Lisa Ellery is a lawyer by day and a writer by night. In this episode of Writers off the Page, we discuss her debut crime novel, Private Prosecution, as well as the challenges of writing a book with a demanding day job and the benefits of writing what you know.
Lisa Ellery was born and raised in Esperance, but now lives in the gold mining city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, where she runs a successful law firm.
Lisa began writing when she was sixteen, and spent more than 20 years working on a fantasy novel which failed to attract publishers. It wasn't until she decided to use her lawyer background to write a crime novel that she hit the jackpot.
Private Prosecution tells the story of Andrew Deacon, a junior prosecutor who unexpectedly finds himself on the wrong side of the law after a drunken one night stand. His conquest, Lily Constantine, is found murdered in her apartment the following morning and Deacon is the prime suspect. It's a whodunnit with a twist - Deacon is certain he knows who killed Lily, but the clock is ticking and he has to prove it before he gets himself killed.
Craig Sisterson describes Private Prosecution as 'a superb debut written with personality and pace, from an arresting new voice in Australian crime'.