Just because I write crime thrillers, I am not a wannabe serial killer!
Joy Ellis
In my experience, crime writers are well-balanced, good-natured and friendly. So why do people raise their eyebrows and say, “I read your last book, and I’m really worried about you!”?
My partner Jacqueline and I were the first couple in Boston to have their civil partnership converted to a marriage.
Romantic? Not exactly. As we were the first to register, no-one knew how to operate the new software system! Two registrars battled with a computer that totally refused to co-operate, and it took a very long time and lot of colourful language before it finally coughed up our certificate.
In my thirties I was diagnosed with ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis).
But . . . when allopathic medicine couldn’t help and life in a wheelchair seemed inevitable, I found support through friends and therapists and defied the odds by making a full recovery after fifteen years of misery. Now I can walk, swim, play table tennis, and can tackle long walks in the Yorkshire Moors.
I love painting.
Stuck for something to suggest for a birthday present, I said, ‘Art Classes!’ And it was something of a shock when I discovered that I had a real talent for pastel painting. I have had many commissions since, mainly for pet portraits, and that taught me that it’s never too late to discover a new passion.
I still have a full motorcycle licence!
I love motorbikes! If I didn’t have dodgy knees I’d get one tomorrow. I rode a gorgeous Suzuki GT bike for years, but on a windy night and crossing a motorway bridge, I got blown off! That was bad enough but after I managed to haul the heavy bike off the road, the wind was too strong to get back on!
Our Springer spaniels are our number one priority.
Jacquie and I have no close relations, so our dogs are our ‘family’. Our present boys, litter brothers Woody and Alfie, are working Springers, but when asked if they are trained to the gun, our reply is always, “No, just trained to the sofa!”
Life is never dull living with an accident-prone retired copper!
Yes, Jacquie has fallen off ladders, walls, out of trees, been bowled over by the dog, and in a deep gorge in Yorkshire, fell down a rocky incline and into a fast-flowing beck! No chance of an air ambulance there!
My writing inspiration?
I have written stories since childhood, but the determination to become a published author came from the wonderful late Sue Townsend and a writer’s course on the remote Greek island of Skyros. A magical fortnight, and the magic still lives on.
My love of flowers.
I was an apprentice to the legendary Constance Spry Flower shop in Mayfair in the swinging 60s, and what a time that was! I went from apprentice to running my own shop in Weybridge, then lost everything in the recession. Hey-ho, said Pooh, that’s life!
JOY ELLIS IS THE AUTHOR OF THE BEST-SELLING FENS SERIES. HER LATEST “CAPTIVE ON THE FENS” IS RELEASED BY JOFFE BOOKS TODAY ON AMAZON IN PAPERBACK AND EBOOK.