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West, Ella (Karen Trebilcock)
IN BRIEF
Ella West is the pseudonym of Karen Trebilcock and she writes novels for young adults. Her first book, Thieves, was published in 2006, and it is a thriller that revolves around Nicky, a girl who is taken by a sinister group called The Project. Anywhere but there (2008) is the sequel to Thieves. West was awarded the Louis Johnson New Writers’ Bursary in 2006. Ella West participates in the Writers in Schools programme.
ProfilePlace of residence: Janefield, Dunedin, New Zealand |
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
West, Ella, a pseudonym of Karen Trebilcock (1967 - ), was born in Invercargill and writes novels for young adults. She also works part time as a journalist.
Her novel Thieves was published in 2006 by Longacre Press and is the first book in a trilogy about Nicky, a girl who is taken by a sinister group called the Project who want to use her for her ability to teleport herself with the power of her mind. The second book in the series, Anywhere but Here, was published in 2008 and the third and final book, Real Life, hit the bookshop shelves in late 2009.
Thieves was a finalist for the 2007 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, and was listed as a 2007 Storylines Notable Young Adult Fiction Book.
She says about the trilogy: 'I never intended to write a science fiction series. All I started with was the idea of a teenage girl hiding in her closet but I did know I wanted to write a thriller. I wanted to capture teenagers in a story which, once they started, they had to read to the end to find out what happens. However I think I have been too successful - teenagers and also adults have told me off as they have lost sleep reading my books late into the night! What higher praise from your readers can there be than that?'
West was awarded the Louis Johnson New Writers’ Bursary in 2006.
She is available for Writers in Schools visits.
writers in schools information
Ella participates in NZ Book Council's Writers in Schools programme, and is prepared to speak to school children of any age. She will speak to classes of any size regarding topics like writing and the creative process, and is happy to run workshops by prior arrangement.
KAPAI: Kids' Authors Pictures and Information
General
Where do you live?
Near Mosgiel, the area is called Janefield. It was named by one of the first settlers here in the 1850s – his wife was called Jane and it is also my middle name.
What books do you read?
Lots of children’s books, adult thrillers, everything and anything
Who is your favourite writer?
Writers? In no particular order – Peter Hawes, John Marsden, John le Carre, Janet Frame, Jane Mander, Virginia Woolf, Roald Dahl, Sylvia Plath, E. Annie Proulx.
How do you think up your ideas?
Can I say I don’t know? With Thieves I started with a girl hiding in her closet and then had to explain why she hid there.
What is the best thing about being a writer?
The fun of telling a story and seeing where it takes you.
Primary School students
What sort of pets do you have?
We have a very aloof cat and two goldfish. We also have chickens and about 100 sheep which come and go.
What is your favourite colour?
Blue.
What is your favourite food?
Pizza with olives and salami.
What is your favourite movie?
The James Bond movies, Mission Impossible, Harry Potter movies and Shrek.
What is your favourite game?
My family is rugby mad.
What is the most fun thing about being an author?
I don’t know yet! So far it is all fun.
How do you make books?
It is lots of hard work but also lots of fun. And you don’t have to think it all up at once. You can take ages and ages and then go back and change stuff as well (especially the spelling!).
Where do you go for your holidays?
We try and go somewhere hot every winter (last year it was Samoa – this year it is the Sunshine Coast in Australia) and every summer we plan to explore Central Otago but never get there because it is so nice where we live. Although this summer we have been promised a trip mustering sheep in the Otago high country on horseback – can’t wait.
What was the naughtiest thing you ever did at school?
I once had to stand in the corridor for an English lesson because I had a book of Sam Hunt poetry on my desk.
Secondary School students
How did you get started?
I never really started; I’ve always been writing, in one form or another. I love the craft of writing, how words can be used in so many ways.
Who inspired you when you were getting started?
My characters – I wanted to tell their story.
What advice would you give an aspiring young writer?
People don’t become writers, they just are writers. If you enjoy it enough you will keep writing and one day you have something ready to send to a publisher.
Is it difficult to make a living writing in New Zealand?
Hopefully not! Ask me in five years. But whatever happens, I enjoy my job as a journalist too much to give it up.
What were you like as a teenager?
I tried to give everything a go, was in a rush to do everything and anything I could.
