In Private Prosecution, Andrew Deacon is young, fit and single, a junior prosecutor at the WA DPP with a bright future and a sense of entitlement to match. That future starts to look darker when he spends the night with an attractive stranger, Lily Constantine, and she is found murdered in her apartment the following day. Andrew believes he knows who killed Lily but there is not a shred of evidence to prove it.
This is a pacy, darkly comic whodunnit with a twist – Andrew knows who did it but the clock is ticking and he has to prove it before he gets himself taken out.
We chat with author Lisa Ellery about her novel Private Prosecution, along with writing, book recommendations, and more! Private Prosecution is available in all good bookstores and online at fremantlepress.com.au
Hi, Lisa! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I was raised on a sheep, cattle and barley farm at Gibson, near Esperance on WA’s south coast. I studied to become a lawyer and for the past 13 years I’ve been running my own law firm in the beautiful inland city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. I work predominately in commercial and mining law and employ a dozen staff. I divide my time between managing my law firm, running in the Goldfields bush and writing.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
I have enjoyed writing as long as I can remember. It hasn’t always been good but I’ve always done it! I read a lot as a child and stories like the Tomorrow series by John Marsden and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe dragged me into other worlds and at the same time a desire to create these worlds myself was growing.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
The first book I remember reading was Hating Alison Ashley by Robin Klein. I know pretty much every word and it has been a huge inspiration for me, so funny and so poignant. The two books that made me realise I could possibly write something publishable were Dave Warner’s Before it Breaks and Alan Carter’s Prime Cut. And the book I can’t stop thinking about is Skins by my good friend Sarah Hay. Definitely the best book I’ve ever read.
Your debut novel, Private Prosecution, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
I’ll give you a selection of words used on my Goodreads reviews: Fast-paced, funny, clever, page-turner, suspenseful.
What can readers expect?
Some larger than life characters and a fair bit of action. It has been described as “darkly comic” which is great as I did intend it to be funny. Dark comedy is great, and it’s the Australian way. I always think of that fabulous Australian movie Muriel’s Wedding. That was so devastating, emotionally, possibly the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever watched, despite being a comedy. I just think humour gives the whole emotional narrative more clout.
Where did the inspiration for Private Prosecution come from?
I’ve always enjoyed writing. My first novel was a fantasy for young adults. That remains unpublished. It never crossed my mind to attempt to write crime until recently, despite having practiced law since 1998.
After reading those two WA crime novels mentioned above I realised I too could do that and I could possibly even do a pretty good job at it given the fact I was a lawyer.
Can you tell us about any challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
I work full-time as a lawyer so the main challenge was finding time to write. That remains the biggest challenge. If I knew how to capably balance a career in law, running my own business, exercising and writing novels, as well as having sufficient down time, I could probably have a career as a life coach.
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
The need to research things I knew nothing about is something I wasn’t really expecting when I embarked on this project and I had no idea it would be so much fun. A plot or character idea can take you so quickly into unfamiliar territory and you need to go on a steep learning curve to work it into the novel. It wasn’t just researching the law, though there was plenty of that. In my job as a lawyer, research is part of the daily routine. I never thought I’d be looking up the criminal law again but it’s actually much more fun when you’re reading the legislation and suddenly there it is in black and white, a section that’s going to make the whole plot hang together beautifully. Just magic!!
What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?
The best advice has been on the fundamentals. Show don’t tell. Also less is more. Shorten up your sentences. Less adjectives, less words ending in “ly”.
The only advice I haven’t accepted yet is: “Throw away your first novel. Everyone’s first novel is rubbish”.
What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
Well, I had to learn how to write first. No one is born a good writer. You have to do a lot of writing, a lot of practice to get any good at it. I wrote a lot, had some of my work edited, tried to implement their recommendations, read a lot of guides on how to write. Despite that it was very hard to get a foot in the door with my first novel, a young adult fantasy. When it occurred to me to make a shift into writing crime, utilising what I knew about criminal law after practising as a defence lawyer for seven years earlier in my career, and descending into the real world, that was the turning point. This is the first crime novel I have attempted and Fremantle Press loved it immediately. I’m sure it helped that I had learned how to write properly by the time I started it. But mostly I think it helped that I was writing what I knew.
What’s next for you?
I’m planning to write another crime novel set in my home town of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
At present I’m half way through The Night Village by Zoe Deleuil and it is just brilliant. An easy read that draws you into the world of the protagonist. I’m going to recommend it even though I have no idea how it’s going to finish. I am confident it’s going to be good.
