A Lanarkshire writer hopes to be a voice for working class women as she looks forward to the release of her debut novel.
Elissa Soave's book titled Ginger and Me is set in her home town of Uddingston and will be published on July 21.
The coming of age mystery novel tells the story of local bus driver Wendy who befriends a teenager but doesn't realise how much trouble she's about to get herself in.
With plenty of nods to the Uddingston area such as the Tunnock's factory, Elissa is confident many Lanarkshire residents will show a keen interest to her tale.
She told Lanarkshire Live : "It's all set in Uddingston. Wendy, the protagonist, lives in Birkenshaw and drives the bus round the local area. You see a lot of places like Birkenshaw and Viewpark.
"I really wanted to put working class women centre stage, because there's a lot of books about working class men, so I really wanted to write a story about women because I don't think you see that generally.
"I want them to drive the story. I wanted it to be in a local place because local people have just as much as a story to tell."
Elissa was awarded agency representation after winning the Primadonna Prize in 2019, and months later she landed a publishing deal with Harper Collins.
She has since worked hard at perfecting her debut effort, with the help of a dedicated publishing team and editor.
In July, a book launch event will be held in Waterstone's on Glasgow's Sauchiehall Street, where Elissa's editor will join her.
The author added: "I'm really looking forward to the launch, it's been two years in the making. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone there."
The Primadonna Prize provided Elissa with a fantastic opportunity, and more importantly gave her the confidence to present her work to the public.
She now wants to inspire other female writers to achieve their ambitions too.
Elissa explained: "I think there are barriers for working class writers, particularly if you're a woman. I was very lucky as I won the Primadonna Prize in 2019 and that was to get agency representation.
"I feel like I've been lucky to get a platform and I really want to push it to help other Scottish women writers.
"I was really astounded to get on the longlist, and from there I sent an extract from Ginger and Me and it won.
"So, as part of that I got represented by London agency Curtis Brown, and shortly thereafter I got my publishing deal with Harper Collins.
"From that it gave me the confidence that my writing is good enough and maybe I have something. And hopefully the stories of working class women are ones people are interested in.
"They thought the extract was very fresh and contemporary. They said it provided a unique voice of a Scottish working class female which I was happy with as that's what my vision was.
"I want to raise awareness of women who are underrepresented in the arts."
Elissa also thanked her publishing team as well as community organisation Bothwell Futures who have provided great support ahead of the book launch.
"Before you write a book, you think it's just you, but it's really a huge team effort, and everyone involved has been superb", Elissa added.
Details for the book launch event in Glasgow can be found here.
Keep up to date with Elissa's work on her Twitter page. And her debut novel can be pre-ordered on Amazon here.
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