A Brit Writers Interview with Thomas A Ellis, author of Reunion

Who is Tom Ellis and what inspired you to write Reunion?

I am a police officer from Birmingham, in the West Midlands.  I currently work as a response officer, dealing with a variety of immediate and emergency situations.  Having won the GE-Star Student of Europe Award in 2000, after writing a thesis on Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, I gathered a degree in Criminal Pyschology at the University of Sheffield.  It was here that I began to write a series of love poems, and soon found that I had a passion for romance.  Reunion shows this.  I was driving home one day, most likely singing along to some power-ballad, when an image of a man in a certain situation flashed in my mind.  I won’t offer any spoilers, but this image made me wonder what would drive a man to make this decision.  Reunion is my answer.

Tell us more about Reunion?

Reunion is an epic romantic tale set within Ireland at the turn of the 20th Century.  Whilst it’s not a true love story, it is a story about true love itself.  I chose a period, incorporating the build up to World War One and the Irish War of Independence, which tore families apart.  So, wrapped by historical fact, Reunion tells the tale of two children, Michael Alpin and Grace Darby, who know from the very first moment that they meet that they must love each other.  However, families, social expectations, and the conflicted world around them all strive to keep the young lovers apart.  Nevertheless, love finds a way and in Reunion we see a romantic triumph in what could also be regarded as an utter tragedy.  Reunion is a classic take on the ‘poor-boy’ meets ‘rich-girl’ concept, but offers a real, earthy, human feel to the relationships found within the book.  In Reunion we see how people are defined by what they love, and the tests they must overcome to truly realise it.

How have you found your journey to publication?

Although I will never look at any pieces of my work as truly finished – I will always alter something on every reread – the road to becoming published took much longer than writing the book itself.  I must admit, I was fresh, green, and very naive to the process – believing that once my manuscript landed on the right desk I would be offered an advance on a series of books and left free to travel the world and explore what inspires me.  And, I have to be clear on this, that wasn’t born out of any arrogance.  I genuinely thought that was how writers lived their lives.  So, on receiving what was probably the 5th, 6th, 7th, 18th rejection letter, I soon realised that it took a little more than just writing something worthy of publication to get noticed.  The publishing world, afterall, is a business, and many companies now enlist literary agents to preread all submissions.  These agents will admit that they are not ‘bookies’, but rather stern, strict filtering systems for their publishers.  Also, with the birth of self-publishing and Ebooks, it is more of a chance for publishers to take a punt on a writer who has no ‘sales record’. 

However, I remain a traditionalist and was determined to go the classic route of finding a publisher directly.  Brit Writers  were a god-send.  Having been offered a lot of advice about Reunion, the main point being that the book was on such a large scale it would take a very ambitious publisher to take a punt on such an epic tale for an unknown author – I began to write a more commercially viable, more plosive piece of work, just to get my ‘foot in the door’.  But then Brit Writers came along.  Showcasing the very best of the unpublished author market, Brit Writers nominated Reunion for best novel at the 2011 Awards.  Having been selected from around 25,000 submissions, suddenly the publishing world took notice.  Soon, I was asked by the great people at DB Publishing to be their launch title for their new fictional publications, and now I am set to enjoy the release of Reunion through the main channels such as Waterstones and Amazon, as well as the Ebook avenue of iBooks, Kindle and Kobo.

Tell us about your experience of the 2011 awards ceremony and how was it being a finalist?

My experience at the Brit Writers 2011 awards was fantastic.  After the usual setbacks that a new writer encounters, the recognition I gathered from the awards made me believe again in Reunion.  I always knew it was good enough, but your confidence does take a knocking and so you begin to assess other ‘access-avenues’.  However, the awards made me acknowledge what I had gone through as simply the ‘norm’ and to ignore any doubts I had on making Reunion reach the mass market.  The event itself was a great night, and I got to meet so many like-minded, passionate people that showed – away from the competitive business side of the ‘book-world’ – the people at the very heart of it just want to express, enjoy and share their art.

What advice would you give to new and unpublished writers?

Just keep going.  Never compromise on what you want to achieve, regardless of how you get there. Look at the current market, especially with the increase of Ebooks, as exciting rather than challenging or daunting.  As long as you know where you want to go, don’t ever give up because you feel lost.  Don’t expect anything, only you can get yourself there.  So make it happen.  Take every piece of advice as constructive, but not necessarily decisive.  I was told that Reunion was too long by many – it only takes one person to turn ‘too long’ into ‘epic’ and you’re off.

Will we be seeing you again at the Brit Writers Awards 2012?

I would love to go – if invited – but I also appreciate that this is a time to showcase fresh, new talent.  I’m happy for the limelight to be cast onto others, like it was on me that night.  But, please feel free to follow me on Twitter and I will advise anyone who feels that I can. 

What would you like to say to anyone reading this right now?

Good luck and keep trying.  And, more importantly… Buy my book on Amazon!

Thank you Tom

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