After five non-fiction publications and founding her own writing company, Elesa Zehndorfer (Exercise & Health Behaviour, 2000) loved every minute of writing her first novel; Upload. Research for a neuropolitics textbook became the catalyst for her story, and the novel was published in December 2021.
“The entire plot for Upload ended up being inspired by a neuropolitics textbook I wrote over the course of around 8 months. My mind became continually blown by the insane real-life stories of neurological manipulation of voters, and the crazy, dark charismatic campaigns that I was reading about as research for the book, and living through,” Elesa Zehndorfer says and gives Donald Trump’s presidency, Brexit, and the Cambridge Analytica scandal as examples.
“Ultimately, it was all far too delicious to leave in a textbook and during those 8 months, an entire complex, fictional plot just somehow rose out of the pages of the textbook and into my mind. In the end, I felt I had no choice but to write the story!”
Elesa isn’t new to writing. Based in Austria, she has her own writing company, working with clients from around the world, and has previously written five non-fiction books published by Routledge, many of which have a focus on leadership. It’s a topic that has interested her since childhood and informed how she looks at her own research.
“I now have a genuine passion for the advancement of theory in this field. I noted over the years that ‘hard science’ fields like exercise physiology, meteorological science, neuroscience, and evolutionary science had a lot to directly contribute to leadership theory – for example, how discriminatory regimes like Apartheid were enabled by populist strategies that are based on extremely formulaic and strategic manipulation of an electorate – with devastating results.”
Upload, published in December 2021 by Blackheath Publishing, also contains dark themes. According to Elesa, it’s a breathtaking and explosive adventure thriller that takes you on an edge-of-your-seat journey between science and faith, life and death, and a battle for the political soul of a nation. It’s a book she truly enjoyed working on.
“Having written multiple textbooks and chapters for edited textbooks, I’ve become extremely accustomed to rigorous referencing, fact-checking, and scientific cross-referencing of studies. Writing a novel was so freeing! Freed completely as I was from the constraints of reality, I could really let the story, the science, and the adventure just explode onto page after page. characters really came alive. It was fascinating. Writing fiction is an incredibly enjoyable rollercoaster ride and I loved every minute of the process.”
Elesa does make writing sound extremely idyllic. Asked what her workday looks like she describes it like this:
“Right now, I’m sitting in my home office, a steaming hot mug of coffee warming my hands as I gaze out over a mountainside lake, the snow falling heavily and almost silently outside. I’m extremely fortunate to run my own writing company from my home, which is wonderfully flexible (but also sometimes quite challenging!). Next week I have calls with clients in the US, Romania, the Philippines, and the UK, writing everything from technical white papers to blogs, so every day is different! I’m always learning. As is the case with any company, it can get intense at times and hard to juggle dual commitments and deadlines, but I ultimately love being my own boss.”
Elesa’s profession might come as a bit of a surprise considering her undergraduate degree was in Business with Spanish, and at City she completed an MSc in Exercise & Health Behaviour.
“I was so grateful to City University for awarding me a place when my first degree was in such an unrelated field,” Elesa says.
While studying for her undergraduate degree she’d also worked as an exercise coach and by the end of her studies, she knew she wanted to continue her education in exercise sciences.
“My time at City University was incredible. Firstly, it left me with incredible memories. I shared halls (and then the YMCA!) with students from all over the world, all of whom, I remember, were studying the Transport, Trade, Shipping & Finance MSc. We had the best time. One of my best friends on the course was my bridesmaid many years later and having an MSc in the field allowed me to begin a lecturing career in sports studies, which later led to me being accepted on a PhD programme at Loughborough University. Ultimately, the MSc at City broadened my horizons and changed the trajectory of my life.”
What was Elesa’s biggest challenge on this journey?
“Finding where I fit. My old gym manager once gave me some great advice – whatever job you do, do it great. So I’ve always tried to do that, but running my own company has been the first time where I’ve truly felt able to combine every single one of my passions.”
What does she want to focus on in the future?
“More writing! I want to learn everything I can about the writing world, from continually honing my writing skills, to offering end-to-end writing services, to becoming a publisher myself, and, basically, everything in between. And Upload has opened up a great new writing passion for me – it certainly won’t be the last novel that I write!”
Big congratulations to Elesa Zehndorfer for publishing her first novel! More about Elesa’s books can be found here.