Five minutes with Eleanor Ray

Best-selling author Eleanor is the author of three books - Everything is Beautiful, The Art of Belonging and See the Stars. She also runs a podcast, Ray of Light. Through her novels and podcast, she loves exploring the quiet magic of everyday life - how we connect, how we heel and how we keep looking up. Find out more about Eleanor's inspiration and writing practices in this quick interview.

Eleanor Ray (c) Charlie Hopkinson

Your first book Everything is Beautiful was about a hoarder who finds the secrets to her past hidden in her possessions. What inspired you to write this story?

The idea came to me while I was pregnant with my second child. As my belly grew bigger and I found it more difficult to lift my toddler son, he started collecting objects in the park: twigs, empty bottles and wilting daisies. He treasured these things almost compulsively – I think holding on to his possessions in expectation of the changes that were to come. It made me think of an instinct many of us have, to hold onto things to help us feel secure, and what might happen if that spiralled out of control. That’s when my character Amy Ashton was born.

Your third book, See the Stars, has an astronomy theme, but you don't have an astrophysics background. How did you research such an enormous topic?

 I had an excellent teacher – my son Teddy, who developed a passionate interest in astronomy at nursery and very quickly knew far more about it than I did. Research became something of a shared adventure: we visited science museums, planetariums and observatories together, read books side by side and worked our way through more space documentaries than I can count. I was also lucky enough to know a friend of a friend who worked for the European Space Agency, who read the manuscript and helped ensure everything was as accurate as possible.

As for Teddy's verdict when I presented him with the finished book? "Great," he said. "But I'm not really into stars anymore. Can you write a book about Pokémon?"

You studied English Literature. How much has that helped you in your writing journey?

I studied English because I had a love of reading, and I think that love helped me far more than the degree itself. Reading widely gives you a natural feel for how stories work – the rhythms, the structures, the things that make you turn a page – and that, more than anything else, has been the most useful thing.

Did you ever write books as a child? What was your first one called?

I often wrote stories – and poems, because they were shorter! I remember one poem about my favourite snack at the time, though the title escapes me.  I was very proud of the line: "Butterfly light, the unlikely offspring of its stone-like parent." Can you guess the snack?

You mentioned that when you were little you wanted to be a milkmaid. Why do you think that was? Do you still hanker after rural life?

Ha! I wanted to be a lot of things – a milkmaid, a hairdresser, a ballerina. But I'm a London girl through and through; I'm not sure I'd survive in the country. I'm pretty happy to have ended up a writer, though. And significantly less likely to be kicked in the face by a hoof.

Where do you write?

I always write semi-reclined on my sofa, laptop on a pillow on my lap. It started because I used to write in the evenings after work and wanted it to feel physically different from sitting at a desk all day. Then, on maternity leave, I'd settle on the sofa with my baby and write while feeding or while he napped. Now I can't imagine writing anywhere else. I'm a bit hypermobile, so sitting upright for hours makes my back ache – I'm happiest with my feet up, or coiled like a pretzel.

What's your favourite writing snack?

A matcha latte and a couple of squares of 80% cocoa chocolate.

Do you have a lucky writing charm?

No — and maybe that's where I've been going wrong.

Wuthering Heights or Pride and Prejudice?

Pride and Prejudice, all the way. I'll take gentle satire over wild passion any day.

Find out more about Eleanor's writing and podcast - https://eleanorraybooks.com/