International bestselling author, award-winning inventor and product designer, Lizzie Chantree, has been featured on television and radio. She discovered her love of writing fiction when her children were little and now writes books (many based in Essex) full of friendship and laughter,  about women who are far stronger than they realise. Lizzie has recently combined her love of writing and design by launching a range of sustainable book-and-writing-themed-fashion and homewares that are worn and displayed by influencers worldwide. She lives with her family on the Essex coast.

When I was 19, I had been making my own craft products and giving them to friends and family who kept asking for more designs, so I decide to set up a shop with things I’d made, such as: glassware, floating candles, Dragon’s Tears (scented resin drops which worked like pot pourri),  ceramics, silk ties, T-shirts and other homewares.  At this time I had been unemployed for six months, which was making me worried about my career potential and I had no real investment, but was determined to try and, luckily, this played to my strengths in product design and marketing. At first, I attended craft fairs and hired space in creative outlets to sell my hand-made and designed products. However, this was dispiriting, as footfall was often slow.

On my way home from London, having been told there was no space available at Greenwich market, I approached the manager of the gift village at Lakeside shopping centre. He said they were looking for products just like mine! Selling my gifts from a market stall in a busy shopping centre was a revelation. My business soon evolved into owning two retail shops and a wholesale business and I was able to exhibit my products at four trade shows a year, selling them all over the world. I wrote interesting product descriptions and made up themes for my gifts, which captured the imagination of my customers. During this time, I also invented a product called Runaway Spray, which prevents further running, or ‘ladders’ in hosiery, which won me an award at the Female Inventor Of The Year competition, run by Fair Play London and The Patent Office.

After running my business for many years, my daughter became unwell and I wanted to be close to home. She was in and out of hospital regularly for two years and it took us all a long time to understand what was wrong with ongoing hospital and specialist visits for many years. Writing my first book during this time kept me awake (and eased my anxiety) at night so that I could hear her breathing. I used to sit looking despondently out of the window, with the baby monitor next to me. I remember feeling extremely sad and worried, so I filled my first book with sunshine, gorgeous heroines and exotic locations. The polar opposite to my life at that time. This was the pivotal book that changed my career and my daughter now tells everyone she’s the reason I became an author, and she’s right!

Hiding the manuscript in a cupboard for five years until my daughter’s health improved seemed like a good idea, as I was completely unknown as a writer. After approaching three publishers, I was offered a publishing deal for my first book, but was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to dedicate enough time to the process due to my daughter’s health. I picked up an article about a guy who had successfully self-published and decided to give that a try. Publishing my first novel took me on a journey of creativity and discovery and rocketed my book into the bestseller lists, which I was completely astounded by.

I was lonely, as I didn’t know any other writers, so I began to research where to find them. During this time, I became part of the reading and writing communities and found mentors, friends and people just like me. Writing can be isolating, which is why I started hosting seminars about book marketing and author branding, mentoring other writers and began a book group on Facebook – Lizzie’s Book Group. Feel free to join the group! From this idea grew a community writing group, Writing Buddies, which I host with friend and fellow author, Chris Penhall, near where I live in Essex in the UK. We don’t check people’s work, but we sit in a beautiful café setting and encourage each other to add words to our work in progress. It really is a creative environment and our writers often comment how astounded they are by how much they write during these two-hour sessions. The coffee and cake we consume also adds a little sparkle.

At the end of last year, I looked for an agent and was lucky to find one quickly. Working with Nicky at WGM Atlantic Talent & Literary has been really exciting. Getting the manuscript ready for submission and then waiting while the book is on submission takes time and anxiety can easily build again. I knew I needed to refocus my mind and look after my mental health, so I combined my two passions: books and products. I’d won awards for my products in the past, so began designing a selection of book and writing themed gifts, T-shirts and hoodies with readers and writers in mind. I sourced a sustainable printing partner and set up a beautiful online store. The products are printed with green energy and everything is designed to be reused, recycled and re-worn. My products are organic and the packaging is plastic-free and designed to be used as a colouring-in sheet. I love opening my social media pages and seeing a post of someone holding one of my books, or wearing a bookish tee I’ve designed. I really appreciate each and every person who has, and still is, supporting my writing journey. The best time of my day is when I’m chatting to readers, or other book lovers. We all share the same love of the written word.

I opened my online shop in November 2024 and it has been a whirlwind ever since, but in the best way. I love the thought of writers drinking tea, or coffee, from one of my sustainable mugs, or readers curled up in their reading snugs, at the library, or popping to the bookstore, while wearing one of my bookish T-shirts. I have manifesting mugs that say Millionaire Author In Training, which are great fun and sit on writer’s desks, reminding them of what they might be working towards. There are procrastinating writer tees, romance trope ranges and aspiring author and #writer designs. There’s a men’s range, so they can enjoy the writerly fashion too and the homewares and book tote ranges are growing daily. One of my favourite designs is Today’s Good Mood Is Sponsored By Books. Absolutely!

My T-shirts have been worn by influencers across social media, bringing extra enthusiasm to create new characters and manuscripts. I write books to make people smile and now I’m hoping I can do that with my fashion and homeware ranges too.

Most roads to publication can be so rewarding, but when someone asks me which path they should follow, I tell them to follow their heart.

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You can hear great new ideas, creative work and writing tips on Write On! Audio. Find us on all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Google Podcasts and Spotify. Type Pen to Print into your browser and look for our logo, or find us on Podcasters.Spotify.com.

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