Category: News

Big News and Big Goals for 2024

Posted on by Ellie Rose McKee

I turn thirty-five next year which, to me, feels like a pretty big deal. And what I’m planning for the next twelve months is also fairly massive, but I’ll get to that. Here are my 2024 goals:

  1. Read Twenty Books – Starting simple, this one’s pretty self-explanatory.
  2. Pass Driving Test – I’ve already renewed my provisional license, passed my theory test, earmarked some money for lessons, and actually booked my practical test date. I’m ready!
  3. Get Irish Passport – As someone born and raised in Northern Ireland, I am allowed to have both British and Irish passports, and I very much plan to make the most of that.
  4. Finish and Publish Life Lessons (book two in my trilogy) – This was on my list for 2023, and 2022, which frustrates me no end, but I am trying not to beat myself up about it. The book will be ready when it’s ready, and I won’t release it until my editor assures me it’s the best it can be.
  5. Draft Scar Tissue – Okay, folks, here is the big news: the Arts Council of Northern Ireland have funded me to draft a new standalone novel! I had the idea for this story or, at least, a version of this story, literally over half my lifetime ago. It’s morphed and changed over the years, and had about one-billion changes just to the title and name of the main character alone, but it’s been freshly outlined and I’m excited to see this come together at last.
  6. Edit and Submit Five Pending Short Stories – The stories in question are already written and sitting with my editor, so it’s just a matter of implementing whatever feedback I get and then trying to find homes for the pieces.
  7. Complete Kindlepreneur Course – This is a free, five-day online course that helps independent authors market (and sell) their books more effectively on Amazon.
  8. Complete Small Independent Study of Art History – Earlier in 2023 I had the immense pleasure of visiting immersive VR experiences of Van Gogh and Claude Monet’s works, and as part of that I got access to two apps full of info about both painters. Ever since, I’ve been meaning to go through all of the info and make notes. It hasn’t happened yet, so I’ve clearly gotta be more intentional about it. I also need to crack the giant art history book I bought second-hand.
  9. Submit Three Pieces to the RUA – Every year, the Royal Ulster Academy of Arts opens submissions for their big, impressive gallery exhibition in the Ulster Museum. I submitted a (singular) piece for the first time in 2023 and didn’t get in, but I very much want to try again. Three pieces is the maximum number you can submit, so I want to give myself the best shot I can.
  10. This one is a Secret – Whether it works out or not, I plan to talk about it publicly around this time next year. It just feels too tentative right now, and I am very emotional invested in it working out, which leaves me feeling vulnerable about it.

Watch this space!

Dangerous and Endangered Women

Posted on by Ellie Rose McKee

Since it is just seven days until my new book––a short story collection, titled Girl Imperilled––comes out, it seems high time to tell you about it!

Here’s the blurb:

Thirty stories of warrior women and damsels in distress. Of damsels ~causing~ distress. Of girls falling in love and breaking hearts; stealing babies, stealing wallets, transforming into creatures new; finding, losing, and saving themselves.

It was way back in 2016 that a review blog pointed out I had a major running theme in my work––of female characters being in, and subsequently overcoming, adversity. It’s actually that same blog (Self-Publishing Review) to which I owe the inspiration for the collection title.

Their exact words, which I’ve quoted at the very front of the book, are/were:

While her protagonists are often imperilled, McKee imbues their stories with hope, making something uplifting out of terrible circumstances.

And once they pointed it out, it suddenly became so obvious to me. I’d never really thought of my work that way before, but it was true. I’ve actually explored the theme so much, I could have included twice as many stories as I did, but––along with my amazing editor, Bridget Engman Wilde––I have curated the selection, so it only includes the strongest pieces.

A lot of them are quite short, and some have been previously published individually, but I really feel like they flow together, and I am so proud of the outcome.

Another interesting thing I was surprised to learn about my own body of work, was quite how queer it all is. Without meaning to, I have included a wide range of representation for many characters within the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. While I’m aware that might put some people off, I trust that the book will find the audience it deserves.

If that’s you, I so hope you like it.

The ebook is exclusively on Kindle (US link | UK), and the paperback can be ordered via a range of online retailers including Waterstones and Barnes and Noble. If you wish to get it in-person from a bricks and mortar bookstore, it should be listed with their wholesalers, available on request.

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-8384323-5-5

Finding Mylo and Míng

Posted on by Ellie Rose McKee

In case you missed my newsletter and/or my announcements across social media, this is just a short post to tell you that I recently released my first art zine.

It’s called ‘Finding Mylo and Míng’ and is about the journey I went on to start making art as an adult, develop an art style, and create my first characters.

The zine is a short, 22-page, full-colour book the size of a comic (6×9 inches).

It’s for anyone interested in getting started with illustration, and/or people who enjoy cute images of animals.

Available via Amazon (US, UK), Barnes and Noble, Book Depository, Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and independent bookstores if you ask for it.

See below for a flip-through.

Press Release for Full Term

Posted on by Ellie Rose McKee

For Immediate Release
March 2021

Local Author Releases Debut Novel During Lockdown

Belfast-based author Ellie Rose McKee is to release her debut novel, Full Term––a contemporary coming-of-age family drama that would appeal to both older teens (14+) and adults––on Tuesday 30th March. The book will be available for sale online in eBook formats for Kindle, Kobo, Nook, and more, as well as in paperback via Waterstones, Amazon, and independent bookstores.

ISBN

978-1-8384323-0-0

About Ellie

Ellie Rose McKee was born and raised in Bangor and now lives in East Belfast. She is an established blogger and published poet.

Novel Blurb

Sixteen-year-old Mya Byrne has three problems: her long-term boyfriend broke up with her over a stupid misunderstanding, her step-dad’s a psychopath who might just try and kill her, and––oh, yeah––she’s just gone into labour two weeks early in the middle of maths class.

As Mya navigates her first month of being a new mum, she resolves to fix her relationship, keep herself and her baby safe, and hopefully get her step-dad put behind bars.

Not too much of a tall order, right?

Exciting Things Cometh!

Posted on by Ellie Rose McKee

For a little while, I hadn’t been doing quite so many events. That’s just changed. I’ve gone from having a relatively quiet summer to having a series of awesome things lined up for Autumn.

I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago but had to hold off making it public because there was an embargo on the news item near the end. What’s happened in the meantime is that I read at the most recent Flash Fiction Armagh as well as at a Women Aloud NI event for Culture Day.

On Thursday the 10th of October I have co-ordinated a Short Story Showcase at Books Paper Scissors in Stranmillis. Then, hot on the heels of that, is DeptCon5: Ireland’s biggest Young Adult convention which I will be attending (just as a regular attendee, not as a speaker or anything).

November is, of course, National Novel Writing Month, and I’m hoping to get along to Purely Poetry in October and December, but by far the biggest thing I have lined up for the coming months is the SCBWI Conference.

I was absolutely thrilled to discover that I am one of SCBWI’s Margaret Carey Scholarship winners for this year. The start of NaNoWriMo will be a little delayed for me because, from the 1st to the 3rd of November, I will be in Winchester attending talks and panels and meeting literary agents face-to-face!

You can realistically expect plenty of blog posts on my return. I cannot, cannot, CANNOT wait!

Summer Successes and Autumn Goals

Posted on by Ellie Rose McKee

This post is third in a series. You can find part one (covering January to April) here and part two (May to August) here. As outlined in those previous posts, I’m tackling this year in chunks, setting myself goals for four months at a time, rather than having a single set for the whole of 2019.

It seems to be working out.

My only year-long goal – the Goodreads reading challenge – has me sitting at 44 books completed off a total of sixty. That’s 73% complete/4 books ahead of schedule.

Before I get into my goals for the rest of 2019 going forward, let’s take a minute to recap on my summer goals and how well I did (or didn’t) achieve them.

In May, I set myself the following tasks:

  • Lose more weight
  • Continue to submit my first novel to agents
  • Make edits to my second novel and send it to beta readers
  • Draft yet another novel during Camp NaNoWriMo in July
  • Attended two publishing conferences
  • Complete my tax return

From that list, what I didn’t do was lose weight or write a third novel. The number of things I achieved (listed below) definitely outweigh these two failures, which I’m obviously delighted about, but they are still two pretty big failures. Though I will point out that I did take part in Camp NaNoWriMo, as planned, and got a few words towards book three in my trilogy. Overall, I wrote 25,000 words during July, much of it fanfiction works in progress that I wanted to get out of my head at long last.

Here’s the full list of what I actually did achieve: Continue reading →

On Winning the Lottery (Writing Update – October 2018)

Posted on by Ellie Rose McKee

I’m not going to beat around the bush here. The title of this blog post is a bit click-baity, yes, but it’s also technically true.

The big news I am delighted to share with you is that the Arts Council of Northern Ireland are funding me, using lottery money, to write my second novel.

I’m practically shaking with joy, just being able to write that. Each element of the statement makes me want to scream with happiness.

Let me break it down for you:

  1. I have written a novel.
  2. I’m writing a second novel.
  3. The arts council are funding me to do so.

If this is a dream, please no one pinch me!

The book in question is called Life Lessons and is the sequel to my first novel, Full Term. Currently, Life Lessons is sitting at the 10,000-word mark. I have between the 1st of November this year and the end of April next year to finish the draft. Those dates include NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) where I’m hoping to get the bulk of it done and CampNaNo, when I’ll be going over it all again before handing it in at the start of May.

Between now and then, I have a letter appearing as part of an exhibition in Glasgow this December. Sadly, I can’t make it to the launch but I still think it’s such a cool thing to happen and I’m delighted to have been included.

I also have a few other opportunities I’m currently waiting to hear back from – there is a residency I have applied for and a competition I have entered book one into. Part of me wanted to wait on those decisions before making this post, but I just couldn’t put it off any longer.

I want to thank the wealth of people who have congratulated me across social media already this weekend so, so much for their love and support. It’s been a long road getting here – I can remember my disappointment this time last year, when I was unsuccessful – but I’m not done yet.

Onward and ever, ever upward 🙂

Armagh Here I Come!

Posted on by Ellie Rose McKee

I’ve already announced this on social media but, in case you missed it, or if you wanted further explanation of what it all means: I have been awarded a full bursary to the John Hewitt International Summer School this year.

This summer school – based in Armagh, Northern Ireland – runs all of next week and is an intensive programme of events for writers.

There are talks, workshops, theatre shows, showcases, panels, exhibitions, and more (see table, below). I’m about as excited as I am intimidated.

The list of people taking part is impressive and, here’s the best part, I’m getting it all for free! This is made possible via the bursary scheme, which offers the opportunity to people who wouldn’t be able to avail of such events and teaching otherwise, and is funded in part by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. My particular bursary sponsor is the Community Relations Council.

For my set of three creative writing workshops, I’ve picked studying fiction under Bernie McGill, though I’m sure I’ll glean lots of things about poetry from other parts of the schedule, too. Oh, to be spoilt for choice! Already I have my reading material for the week picked out, though I’m not sure where I’ll find time to read the book of poems by the man himself.  Continue reading →

Writing Update – May 2018

Posted on by Ellie Rose McKee

I’ve been fairly quiet on social media recently, partly because I needed to recharge my batteries in that respect (it was all getting a bit much, you know?), but also: I’ve been really concentrating on my writing.

On that count, I have some updates:

The two pieces of flash fiction I said had been accepted in my March update have now both come out – one micro piece in issue two of the Bangor Literary Journal, and a brand new short story in issue nine of Corncrake Magazine.

I finished and won CampNaNoWriMo, writing 20,000 words during the month of April.

But, most importantly, I have finished my novel!!! (Yes, those extra exclamation marks are necessary. Didn’t you hear what I said?) I don’t mean I’ve finished the first draft – oh, no. We’re way past that! – I’ve sent the whole thing out to my beta readers and finished a round of edits.

I had a meeting with a writing mentor on Friday who looked over my pitch and first 10,000 words and she was so positive about it, encouraging me to not delay in sending it out.

So, that’s exactly what I’m doing.

My novel will be in the inbox of an agent come morning!

March Events

Posted on by Ellie Rose McKee

I’ve said elsewhere that March is set to be a busy month for me. It got off to a slower start than intended, with my first lot of appointments called off or postponed because of the storm at the weekend, but things are back in full swing now. Here’s the up to date list of what’s happening:

This Thursday (the 8th of March) is International Women’s Day and, as such, Women Aloud NI are gathering again across the country for a series of readings. There are two in Belfast, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. I’ll be reading at the evening event – 7 to 9pm – at Easons bookstore, Donegall Place. It’s a free event, and you don’t need to be a woman to attend.

Then, on Saturday, the Women Aloud crew are heading to Dublin, where we’ll be engaging in a readathon at the Irish Writers’ Centre alongside writers from the south. Because there will be so many of us, it unfortunately has to be a closed event – no other people will be able to fit in the building! But, afterwards (at 3.30pm), we’ll be gathering in Parnell Square where there will be a public mass reading (as in, we will all read en masse). It’s really a sight to behold.

Later in the month, on March 22nd, there’s a poetry showcase in at Waterstones Belfast followed by an open-mic session where anyone can come and read. I’m one of the eight poets being showcased (the rest are in the image, above). Kick off is at 6.30pm.

I hope to see you there!