in one sentence:
I live between the Wicklow mountains and the Irish sea with an English man and a Scottish deerhound.

Special thanks to Ella Griffin for visiting with us and Orion for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win The Heart Whisperer:

Please comment below with your e-mail address. (Please note: Entries without an e-mail address will NOT be counted. You can use AT and DOT to avoid spam. Or provide a link to your facebook page or blog if you can receive messages there.)

Bonus entries (can be listed all in one post):
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Giveaway ends March 6th at midnight EST.