CWD Member Interview – Elaine Fraser

 

Question 1: Tell us three things about who you are and where you come from. 

1.     I used to be an English teacher and began to write seriously in 2005. 

2.     I live in Perth, Western Australia in the hills.

3.     I just published my eighth book. 

 

Question 2: Tell us about your writing (or editing/illustrating etc).  What do you write and why?

I write non-fiction inspirational books, YA novels, blogs, magazine articles, performance speeches, and commercial women’s fiction novel. 

 

Each one of us has a purpose that’s beyond ourselves and we should use our gifts and talents to help others in any way we can. My books have a strong social justice theme and encourage kindness and compassion. 

 

Because of my teaching background, I always have a message in mind when I write. Every story, whether it’s non-fiction or fiction, expresses ideas about love, sacrifice, and redemption.

 

I hope that readers are left with the knowledge that God loves them beyond anything. No sin is too big that God can’t forgive. No problem is too small for God to be concerned with. God cares about every facet of our lives. 

I hope my readers relate to the characters in my novels. Relate to characters who may have the same questions they do and feel that they’re not the only ones who struggle. They’re not the only one who is still working things out. 

 

Question 3: Who has read your work? Who would you like to read it? 

I started out writing inspirational non-fiction and fiction for young adult women aged 13+. 

In 2014, I began writing blogs for Kinwomen, a network of women bringing together women of all ages, cultures, education, abilities and passions to share life and wisdom.

 

My women’s fiction novel is written for women in relationships and recognises the complexity of why people stay or leave. 

 

Live Your Story Promise is my latest inspirational non-fiction book and it’s directed at a more general audience–both male and female. 

 

 

Question 4: Tell us something about your process. What challenges do you face? What helps you the most?

 

Last year, Covid threw me a little at first and my writing slowed up. I became a bit stuck. During the second half of the year, I got myself together and decided to finish all that I’d started. 

 

The best tip I can give is to never stop writing, even when you feel stuck or motivation seems to have disappeared. I kept writing little bits here and there and all of a sudden I had enough to publish. 

 

Even writing for fifteen minutes a day for two hundred days of the year at about two hundred words each session will add up to about forty thousand words. If you also include a few long days of writing, a retreat, and a few shut up and write sessions here and there, you could easily write double that in a year. 

 

Maths was never my strong point at school but numbers are helpful when quantifying your achievement or setting goals. 

 

 

Question 5: What is your favourite Writing Craft Book and why? 

I have a few key craft books, but the most helpful one is Lisa Cron’s Story Genius.  It will teach you how to frame your story using your character’s origin story. I used her model to plan my last two novels and it has saved me a lot of time. 

 

Question 6: If you were to give a shout-out to a CWD author, writer, editor or illustrator – who would they be?

I have two editors from the group who I’ve worked with for several years. Nola Passmore and Iola Goulton. These ladies give so much more than they know. The confidence I get from the encouraging comments in between the corrections has been so, so helpful when I’ve felt like giving up. Iola Goulton and Nola Passmore have become my go-to editors when I need a professional and thorough edit that is both pedantic and encouraging. 

 

 

Question 7: What are your writing goals for this year? How will you achieve them?

The first half of the year has been about getting three books out: Books Four and Five of the Beautiful Lives Series –Scarlett Love and Finding Joy and Live Your Story Promise–my latest non-fiction book. 

The second half of the year will see me doing yet another draft of a book I’ve writing for several years. It’s a women’s fiction novel and I really want to get it finished by the end of the year. 

 I’ve also got another book I’ve begun plotting and I’d like to make a start on writing it. 

 

Question 8: How does your faith impact and shape 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 work in progress, a secular work, has a character named Joseph who loves a woman who has had a child by another man and 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 when I finished the latest draft. 

 

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

Elaine realised she wanted to be a writer at ten years of age when the words flew off the page during a creative writing lesson. 

 

She studied English and Education at university and went on to spend many years as a high school English teacher teaching others how to write.  

 

In 2005, Elaine took the plunge and began writing full-time. Since then she has published eight books and blogs at www.elainefraser.co

 

Elaine’s passion is to write about real issues with a spiritual edge. 

 

When she’s not travelling the world in search of quirky bookstores or attending writing retreats in exotic locations, she can be found in the Perth hills sitting in her library—writing, reading, and mentoring writers.