Author hopes her books 'can help change lives'

AN author who has made the borough her home has spoken about her inspirations and hope that other people will receive comfort and support from her writing.

Evangeline May Farr was born in 1999, in Gloucester, England. She moved to the Republic of Ireland at 15 which is where she called home for 10 years, before then settling near Randalstown in 2025.

She says she ‘knows that her books can’t change the world’ but she hopes they bring some happiness into her readers’ lives.

Outside of her writing, Evangeline is also passionate about photography, using her own work for her cover art.

Most importantly, her biggest passion is animals. She spends most of her love and time caring for her own pets and is passionate about animal rescue and animal welfare.

Despite how much time she enjoys spending writing her books, she is also an adventurous soul who enjoys the outdoors and exploring.

Her first book from 2024, ‘Love Conquers All’ follows the love story of Apollo and Ethan and deals with love, ‘coming out’ and mental health.

Her second book, ‘Reincarhelltion’, follows the short stories of a group of strangers throughout the generations as they create their own life paths, and choose between right and wrong.

The third, ‘The Sibling Connection’ deals with a family torn apart.

Evangeline spoke to the Antrim Guardian this week.

“I moved around a lot, perhaps 25 times when I was younger, and by the age of 12 I was writing little stories to help myself deal with things,” she said

“I got into writing seriously when I was in my early 20s and never intended to get published, but there was so much meaning and background in what I was writing, I thought if I put my work out there, other people may be able to relate to what I had gone through.”

In terms of the process, she said: “I think I probably do the thing that is not recommended, I try not to put too much pressure on myself, writing is a passion so if I have to leave it and take a break for a few weeks, I feel like I do better, and not forcing myself to do something every day like it is a chore.

“The thing about my books is the deeper meaning and I do not want it to feel like hard work. I can write anywhere I have my laptop with me, I can sit on the sofa with a coffee or go out.

“I just get a random idea in my head and then I want to start writing about it.”

Of the differing style of her books, she said: “The first one is two lads’ coming out stories and their mental health journey, the second is about souls getting reincarnated into versions of heaven and hell and the third is about siblings who get split up after the loss of their mother and how they handle that.

“My next one is a bit of a thriller or horror, again with different, hidden, deeper meanings but different again from what I have done before.

“So far I have had really good feedback, the first one had some controversial content and I imagined that some people would not be impressed, but people liked it and it make them think and they enjoyed that.

“Everyone says that reading is an escape from problems, but some people don’t have anyone to talk to about what they are going through in their life and rather than escaping, they might want to read something that they identify with or speaks to their own experience and that can be as much of a comfort as running away from something.

“I also think that when I was a young person, I would have appreciated books like mine, as it didn’t feel like there was anything out there or anyone who understood what I was going through.

“I don’t really have any influences in writing, it just comes from the heart.

“My first two books took just under a year but my last one was dedicated to my little sister and I put my all into it and made sure everything was perfect before I published it.

“I self publish because it is my writing and my way of writing, I think if there was someone else doing 100 edits and re-writes, it wouldn’t feel like my own work.”

You can find Evangeline’s books by searching the titles on Amazon.