Elle McNicoll. Photo © Aashfaria A. Anwar
how many people relate to Addie, Keedie, Cora, Adrien, Ramya and Opal. “A lot of the books have extremely personal moments, and the payoff is getting multiple letters or messages from people who say that they see the world in exactly the same way.”
A place for stories Show Us Who You Are, Elle’s second book, is set in the near future and revolves around a mystery of AI generated holograms of “real” people. Again, its main characters are neurodivergent and
the book explores themes of friendship and acceptance. Like A Charm and Like A Curse introduce us to Ramya Knox and the secrets and magic that are found in her family. And like Elle’s other books Scotland plays an important part in the stories, providing a backdrop for the magic to develop. Elle says: “Scotland is an unbelievable country, and it’s made for stories in a way that other places just aren’t. I also think Scottish people have a flair for storytelling and folklore, and this is explored in the duology.
“Scotland inspires thoughts of magic and the supernatural. The people are characters you never want to stop reading about. So, Scotland is one of my greatest inspirations. A lot of English writers treat Scotland like this mythical place and they neglect the truthful, honest and beautiful parts of the place. The parts grounded in the dirt and the pride and the earth. I wanted Scotland to be a character in these books.”
Reader to writer
As Elle points out, she did not aspire to be a published writer and she was largely writing for herself. But that love of writing grew from a love of reading, as she explains: “Libraries definitely played a huge part in my love of reading and writing. I was diagnosed in primary school, which meant that I was already showing signs of burnout and exhaustion with overstimulating school environments.
22 PEN&INC. Spring-Summer 2024
So, the library became a balm for that. It was an oasis in school, for me. I started writing as soon as I was able to choose my own books to read. Reading for pleasure can turn to writing very quickly, just as listening to good music can make one sit down in front of a piano.”
And despite not setting out to become a writer, when the opportunity arrived she grasped it with both hands and used it for good. Not only is she raising awareness of neurodivergence through her characters, she is also championing them in real life.
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