Tributes as Eastbourne writer Tamara McKinley retires

Tributes from around the world have been sent to Eastbourne writer Tamara McKinley who has announced she is retiring.
By Phil Hewitt
Published 12th Mar 2021, 06:05 BST
Tamara McKinley (left) with Anderida Writers officials and fellow authors Tony Flood and Heather Flood (right).Tamara McKinley (left) with Anderida Writers officials and fellow authors Tony Flood and Heather Flood (right).
Tamara McKinley (left) with Anderida Writers officials and fellow authors Tony Flood and Heather Flood (right).

Under the name Ellie Dean, the Sunday Times best-selling author has sold more than a million copies of her Cliffehaven series in the UK alone.

Tamara lost her husband Ollie Cater on December 6 2020 after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in September 2019 and complications followed an operation.

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Tamara, who lives in Jevington, said: “The time has come to say goodbye. I am retiring from writing. The past 18 months have taken their toll and I just don’t have the fire or the energy any more.

“Thank you to my friends and readers. I’ve had a wonderful career spanning 25 years which produced over 30 books that sold worldwide. I couldn’t have done it without my loyal fans.”

Tamara is patron of Anderida Writers.

Group chairman Tony Flood said: “Her many thousands of readers worldwide will be very sad, but also extremely grateful that she has given them so much pleasure. She has enjoyed a fantastic writing career and been an inspiration to both readers and fellow authors. She’s given great encouragement to members of Anderida Writers, where she was once chairman, and her personal advice and endorsement were so helpful to me when I wrote my latest crime thriller Stitch Up! – Killer or Victim. Now she can take a well-earned rest from the stresses and strains of meeting deadlines after doing extensive research on every one of her books, which saw her spending eight hours a day, five days a week for more than three months in writing around 120,000 words for each of them."