Ellie White was born and raised in Sunderland and released her best-selling debut novel, Love and London, in 2021. Her follow-up, Love in the Wings saw Ellie shine a spotlight on the Roker/Seaburn seafront.
It was inspired by her love of musical theatre and the Sunderland Empire and has been well received across the globe as far away as Canada and Australia with an average 4.3 star global rating.
Another of the author’s passions inspired her upcoming sports romance series, A Wearside Story.
When asked what sparked the inspiration for this series, Ellie said,
“I have always been a huge Sunderland AFC fan, ever since the moment I was born I’ve been red and white, through and through. The club truly are the heart of our community and much like the Shipyards and Coal Mines, football is a big part of our heritage in the North East. I wanted to replicate that feeling of pride and belonging in my novels while presenting it in a contemporary romance setting.”
“I can’t wait to introduce the world to Wearside. Romance is the biggest-selling fiction genre in the world and to be able to represent our city as well as our culture and heritage in that huge global market is an incredible honour.”
Ellie’s work differs from the traditional sports romance tropes, explaining,
“I’m a romance reader and a big fan of reading sports romance but I noticed that very few featured female athletes as the main character. I was keen to include that representation, which is why the series follows two fictional Wearside squads operating alongside each other: Wearside Women and Wearside FC.”
So, what does Ellie have in mind for her future and the future of A Wearside Story?
“I have a lot more books in the pipeline over the next few years that I’m working on. I’d also love to see A Wearside Story on screen and with the development of the Crown Works Studios this is a really exciting time for everyone here in Sunderland. I’d love to collaborate in that environment and I’m definitely open to discussing the film rights to any interested production companies.”
Book one in A Wearside Story will be released on the 7th of February 2025 with the following three books publishing a month apart. To stay up to date on Ellie’s work, you can follow her on Instagram @elliewhite_writes.
