Grandad-turned-author to share story of his success at Mansfield event

Mansfield author Michael Elliott, who writes under the name M J Elliott, now has three successful books available to buy.

Now Michael Elliott, 51, plans to share the story of his success at a ‘meet the author’ event in the Brown Cow pub on Tuesday, February 22 from 7.30 pm.

Michael, who writes under the name of M J Elliott, will give a talk and host a question-and-answer session. He will also be signing all three of his books, which will be for sale.

His latest release, ‘New Blood’, is a follow-up to his debut novel, ‘The Wrong Man’, a gritty crime thriller set in Mansfield, which received five-star reviews on Amazon.

"It picks up where the first one finished,” said Michael, who lives with his wife of 27 years, Debbie, and has two children and three grandchildren.

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"The feedback has been extremely positive. In fact, I have been blown away by the reception I have had for all three books.

"I am only a very small fish in a very large pond. But I have had some fantastic reviews.”

Michael’s second novel, ‘A Bitter Pill’, published last September, is a stark contrast to the others in that it is a tense psychological thriller.

"It is a totally different genre about a woman in an abusive marriage, and all the trials and tribulations she goes through,” he explained.

It has always been Michael’s ambition to write, but he only took the plunge two years ago after being brave enough to leave his long-time nine-to-five job.

"My wife always believed in me, and I knew that if I put my mind to it, I could do it,” he said. “Now, I wish I’d done it years ago.”

Michael also runs a successful business as a non-religious funeral celebrant. Sadly, one of his next appointments is the funeral of his own father, Kirkby man Geoff Elliott, who has died at the age of 85. “It will be a tough gig,” admitted Michael, whose dad worked at the Metal Box company in Sutton for many years.

Before then, a happier day is in store when his daughter Georgina gets married. And by the end of the busiest of months, it will be time for M J Elliott to settle down and pen his next novel.

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