Elizabeth Wright

Elizabeth Wright - The Writer

Elizabeth left school at 14 and, with her parents, started up a pet/garden shop in Eastbourne in 1954. Besides stocking unusual pets, they also took in, and cared for, wild animals and birds that were either orphaned or injured.

This resulted in a number of television appearances with some of the animals and birds, on 'Blue Peter', 'George Cansdale's Pet Programme' and 'Coast to Coast.' She also took part in Hughie Green's 'Double Your Money,' and 'What's My Line,' where she 'Beat the Panel' of Cyril Fletcher, Lady Isabelle Barnett, Louise Collins and Gilbert Harding and has a Diploma to prove it. This programme went out live in those days, and was remembered for many years afterwards because of the antics of her National prize winning talking Amazon parrot, 'Lulu' and 'Cocky' the Lesser Sulphur Crested Cockatoo when they were brought on stage. The parrot started to demolish the microphone on the desk and the cockatoo decided the chairperson, Eamonn Andrews, was going to be its new best friend, sat on his shoulder and began nibbling his ear.

As her knowledge about pets grew over the years, and gaining a City and Guilds Certificate in Pet Shop Management, Elizabeth was asked to write a regular monthly column for a trade magazine, Pet Product Marketing. Feature articles on birds were accepted by 'Cage and aviary Birds' and sister magazine 'Bird Keeper.'

She bred budgerigars and was reasonably successful in showing them, winning a number of cups, diplomas and rosettes. She then turned to exhibiting foreign birds both in this country and on the continent, winning more diplomas along the way.

She continued writing, building up a portfolio of accepted work. In 1992, due to the recession and heavy competition from supermarkets, the pet shop business went downhill. She decided to professionalise her writing, so signed up with The Writers' Bureau, did a short course on travel writing at Eastbourne's Downs' College and joined a distance learning college to learn more about photography.

Recognition as a 'proper' writer came about when the late Steve Benz, of S. B. Publications commissioned her to put together a book covering some of the crafts and industries special to the county, to be called, 'Made in Sussex.' Book signings at Waterstones, talks, and an interview on local Sovereign Radio came with the territory.

Although Elizabeth continued to write numerous feature articles, it was another ten years before she wrote her second book, the hilarious 'From Fancy Pants to Getting There,' setting out how she'd "determinedly struggled on after bankruptcy, the assorted jobs I did, the characters I met," with mentions of a whistling car, suicidal pheasant, working for Scrooge re-invented and foul-ups in a factory.

Reviewing this book, Jean Morris,of the Society of Women Writers and Journalists said: 'Fancy Pants'...is a tale of a single mother on benefits getting through it all. Twenty-eight hilarious chapters of trying to find ways of staying afloat and keep her dying car on the road...it is an enjoyable, light-hearted read.'

Commissioned to put together a definitive work on Belle Tout lighthouse, made famous by being moved back from Beachy Head's crumbling cliff edge, she spent 6 months completing the project using research material she had collected during the last 20 years, and included interviews with many people associated with this building.There are over 100 pictures, many never seen before, and fascinating extracts from associated legal documents held in private collections. To date,"Belle Tout - The Little Lighthouse That Moved" (ISBN 978-1-909359-19-2) is the most comprehensive book on Belle Tout in the world.

It is now also available as an e-book for Kindles.

After the launch of 'Fancy Pants' an in-depth interview on BBC's Radio Sussex went well; in a programme of 30 minutes called 'My Life' she was able to tell listeners about herself, her writing and how both books had come to be written. On October 8th 2013, Elizabeth was again invited to BBC's Radio Sussex, and interviewed by Danny Pike,chatting about Belle Tout lighthouse and the new book.

Elizabeth was invited to take part in Kentucky's Turquoise on-line radio programme, 'Write to be Heard.' Hosted by well known USA presenter, Michael Sargent, the show is by writers for writers,and has a world wide following.In a recorded interview, which was on air May 21st and repeated May 25th 2014, Elizabeth and Michael talked at length about her writing life, and her books. There was special mention of her humorous autobiography, 'From Fancy Pants to Getting There' which Michael said, "I read it from cover to cover. Elizabeth forges her own personal story of heartbreak and hard luck into a funny, sexy, open and honest romp through her most trying adventures."

Elizabeth's latest e-book is now available (Jan. 2015) "Who's a Chatty Boy, then?" (ISBN 978-1-909359-49-9) is a guide for those who love budgerigars and would like to teach them to talk. With 38 years of practical experience of breeding, exhibiting, selling and training many popular pet birds, and a past owner of prizewinning talkers at a number of National Bird Shows, she has now put her considerable experience into this highly informative book.

Visit Elizabeth's website -elizabethwright-thewriter.com, also b-c-ing-u.com and Giddy Limits.com for samples of her writing.