Bristol resident and novelist Elizabeth Splaine was, in her past career, an opera singer. Before that, she worked in healthcare. Then, as she tells it, she became a writer organically — and …
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Bristol resident and novelist Elizabeth Splaine was, in her past career, an opera singer. Before that, she worked in healthcare. Then, as she tells it, she became a writer organically — and suddenly.
Brushing her teeth one day, she dropped the cap from the toothpaste on the floor, and with her eyes still closed, bent over to pick it it up. “I thought about how challenging it would to be blind, and at that moment, a character, Julian Stryker, a blind child psychologist in Boston, popped into my head,” she said. “I sat down and started typing. My husband came home, saw me and asked what I was doing. I told him ‘I think I’m writing a book’.”
Since then, she finished that one and then wrote five more.
Splaine incorporates her past careers into her writing: medicine and opera always have a role. “Music is incredibly important to me,” she said. “It’s part of who I am.” Her characters are richly developed and always multi-dimensional. “I love themes of choice, how one person can be so many things and circumstances can impact that character,” she said.
Her latest novel, Pleasure to Purpose, was released Tuesday, Jan. 7. It's the true story of Scarlett Pereira, a Boston sex worker who discovers that vulnerability, when placed in the right hands, is a key to growth and positive change.
The synopsis: Pereira loved horses since she was a child living amidst the chaos of a family ravaged by mental illness. Years later, as she rebuilds a relationship with her often-absent father, she wrangles with needy clients, a manipulative mother, a nosy uncle, and a stalker determined to possess her. Happiness unveils itself the moment Scarlett adopts Franco, a retired horse in need of a second chance. After refusing to help a colleague leave her pimp, Scarlett learns the girl was murdered. Guilt and determination prompt her to come out of the shadows and become politically active. Scarlett has avoided having a boyfriend, believing it incompatible with her job. But then Thomas appears, a former client who meets her where she is. As Franco and Thomas prove that unconditional love exists and family can be chosen, Scarlett realizes she’s in control of her fairy tale.
“I like presenting situations where there is a real moral dilemma and the reader wonders ‘what would I do?’ That’s what I hope my books do.”