Murderous little fairies!’ ‘I keep going back to this darkness; it seems to follow me everywhere!”
Sue was one of five authors delivering engaging talks about aspects of their literary career at Olney’s first literary celebration, ‘Wordfest’ this month.
‘Wordfest’ was a festival bringing authors together with readers, with workshops and musical events, set in Olney’s picturesque community centre.
With over 80 books under her belt, Sue is best known for her Magic series, particularly popular among younger audiences for its storytelling of magical animal adventures.
The series became so popular that in 2012, she was ranked 115th on The Guardian’s list of the UK’s most borrowed authors – between literary giants Terry Pratchett and Stephen King, (J.K. Rowling held the 96th spot.)
During her author talk, she revealed some intriguing milestones in her writing career, including her obsession with the darker side of writing, dark fantasy and murderous fairies, and how her first published work came to be erotic fiction.
The audience members and myself were a captive audience.
When did you first start writing?
“I grew up on a council estate with my four sisters—there were seven of us in the house. We didn’t have much money, but we made the best of our lives. I didn’t go to university; I attended an all-girls secondary school. I had no idea what I wanted to do when I left, but someone suggested I work in a library, which I did. I started working for the Northamptonshire Library Service at the age of 16 and stayed there until I retired.
I’ve always had a passion for books, and you’d often find me reading those labelled ‘r’ for ‘restricted’—full of sex and violence.
It wasn’t until my boys were old enough to go to school, however, that I finally had the space, maturity and time, to begin writing.
When did you first become published?
I was first published in the ‘90s. I created a small writers group of authors who all wanted to be published in Northants. One of our members mentioned that Virgin Publishing was commissioning women authors to write erotic fiction. Though I’d never considered writing in that genre, I thought, ‘Why not give it a go?’ Soon, our group members were experimenting in erotic fiction.
I completed my first erotic novel, The Captive Flesh, which was set in a harem. Completely out of the blue, I received a phone call from the publisher, who loved it and wanted to publish it. I still remember feeling incredibly proud when that first novel came out. I went on to write twelve erotic novels under the pseudonym Cleo Cordell.
Life was exciting at that time; my books were being advertised on billboards in cavernous London subways and photographers jostled for my photograph. I had transitioned into writing dark fantasy novels and was commissioned to write the final book in a triology entitled, The Flesh Endures. Just as things were peaking, the deal fell through. Penguin, the publishing giant in the USA, was hit by major financial losses, leaving my project in limbo.
Suddenly, I found myself with a void in my career.
For about a year, I didn’t write anything.
It was during this challenging time that my agent suggested I try writing for children. I took that advice and started working on The Rainbow Magic book series, which turned out to be one of the most fruitful decisions of my career.
(First writing seven books for Animal Ark, followed by seven books for Rainbow magic, Sue went on to become a multi-million pound bestselling author. Selling over 2 million copies of The Magic Kitten series, she went on to write the Magic Puppy, Magic Ponies and Magic Bunny children’s books, putting her firmly on The Guardian’s list of most borrowed authors nestling between Terry Pratchett and Stephen King. )
Where did your interest in ‘darker fairies’ come from?
I think it started when I was young reading fairy stories. In the beginning they were more fluttery and sweet until I discovered books by Andrew Lang which were much darker, more like the those in The Brothers Grim fairy tales, where witches put children into ovens and heat them up. This darkness caught my imagination and since then the fairies I became interested in became the type you don’t want to meet on a dark night; they are the ones I write about in We other, my current fantasy novel.
There’s always a magical element running through my books. In the children’s books there are fairies and animals; they are sparkly and contain magic and I think that came from reading books like The Little Grey Men, a novel by Denys Watkins-Pitchford about the last gnomes left in England, which is lovely until they go looking for a brother who is murderous.
“I keep getting back to this darkness, it seems to follow me everywhere; murderous little fairies.!
What are you currently writing about?
I’ve almost gone full circle with my writing in that I am currently writing my third adult novel. I’ve just written two dark fantasy novels which are We Other, which is about dark fairies and Second Skin, which is about shape changing into dragons and I’m currently working on a book called The Making which is a gothic dark mystery set in Victorian times.
How did you find Olney’s first’ Wordfest’?
Just fantastic – I do hope they carry it on every year. It must have been a lot of work for Sue Upton and her team. It’s so well organised with so much to do and as an author it was so nice to give a talk in that lovely place with the stage set out. It’s a day full of lovely events. They had free events for children, musical events and an Alice in Wonderland themed café!
What advice would you give to aspiring authors wanting to get published?
I think it’s so important to make contacts – for me, it’s how I’ve been able to move forward in my career.
By meeting other authors, publishers, and editors, I’ve been able to move forward. Attending events, such as those organized by the Society of Authors, really opens doors. I used to attend the Romantic Novelists Association meetings, where agents would give talks, providing invaluable insight into how the publishing world operates. Getting published isn’t easy, and it’s definitely a business built on connections. It took me 10 years from the moment I decided to become a published writer to finally achieve that goal.
What’s been your proudest moment?
I remember punching the air when I got my agent, as I felt I had someone on my side who knew what they were doing. I was also really proud when my first novel, The Captive Flesh was published.
Strangely enough, I’ve only just started speaking about my erotic novels recently. Because of my children’s books I didn’t want the two genres to overlap. But its been so long now, almost 20 years and there isn’t so much of a stigma now.
For futher details on Sue Bentley’s work visit:
https://www.instagram.com/therealsuebentley/
https://www.tiktok.com/@suebentley09
For details of Olney’s Wordfest visit: