Elloise Bennett is a writer, traveler and teacher.
Born in South Africa, Elloise has lived an expat existence in California, London and the Netherlands, She currently is based in Amsterdam and splits her time between airports around Europe, visiting her Dad and his husband in France, and with frequent sunshine pit-stops in California.
Putting herself through college meant lots of time working in the industry where her own family roots are strong – retail, restaurants and hotels. Which is where the inspiration and knowledge for the character of ‘Celia’ also comes from. Elloise is currently a partner in a B&B in the Southwest of France, putting ‘Celia’s’ knowledge of hotels into action.
A graduate from University of San Diego and Royal Holloway, University of London, with degrees in European History and Art History, Elloise is a history teacher by training, passion and inclination, and has worked as a school administrator in some of the top San Diego-area schools.
She now has her own business (AP Test Service), writes a travel blog (Found Travel), and teaches and writes curriculum for professional development courses for teachers and administrators-in-training through the University of San Diego, Division of Continuing Education.
She likes to cook, drink wine, sip coffee, read, write, travel, laugh, spend time with friends, work, and take long walks in the park with her dog :)
Visit Found Travel to learn more about Elloise’s travel, expat and cooking adventures.
Elloise Bennett, released her first work, My Father's Husband: A Novel, (now available on Amazon and iTunes). Based on Bennett's own personal experiences, she writes about coming of age, relationships and family. The former history teacher and school administrator now lives in Europe.
"Writing has always been a personal dream," say Bennett. "And some events in my personal life taught me never to wait until later to accomplish a dream. So I started writing! And like they tell you in all the how-to books, I wrote about what I knew best. About my life. How much is fact and how much is fiction, well - you will need to decide for yourself!"
Author’s Thoughts on MFH
My Father’s Husband is based on what every author is told to focus on when you begin to write – write what you know.
I know my life.
Is this a memoir? Yes and no. There are moments in the novel that are word-for-word from memories or journals, the emotional experience of the main character is my experience, but there are also lots that have been born from imagination.
Is this fiction? Yes – because my own life is far more complicated and complex than plain fiction, I had to simplify the story to make it fit into 300 pages! So this novel is a fictionalized story of my life. Plus, in fiction I have more space to own lots of cool shoes. :)
Is this a rally for gay marriage? Yes and no. Celia, the main character, has to deal with the issue as as a very important feature in her life – just like I had to. And she (and I) had a lot to learn and discover But this is not a political rally. This is a story. This is my story. This is Celia’s story. It’s not a complete story – it can never be. After all, we only know the story from our own perspective, but this is my attempt to tell it.
Is it hard to be the daughter of a man with a husband? Ha! Read the book! ;)
Is this travel writing? Yes and no. Because I love to travel and because I love to write about travel, the character experiences that too. And because that is again, part of the ‘real’ story that shaped Celia’s story. So her story, like mine, is set in both San Diego and Amsterdam.
More than anything, this novel was about personal processing of my own story, about catharsis and my own process of opening myself up to feeling, to vulnerability, and to love.