Welcome to a new Subscriber Showcase – where I share what your creative peers are up to in the world.
And this next showcase features a creative powerhouse from Ireland who is an inspiring whirl of productivity, creativity and force-to-be-reckoned-with.
Allow me to introduce…
Elaine Nolan
Tell us about yourself, Elaine.
Like, OMG… where do you start without either sounding like a shrinking violet (which I am, by the way), or an aggrandizing diva (okay… so I have my moments there too)
So, here’s the short answer:
I’m a creative where exotic and imaginative parallel universes sometimes overlap with this thing called reality.
And the long one?
For work, I recently did the personality-type tests and it came out as equally INTJ and INFJ.
Why tell you this?
Well… as with most creative types, I’m an introvert (see shrinking violet above), and intuitive, but all this science-y bit appeals to my Virgoan logical thinking and sense of achievement, (that’s probably the diva bit!!)???????
I’m an author, composer, cellist, pianist, awesome manager (I’m only quoting the results of my work test assessment here!!).
On the more mundane details, I’m the sole slave and door-person to three rescue cats who all have very strong distinctive personalities.
They all hate my singing (honestly, it’s not that bad), one’s terrified of the cello, and another insists on playing the piano while I’m trying to practice it. It’s never boring in my house.
Tell us a little about your creative life, and why it’s important to you.
My creative life is a bit like juggling, and yes, sometimes there’s too many balls, or all different sizes, thus distorting the balance a little.
And recently I’ve discovered that it’s also perfectly acceptable to let them drop every once in a while, to let them all drop, and without guilt.
Mostly, I write novels, and I compose mostly classical music with a celtic and techno twist.
I write soundtracks to go with the books to give a unique reading experience.
The books usually get written in a myriad of coffee shops, in various locations (purely for inspiration -honest, nothing to do with the pavlovas in one, scrambled eggs in another….), the music is exclusively composed in my dinky little studio at home.
Why is it important?
I’ve always said that writing was cheaper than therapy.
It is a way to play out the ‘what-if’ scenarios, (especially the ones where I ‘wish I’d said…’).
It’s a way of delving into deep emotions, experience them, release them.
As a child, I used books to escape from the world, and much later, in my final year at school, an essay I wrote was read out.
It was deeply personal and referred to a class bully, sitting four desks away from me.
Unfortunately she recognised herself even though she wasn’t named.
Well, all hell broke loose and I was subsequently shunned and isolated at school, but at that point I realised just how powerful words were.
But as to why it’s important: We all live epic lives in our own ways.
It shapes us, moulds us, but the experiences do not have to define us.
They are our teachers, as much as the person standing at the head of a classroom, trying their best to impart their knowledge and own experiences…
And so I write…
I write to purge…
I write to grieve for losses I can and will never speak of…
I also write for the joy of it…
I write to be brave…
I write to experience love…
I write to set my soul free…
And so I write…xx
Tell us more about your current creative adventure…
Currently, well…. There are a few projects on….
First up is the release of the 5th book entitled Crossing Lives, and its accompanying soundtrack. It’s a thriller about an Irish cop trying to catch a human trafficker who almost killed her in the line of duty.
Then, in March 2018, for International Piano Day, I’ll premiere the next album entitled Emergence, a 9 movement piano work of the journey and struggle to overcome the limitations imposed on a young musician to finally breaking free, and allowing the creative spirit to emerge.
The premiere concert will also be performed in aid of a mental health service in Waterford. (So practicing a lot on the piano!!)
In between those, I’m writing the first draft of the sequel for Red Hot Summer.
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Thank you, Elaine!
I hope that you enjoyed meeting Elaine and her (many!) creative projects. If you’d like to find out more about her, head over to her website elainenolan.net or Instagram where you can find more details on how to connect, as well as a more info on her books and music (and cats!)
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And if you’d like me to feature you and your creative projects in a future Subscriber Showcase – please just let me know.
Here’s to you and all the inspiring creatives up to great work in the world.
Have a lovely week!
Is there a book in you…?
