Welcome to CentreStage!

CentreStage showcases fantastic authors from around the world. These authors might talk to you about their books, their writing, their writing process, their likes or dislikes, their inspiration… or anything else that takes their fancy.

Today it is my tremendous pleasure to welcome the talented Elle Amberley. Elle shares my love for music and writing, so she’s written a very powerful, very intriguing post for my blog today. Give it up for… Elle Amberley!

Music and books, a never-ending love story

Books and music saved me from childhood despair, uplifting me and carrying me to a universe of my own. Marry this with an imagination often rebuked by adults, is it any wonder I became who I am today. An author who doesn’t like neat labels, who likes to experiment and write whatever bubbles up at the back of an overactive brain. I’m still looking for the pause button, the one to still my mind when I lay in bed unable to sleep despite extreme fatigue. When the fire rages on, the only way is to let the words pour out.

Words have saved me as an adult too, allowing me to part with a painful past, to clear my mind of all the negativity. Talking about dramas, small or bigger, is a powerful way to break away from all the vicious circles and help others. When I experienced profound grief a few years ago, music brought back the bubbles and so did French. I found myself able to express what I couldn’t in a language I picked up as a child, the start of my rebirth.

Being reminded of who I once was helped me to fight back. If you’ve survived once, you can do it again, my inner child screamed at me. So I found myself picking up Natasha’s story, a novel laying dormant in a corner of my mind. Natasha is a fighter, too proud at times, too independent, even if she’s longing for someone to love her and be there for her.

A British teenager, she travels to California, desperate to escape her only too real ghosts. In Nowhere Left to Hide, she finds herself and love, but refuses to take the easy way out. We catch up with her years later in Lost in Your Time. Heartbroken, she survives only for her children’s sake. But is this one battle too many?

Can she keep saying no to the handsome French rock star she is drawn to? She tells him it’s impossible. “Impossible is not a French word,” he counters back. Ah, she’d forgotten this old French saying. If only it was that easy.

All these years ago I let my mind wander reading stories and listening to music. Imagine my joy and emotion the first time a reader wrote to me to tell me how they had been transported to a better place, moved by my words. This is always the most precious compliment anyone can pay me, the thought that somehow I helped someone whom I’ve never met through a dark hour, or two. I do get a lot of mail from my readers, I never share the private messages, but they always touch me. This is something I feel very strongly about, respecting the privacy of my readers. As I wrote this post my publisher emailed me a review of From Me to You. I posted it further down, you will see why it made me smile, and no, I never get tired of hearing from my readers. Indeed, I feel honoured. Thank you to all who take the time to share a little bit of their lives or just want to say hi from time to time.

Years ago I wrote a few songs, I thought it was just for fun. Well, it turned into a bit more than that. And yes, I’m also writing songs in French. An anthology of my French poems has also been released recently.

I relish the challenge of writing in both languages, it sparks new ideas and broadens my style, twisting words in a different way. My style is different in French, sometimes more edgy. This edgier streak can be found in some of my poems too. Dark Tales, my next collection of short stories, follows this pattern and will soon be up for release.

So there you are, a little bit of me. Thanks for reading me and I hope to connect with you on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and the likes.

Do I have more novels laying dormant at the back of my mind? You bet!

Awesome ~ This is such a powerful post and it puts your novels into context (musical and otherwise) beautifully. I, for one, can’t wait to see what you come up with next. Thank you for sharing, Elle! Now let’s take a look at the official Elle Amberley.

Introducing Elle Amberley and her work

A prolific author, Elle Amberley writes Women’s Fiction, Literary, poetry, short stories and features under different pen names.

Elle’s particular strength is writing positive stories with a strong theme of being lost and finding yourself again. Although she broaches difficult subjects in her novels, the characters turn out to be fighters, not victims. Every emotion is conveyed and her style has been described as “lyrical” and appeals to a wide age group, which is a rarity.

Having overcome many obstacles in her life, including a very difficult childhood, she chose to reconstruct her life. Rather than writing a memoir like many abuse victims she prefers to marry fiction with some of her own experiences.

LOST IN YOUR TIME  

Ah, the dangers of the internet! We’ve all been warned, but do we take notice?

When Natasha clicks on a link, her whole life is turned upside down. A flash from the past, a chance meeting with a gorgeous French rock star…

A chance to start over and forget the pain and misery from the last two years.

But can Natasha let go? Will she accept this new twist in her life?

Will she regain her “joie de vivre”? Or will the sparks fizzle out?

Cover blurb, courtesy of Jae De Wylde, author of The Thinking Tank.

Rock star or husband – which would you choose?

Elle’s chatty and engaging style invites us in to share Nat’s thoughts and feelings as she comes to terms with another of life’s twists. Will she choose happiness or duty? Or are they one and the same?

NOWHERE LEFT TO HIDE

Natasha has fled her home many times. When she’s offered the chance to go to California, she can’t wait. Thousands of miles to free herself from her past. She might even find love if she can shed her last fears.

Sometimes sad, sometimes funny, sometimes romantic, a story of hope, fighting against the odds & the determination to do the right thing.

“A heartfelt tale, told with a deft touch.” Rowan Coleman, author

“Lyrical from start to finish, Elle Amberley embraces the essence of women and friendship in Nowhere Left to Hide. Natasha, a young poet and writer, is wise beyond her years, as she lets us accompany her on her year long journey from England to the sunny coast of Southern California as she finds courage, her true calling and love.” ~ Ana Lewis, Founder, WomenontheVerge.net

FROM ME TO YOU

Elle says: This a review my publisher found on Amazon. Thank you so much to the lovely reader who took time to post this, it brought a smile on my face and makes it all worthwhile.

Elle Amberley’s new collection of poetry is an honest, emotive and sometimes gritty depiction about life and love and evoked a variety of emotions in me, particularly ‘I Knew You Already’ which describes the strong bonds of motherhood even through pregnancy, sickness and fear, right to that moment when you finally hold your infant and you do indeed recognise them.

There are glimmers of humour in her work and a great deal of empathy and honesty. The short sharp sentences bring home the pains, joys and angsts of self hatred, falling in love and a changing troubled world, giving plenty of food for thought.

No matter how you feel you will find a poem that suits your mood in this excellent collection; from the very serious Mad World to the tongue in cheek Express Yourself.

These are poems that will stay with you and have you re reading them and finding something new to ponder over or smile about each time.

A delight to read and consider and I look forward to reading future collections.

Wow, Elle: what an endorsement. Congratulations!!

And finally… here are all the place where you can find Elle:

Elle Amberley Author; Elle Amberley Blog ; Elle Amberley Facebook; Elle Amberley Twitter; Elle Amberley Amazon UK; Goodreads profile; Mood boards for Elle’s novels

So… a lyrical writer with fighter heroines tackling difficult issues; an author versed in French and English and associating different moods and experiences with each. What an intriguing post! 

Do let’s talk about heroines. Do you prefer fighters, or damsels in distress? Do you write fighters, or damsels in distress? Or both?