Elise Brooke
Pre-Interview: My name is Elise Brooke, I grew up in Hawkes Bay NZ. My parents moved to NZ from England and South Africa, to create their New Zealand Dream, this quickly turned into my New Zealand nightmare. Writing is a powerful healing tool, sharing your story can save lives. I have written and published two autobiographies in my book series "The New Zealand Dream,” by Sheila, my pen name. I wrote this book to inspire and give hope to others.
My passion is creative writing, I’ve been writing for 24 years in fiction, poetry and content. I have published many articles and guest posts and conducted interviews on my website I built from scratch. I am a writing coach/mentor. I mentor people who would like to write and share their own stories.
My website is https://www.mynzdreamblog.com One can follow me on Insta mynewzealanddream, Facebook at fb.me/mynewzealanddream or join us in the group “A journey of transformation.”
A brief about my books
“The New Zealand Dream” is a story and account of my life so far. You take a journey from birth, growing up in a beautiful country town. Moving to the suburbs, discovering New Zealand’s underground in book one "The seeds are sown." Life has been a struggle and an uphill climb; I was born with learning difficulties that caused me challenges every day. My mother, who single-handedly raised my brother, and I suffered from mental health problems. I dived into the drug and alcohol scene at a young age, growing up surrounded by violence and gangs. I escaped a religious occult, got married and had children. In book two "Growth and destruction," before I hit the age of thirty, I am a divorced single mother. My support network passed away, and I sank into the world of abuse. I stayed trapped in an abusive relationship for over eight years until one night he nearly killed me, and I escaped. You will meet characters you may relate to and characters that will shock you. I will lead you into the world that surrounded me and nearly killed me. In book three I will show you how I changed my world, escaped the traps, leading me here to tell my story.
Author Interview:
1.What inspires you most to write?
To share my story and heal, to show others know they are not alone, and to inspire and give hope. 2. What is your favourite genre?
True stories, memoir and biography 3. Who is one author you admire if any and why?
Bryce Courtney as he writes in such a descriptive way that I feel as though I am in the book.
4. How do you overcome blank writing spells?
I walk away from my work and take a break, go for a walk, be in nature, listen to music then go back to it. 5. What legal publishing advice can you give?
Ensure you have copyrighted your works 6. How many books have you written, are any a bestseller yet?
I have written two, no none are best sellers yet. 7. If you had the opportunity to rewrite one movie script which would it be, why?
Alice and Wonderland I felt both part one and two of these movies did not do the books justice. Too much was left out and changed, Alice and wonderland is actually quite a dark tale with a lot more depth. 8. What are some difficulties you've experienced in your writing career; how do you handle book critiques/criticism?
Difficulties I have faced in my writing career are targeting the right audience, marketing on a tight budget and editing.
I welcome critiques and criticism. I can learn a lot from these and grow in developing my skills. My style and books are not for everyone and that is ok. 9. What are your best experiences in your writing career?
My best experience in my writing career is the positive feedback and reviews of people telling me how my story has impacted them and their lives. Reminding them not to give up, drawing strength from and inspiring change in their life. Some have gone so far as to say my books saved their lives. 10. Do you prefer to write in silence and or have some sort of sound in the background?
Silence please 11. What are some encouraging words you'd give to another author/writer?
A writing career is not a race it is a marathon. It takes time and effort to build and become known as a brand. Define your target audience, find your people and it will take off. 12. How did you decide the pricing of your material; how did you go about promotion/advertising and distribution of your work?
I decided my pricing by comparing my book to books similar and how they were priced. I built my own website from scratch to promote my books and writing services and created an interactive blog building subscribers. Subscribers became part of my email list which I regularly keep contact with. I provide valuable content on my blog and use my Facebook business page to find more readers and people who want to share their own story. I use curiosity posts and a lead magnet to do this. I created my own Facebook group where people who show interest in my writing and message can hang out and share with each other. 13. Why should anyone read your book?
To be inspired and gain hope.
14. Did you have a book coach?
No 15. What was your favorite subject in school?
Imaginative writing 16. Are you self-published or have an established publishing contract elsewhere?
I am self published