Behind the Book: Ninja School Mum

Ninja

Today I’m joined by author Lizzie Chantree, who coincidentally hails from my home county of Essex. We oddly lived not too far from each other long before we ever met, so I’m very glad to be talking to her and showcasing the writing talent of Essex (its not all orange tans and fake lashes people!)

So in between the school run, Lizzie is an inventor, business woman and artist. And sometime burner of cakes…..

She has a long list of previously published books and another on the way this year through Crooked Cat Books – but today we are all about the Ninja School Mum so lets get stuck in.

Tell us the basic premise of your novel?

Ninja School Mum is about a single mum who moves to a small town to make a fresh start with her son. She has a mysterious past and tries her best to fit in with the other parents on the school playground, but some of them have secrets of their own.

What inspired you to write this story? Are your characters based on anyone?

I was inspired to write the story from seeing the way people tend to gravitate towards others like them at the school gates. It made me curious as to why a few people are always on the outside looking in and what would happen if one of them had a secret they didn’t want anyone else to discover.

I make up my characters and don’t base them on anyone I know. I am always noticing mannerisms and quirks of personality that would make a good character though!

Why did you choose the setting you chose and do the locations hold any real life significance to you?

I chose the English countryside as it’s somewhere I love to visit. There are so many wonderful buildings and quaint towns hidden away next to forests and along shorelines, to explore. I enjoy the architecture and the history and every time I visit one, I think how exciting it would be to make up a new story there. If I manage to find a cream tea while I’m wandering around being nosey, then that’s an added bonus!

Did it take a lot of research for your locations and story line?

I usually think of places I have visited as I love to travel, especially within the U.K. There is much to discover in the countryside and also in the cities. I always have quirky businesses in my books and I use my own twenty years of running businesses as reference. Writing about them makes me feel like I experience what it would be like to run some pretty amazing businesses, so it can be great fun. I visited a tree climbing centre a few times when writing Ninja School Mum, as one of the main character’s, Zack, has inherited a crumbling estate and tree climbing centre.

If you could sit down and discuss secret lives with any famous people/characters alive or dead who would you choose?

I find Sherlock Holmes totally fascinating, but would love to discuss creativity and inspiration with Ed Sheeran, Chris Martin and Beyoncé. I imagine that Beyoncé would make an amazing Ninja School Mum. She’s such an athletic person and she’s so creative that she would be able to weave a story around you with ease.

What are you working on next?

I have a new book out in July, called, ‘If you love me, I’m yours.’ It’s about an eccentric family of artists and some beautiful little paintings which have been left on park benches across the countryside, which have the press in a frenzy of excitement and the person who painted them trying to hide their identity.