Author Interview | Elaine Fraser

This interview is part of a series, introducing the members of Australasian Christian Writers, to give you the opportunity to get to know us a little better. Today we’re interviewing Elaine Fraser. Welcome, Elaine!

Fast Five

Long black or flat white?

Flat white with almond milk.

Books or TV?

Books. There’s no tension in this choice.

Sun or snow?

Snow. I was born in a cold country and live in one of the hottest–my DNA belongs in a cold climate!

Plotter or pantser? 

Plotter. I can’t begin until I have a skeleton plot. I may not know the ending, but I need to have a story/character arc to follow.

Desert or sea?

There’s nothing like being by the ocean.

Getting to Know: Elaine

What’s something interesting or unusual about you that not everyone knows?

I’m actually quite shy, even though I can speak in front of hundreds of people, can have great conversations with people I don’t know, and I used to teach high school English with confidence.

Where are you from? Perth, Western Australia

What is your town or city most famous (or infamous) for?

Perth became ‘the city of lights’, putting on a bright display for astronaut John Glenn as he became the first American to orbit the earth on February 20, 1962. Thousands left their lights on or rushed out to their backyards to wave torches into the night sky.

What books are set in your town/city?

My latest WIP is set in Perth, England, and around the world. All my other novels are set in a fictitious town on the east coast of Australia.

About Your Writing

What do you write?

Nonfiction inspirational books for young women, YA novels, blogs, magazine articles, performance speeches, and I’ve just completed a commercial women’s fiction novel.

Who or what are your main writing influences?

My reading per se influences my writing, as does my faith. Contemporary writers, such as Jodi Picoult and classic writers such as Jane Austen are the first to come to mind. Tim Winton’s epic sentence construction and imagery have been influential from a literary perspective.  The Bible is always an influence.

Do you have any books published?

I have indie published five books:

Nonfiction

Beautiful: beauty tips for the soul

Too Beautiful: beauty tips for the soul

YAFiction

Perfect Mercy

Love, Justice

Amazing Grace

How long have you been writing?

Forever! As a child, I remember writing and reading voraciously. As a teacher of English, I taught others to write. I resigned from teaching in 2005 to write my first book and I haven’t stopped writing since.

What inspired you to start writing?

A love of reading and a sense of accomplishment from the very start of primary school when I wrote my first story.

What’s your favourite part of the writing process?

When the ideas are flowing and the pen (yes pen!) is racing across the page.

What’s your biggest writing challenge?

I travel a lot and working on novels can be interrupted by my trips–especially when I travel with my husband on a photography trip. These two types of creativity are compatible when we’re working at home, but on the road, they are two very different beasts.

How does your faith impact your writing?

How doesn’t faith affect my writing? My faith constantly informs my writing and reflects my relationship with God. I can trace my relationship with Him through my writing over the years. All the questions, the prompting of the Spirit, the challenge to be Christ-like, my prayers, hopes, and dreams are all found in my writing.

Even my latest WIP, a secular work, has a character named Joseph who loves a woman who has had a child by another man. He loves her as if she were the purest, most precious woman on Earth. I only just realised that Joseph had these Biblical qualities when I wrote the synopsis at completion.

Even when I’m trying to write for another market, ideas of love, sacrifice, and redemption permeate my thinking.

Finally, where’s the best place to find you online?

My website and on social media:

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/ElaineFraserBeautifulBooks/?ref=bookmarks

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elainefraserauthor/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/elainefraser/

Twitter:https://twitter.com/elaine_fraser

Kinwomen: http://www.kinwomen.com/elaine-fraser/