Hello and welcome to my website
Thanks for popping over.
I am an author of historical mystery and YA fiction. As a writing coach I can guide you along the right pathways to achieve your writing goals. As a performance coach, I can build your confidence when speaking in public and develop your acting skills.
If you are new to my writing then check out the section, E M Tilstone books for novels written under my pen name. If you want to know more about the Paper Boats trilogy, then please take a look at the YA Books section. In each section you can read extracts and find out more about the stories.
If you are a teacher or a librarian, please take a look at the schools’ resources where you will find my dystopian literature scheme of work for Key Stage 3 students, how to order books and even better, FREE resources.
Please get in touch to find out more.
Best wishes
Sue
P.S. You can see what I've been up to lately and don’t forget to leave a review.
Meet Sue
Author, Speaker & Festival Director
Sue is an author passionate about storytelling, history, and helping others find their writing voice. Her novels are deeply rooted in research, drawing on sources like the Imperial War Museum and Wrest Park. Her YA trilogy explores psychology, nature vs. nurture, and includes nods to 1984, the English Civil War, and the Gunpowder Plot.
A regular guest speaker, Sue has appeared at the Bucks Book Awards, judged school writing competitions, spoken at book clubs, and led talks for community groups. She chairs the Olney Writing Group, supporting nearly 25 local writers through workshops and mentoring.
In 2024, Sue founded Olney WordFest—the town’s first literary festival—bringing together authors, poets, and readers for a day of creativity and inspiration.
About my writing
I have been writing for a few years on and off – usually more off than on! It has taken me a long time to discover how to write and when to write and I am still learning about my style and preferences. Even after many years of teaching, I still needed an editor to point out improvements and corrections.
I like to write in coffee shops with my laptop and at home using the writing desk that belonged to my great-uncle. There is usually a mug of tea and a candle flickering. I have my trusty old dictionary and thesaurus close by. They were presented to me when I was 15 at a school prize day. I was amazed when I received a prize, having never done very well at school.
Ideas for my stories don’t arrive in my head in order and one thing I have learned is not to worry. You can write your ending before your beginning; you can write a chapter or a scene that goes in the middle. A big mind map really gets me going on my novels as well as detailed character profiles for my main characters.
Notebooks are usually in my bag when I am out and about and there’s always one next to my bed. I have accumulated dozens of bits of paper over the years, sometimes with just a couple of words, other times a whole short story and I squirrel them away to use them in my writing.
I remember sitting at Comicon, having a cup of tea – tea always helps me think - and writing a scene for Paper Boats & Butterflies. I adapted it and it became the scene when Z89 meets Esme Dorling, the school principal. (I had a hug from a Wookie while there).