Lizzie Chantree Interview Published on: 22, Aug 2019

I wanted to have a creative career when I was a child. I really enjoyed writing and wrote lots of short stories. My first job was in a design agency, but I decided very quickly that I wanted to be self-employed and started my first business soon after that. I designed and sold products that I made, in to retail and wholesale businesses all over the world.

I was inspired by my parents who ran their own creative business. I had begun to design products that people were enquiring about buying and it made me consider setting up my first shop. I started with a market barrow in a shopping centre, then moved to a static shop unit and then onto having two shops and a wholesale business.

Fair Play London and The Patent Office held a competition to encourage more women into design and innovation. There were some amazing products and I was lucky enough to selected as one of the winners in the innovation category for my product Runaway Spray, which is a ‘run' or ‘ladder' stop spray for hosiery. The publicity meant that my first customers were Superdrug and The Arcadia Group, which was beyond my wildest dreams at that stage.

I have always loved writing, but my daughter was unwell for nine years and I decided to write my first book as a way to keep myself awake at night to listen to her breathing. It’s so hard to stay awake when you are sleep deprived. I wrote a book full of sunshine and happiness to try and bring some light into a very dark time in my life. My daughter is fine now, although she has serious allergies, but she proudly tells everyone that she helped me start this amazing new career.

My own parents have always supported me on all of the weird and wonderful schemes and ideas I have come up with. I have been on television and radio and invited to the houses of Parliament. All because of some creative ideas. I wondered what it would be like for a woman with big ideas, who didn’t have any support from her closest family. The story idea grew from that.

My favourite character in Babe Driven, is the main character Harriet. She is so shy and unassuming, but she is feisty and bites back! She was a joy to write and I absolutely love hearing from readers who relate to her. She doesn’t want to be in the limelight, but is thrust into it because of the success of her business.

It is so important, as it hopefully stands out. Many readers pick it up as they are intrigued. There is also a big twist at the end of this book, which readers seem to enjoy. This book was fun to write, as the main character is trying to hide everything about her personality and comes across as an obsessive compulsive lair. She’s trying to protect her son from her past and pretends to be something she’s not.

I have been so lucky to have appeared on quite a few, but I loved going on This Morning, with Richard and Judy. They asked me to write them a very short script for them to act out, about women inventing things and it was hilarious! They were brilliant and did it with ease. I was in total awe of the whole show and the production staff behind it. I really enjoyed Open House with Gloria Hunniford, The Big Breakfast and Sky News and The ITV lunchtime news too.

I felt very isolated at the start, but the writing community is huge! Find online book and writing groups and enjoy chatting to readers and writers. I wish I had done this earlier. I also turned down a book contract for Babe Driven, as my daughter wasn’t well enough for me to commit the time I felt a publisher deserved. I self-published my first three books by choice before submitting Ninja School Mum to three publishers. The first one I contacted offered me a contract, so I was very lucky.

I work a lot of hours and try to fit in as much writing as I can. Writing a book involves marketing too and that can seep into your writing time. Chatting with readers is something I really enjoy doing and is good for building support. Networking with other writers. You can build writing teams and cross promote, which helps everyone.

The characters tell me!

My author dream is to have all my books as bestsellers, which I’m thrilled and amazed to say has happened so far. I dream about having my books made into films. As far as other aspirations, I work as a creative mentor and was one of the judges for the Shell LiveWire Grand Ideas award. I’d love to be involved in more competitions or networks to promote innovation. Seeing businesses thrive makes me very happy.

I would like to say thank you for all of your continuing support. Without my wonderful readers, I wouldn’t be able to continue to write books. They inspire me all of the time and when I hear someone has enjoyed my stories, it literally makes my day. I have five books published and two that are in the editing and design phase. I’m not sure when they will be published as I don’t have a date from my publisher yet. I’m currently writing my 8th book about a woman who is not at all who she seems. She is a dog sitter who also works in a stationery cupboard. She makes me giggle every day and I can’t wait to see what she’s going to get up to next.

I try not to read harsh reviews as loving a book is so subjective, but it’s hard not to peek, or let it get you down. Luckily, most of my reviews are hugely positive and I adore my readers. It takes time and effort to post a positive review and share it with friends and family and I really appreciate the effort involved. I always say that giving an author a positive review for a book you’ve loved is like handing them a rainbow.

Another author friend recommended the site to me, but I had already heard of it and registered. It just gave me the nudge to try a full membership and I haven’t looked back since. I really like the interaction and the book banners and networking. There’s nothing at all that I dislike about it. I think it’s a great site that offers useful tools for authors. I’d definitely recommend it, in fact I have! Many times.