Liisa Sabah

Find books by Liisa Sabah on table number 50
at the summer
Oxford Indie Book Fair
on 13-July 2025

See home page for details, map and more.

Ever since I was a young girl, I loved to read! Childhood favourites were the Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and then as a teenager, I must have read every Agatha Christie book going! Moving on to some of the great classics, from Charles Dickens to Jane Austin, I simply loved to read. And as far back as eight or nine years old, I loved writing stories, English was a favourite lesson of mine, because I got to write essays. My English teacher at the time was very encouraging and I will never forget her vibrant positivity, which helped to nurture my writing aspirations and lead me to dream of one day writing a book of my own and becoming a published author.

My family emigrated to West Africa when I was about ten years old and I was almost fifteen when we returned to the UK. It was an unforgettable experience that involved a lot of hardship that we had never experienced as a family before. My late mother always said that we should write a book about our time in Africa, and her words have always stayed with me. Did I ever write that book? I hear you ask… the answer to that is… yes, I did write that book, for my mother. It was the very first book I ever wrote, deeply personal and which is currently an unpublished work, and took me two years to complete, once I really knuckled down to write it. Completing this book inspired me to believe that I really could become a published author, so I continued with my writing and I completed my debut fantasy adventure book, The Cocoon Within, which took me 10 months to write and which I published last year, and the rest, as they say, is history!

I am still a very new author, and I am learning a lot on this writing journey, still honing my craft, trying new things, because every day is a school day, right! Personally, whilst I absolutely love the fantasy genre, I am also keen to branch into other genres. I am pleased to say that have just finished draft one of the sequel to The Cocoon Within and am currently editing the book. During the writing process of the sequel, I quickly discovered that it is no mean feat, trying to write a series, as there is a lot of back and forth, trying to tie up the previous story lines and loose ends etc to make everything come together into yet another adventurous plot. I am really excited about book number two, and the scale of the story itself is much wider. Ariana discovers more about Elopia and the other realms, but I shan’t give you any spoilers. If I were to summarise, I would say that the sequel will certainly hold as much, if not more fantastical adventures and action as The Cocoon Within, so stay tuned for its release date, I will be posting updates on social media.

I get so many ideas for stories pop in my imagination, so I just jot them on a word document or notepad and save them. Every so often, I will add a little more to the story ideas, and play around with the plot, with the intention to go back to them and turn them into the beginnings of a new adventure story! I have been toying with the idea of trying my hand at a family drama with a twist, and even a romance novel, though who knows, perhaps combining both elements into a fantastical adventure, could be the end result! Writing is such an adventure in itself, because you may start the story one way and end up through the twists and turns of the writing journey, going in a completely different direction than you first intended, as you allow your imagination to generate new and exciting ideas along the way, that you didn’t originally think of. Sometimes a picture or a place, a song, or even something someone has said in my day-to-day life, gives me inspiration for a scene or story line to add to my writing.

The other day I was at a retail outlet having a great conversation with a customer representative about my book, I offered the rep a free signed copy of my book, as I happened to have a few copies with me. I was, however, bowled over that the rep refused the free copy, saying that they wanted to support me as an author by purchasing a copy, and they did so on Amazon in that very moment! I can honestly say that the interest and support from the public has just been the absolute best, and I cannot say thank you enough to all the readers out there!

On a final note, if you could ask the main character of my book why you should read The Cocoon Within, Ariana would say, come follow me on a journey of adventure and discovery, where the unseen becomes more real than the seen. Who knows. It might even change the way that you see things! I think she would also tell you that she didn’t know her own strength until she was faced with great adversity and challenge. That she made some amazing friends along the way, and though she didn’t have the easiest start in life, don’t let that stop you from becoming the person that you are meant to be. She would say if you read The Cocoon Within, perhaps her story might inspire you to be a little bit braver, a little bit more resilient and a little more curious about the world around you and all that you see… and all that you don’t see!