Author Q&A with L. Calell

Author Q&A with L. Calell

Lisa Calell was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, the youngest of three children. As a child, her appetite for Fiction and Poetry became evident from a very young age.

Disconnected was her first novel of a two-part series – the emotional heart-wrenching story of Katie and her quest for survival. Disconnected takes you through the horrors of her past, the uncertainties she faces day-to-day and her will to feel love with her one constant in her life – Chris. Within two weeks of publication, Disconnected hit #21 in Thrillers and #72 in Romance during an Amazon promotion. More recently, Disconnected reached #4 in Kindle and #1 best-seller in Psychological & Suspense and Family Saga.

 

Disconnected

Katherine (Katie) Calder is happy, or is she? Married to a patient, loving and handsome lawyer who has been her life for 6 years – Chris. He wants nothing more than a ‘normal’ happy family life – will being with Katie ever give him that?

Katie didn’t know how to love him or anyone but she knew she couldn’t be without him. She had detached from life, from love, from any true emotion yet Chris continued to love her unconditionally wishing for the day she would declare her love and even cry for the first time since he had known her.

Katie’s mother – Jill Williams was desperately trying to have a relationship with her daughter who had been missing from her life for six years for reasons she never understood. Bringing Gerry back into Katie’s life was not the answer. Gerry brought back the horror of her ‘missing years’ causing her distress, misery and even blackouts, but why, what had Gerry done?

What had happened in those two years when she had been missing that could cause this pain and anguish and if they found out would they feel the same about her? Katie didn’t think so, she had to protect them against the truth and she had to face her past – but at what cost?

Disconnected is an intense, emotional journey that will have you smiling one minute and then feeling hurt and pain the next. You want it to work out, you want the happy ending – but then life is never that straightforward, this book will leave you with a void, this book will leave you disconnected!

1. Have you always wanted to write? 

Writing wasn’t really something I aspired to do but in August 2012 when I turned 39, I became restless.  Turning 40 terrified me and I started to reflect on my life and what I had achieved apart from my kids, I couldn’t think of anything. It set me on a rollercoaster of emotions and I had to find a way to channel it.  At first it was reading, but then I would always end up reading those books that would leave you heartbroken.  It was not good therapy but it made me think, what if I took everything I was feeling and poured it into my own story.  That was my inspiration and Disconnected was born. 

 

2. Do write under a pen name?

If so, tell us about how you chose it

My real name is Lisa Matthew and my pen name is L Calell. I chose this as it is a mash up of my two children’s names, Calum and Ellie.  

 

3. How do you choose your book’s title(s)? 

For me, a book title is a story all on its own.  It has to describe the whole book in one or a few words.  Now that’s hard. Disconnected was easy as it was how I was feeling at the time and the main character was exactly that.  My current work in progress, I am struggling for a title.  It’s a humorous story, that diarises the characters journey through grief after the loss of her fiancé.  I’ll let you know when I figure that title out!

 

4. What advice would you give to someone wanting to write their first book?

Keep going!  Dreams can happen if you push yourself. When you write your first book, the writing is the easy part.  Keep believing in yourself and your writing to take you to the next point.  I released my first book in March 2013, on August 27th that same year (my 40th birthday), I was stood at the top of the Empire State building at midnight and my book was in the Amazon Bestsellers chart.  Best birthday present ever.

 

5. How do you handle criticism? 

In this world, we are all very different and unique characters.  If we all liked the same things, it would be pretty boring. So, I always recognise this when handling criticism in regards to the actual story and plot, my writing is not always going to appeal to everyone.  If, however, the criticism is about structure, then I try to take that on the chin and find a way to improve it for both the readers and myself.

 

6. Would you want your book made into a film?

It would be amazing to see the characters that have been a part of me for years, come to life on the screen.  It isn’t the reason I write but it would be the ultimate end to a journey my writing has taken me on.

 

Where to find L. Calell