Welcome

about Elly

Teen fiction author Elly Mackness developed her love of writing whilst at primary school, spurred on by an enthusiastic and progressive team of teachers. But it was not a passion encouraged by staff of the girls' grammar school she was later to attend, and was pushed - quite firmly - to the bottom of the 'not important' pile. There it lay buried for the next thirty years until a small but significant chain of events spurred her on to take up her pen once more.

Dropping out of school at sixteen, Elly undertook a range of jobs in search of a vocation. "None of which led to very much," she says. "But I've gained lots of life experience as a result, and it's that experience and the people I've met that inspire and feature in my stories."

As you'd expect, Elly is a fervent reader of books. She cites teen fiction authors Kevin Brooks and Catherine Forde as two of her favourites -- well-written, gritty stories set against dramatic backgrounds. She's also a fan of Charles Dickens and is proud to boast that she's actually TOUCHED (although the sign said not to) the great man's writing desk - with both hands!

When Elly isn't writing or working at her day job, then she'll be found playing her saxophone and listening to jazz -- the music that partly inspired her first novel, Subliminal, for which she is currently seeking a publisher. She is now working on her second novel, The Keys of the Ceinmund.