So I write this blog for fun, but the main thing I love to write is young adult fiction. My completed novel, Reprise, follows 16-year-old Emily in her final year of high school, when she discovers the reality of her father’s 80s band.Continue reading “Read Reprise.”
Author Archives: ellekirks
The prettiest town in the world.
I’m sure Hallstatt, Austria, will forever be one of my favourite places that I’ve ever visited, because it was so incredibly beautiful. We went in the middle of winter, hoping for a beautiful snow-covered village, but sadly there was no snow! The day we went was a bit rainy, misty and miserable… and yet Hallstatt was still so incredibly photogenic. It really just is that beautiful. Fair warning, this post is incredibly picture heavy, but I just couldn’t cut any out!
A fairytale castle in Germany.
Ever wanted to see the Disney castle in real life? This is it. In winter of 2015 we visited Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany. It’s the real life inspiration for the Disney princess castle. And although it looks pretty ancient, it’s actually only a couple of hundred years old.
My all-time favourite novels.
These are my absolute favourite novels, as of 2017…
A photo diary of Barcelona, Spain.
A few snaps from Barcelona, summer 2016.
A walk through the British countryside.
In November my flatmate, Helen, from London took me and our other flatmate, Keziah, to her hometown near Middlesborough, in the North of England. There we walked to Roseberry Topping, a tall hill near Great Ayton. Fun fact, Great Ayton was the childhood home of Captain Cook, the first British guy to discover Australia.
Rooftop exploring in Stockholm, Sweden.
We had a quick stop in Stockholm, which I discovered in the short time I was there to be such a lovely city! I definitely want to go back. But instead of the usual city tour, we opted for the Stockholm Rooftop tour, where we climbed onto the roof of the Parliament Building at Gamla Stan.
May Ball Fireworks in Cambridge, England.
The Cambridge May Ball fireworks were such a magical experience, and if you ever have the opportunity to be in Cambridge in June (not May), I’d highly recommend it! We had a few days in Cambridge, but Cambridge is also an ideal day trip from London (which I’ve also done!). It’s a university city, with lovely old buildings and gardens.
Continue reading “May Ball Fireworks in Cambridge, England.”
Wandering the old town of Tallinn, Estonia.
We had one day in Tallinn, a portside city with a beautiful medieval old town. The old town was rammed full of tourists, but there’s a reason for that! It has pretty pastel buildings within a medieval wall that’s still mostly standing to this day. The town is often overrun with tour groups coming in from the cruise ships, which is a downside. The upside is that the old town is beautiful and easily walkable. There are spectacular views and everything is pretty as a picture (it helped that we had such sunny weather!).
Continue reading “Wandering the old town of Tallinn, Estonia.”
Two days in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
My first impressions of St Petersburg were the crumbling soviet era apartment buildings near the port. We arrived by ship, and had a guided tour take us straight to Peterhof Palace and gardens. The sun was shining down on the glittering gold of the palace as we entered the grounds. It was a warm day, and Peterhof was rammed with tourists, of course.
Feed reindeer in Finland.
I only had limited time in Finland, and while I’m sure Helsinki is a beautiful city, sometimes you need to get out of the city! So we booked a day trip from Helsinki to the Nuuksio national park, where they have semi-domestic reindeer you can feed.
Reprise – my first novel.
A few years ago I first started publishing my novel, Reprise, on Wattpad, while I was writing it. I found the whole process of publishing while writing so encouraging – people were reading my book at the same time I was writing it, giving encouragement, and begging me to continue! It led me to finishing the novel, and I’m so happy I did! Since uploading the original book I have done some major edits, so I’ve now uploaded the new and improved version of Reprise to Wattpad. If you want to read my novel (completely for free) you can!
ellekirks 