Frequently Asked Questions

How do you pronounce your first name?

Eel-eye.

What’s your real name?

My full name is Ely Percy Calderwood* but I write under the name Ely Percy.

*I got married in 2022 and have since changed my surname - however I’m still known professionally as Ely Percy.

What’s the name you were born with?

My birth-name was Lynsey Calderwood, but I changed it to Ely Percy Calderwood in August 2017, shortly after I came out as agender. You can read more about my transition and my name change here https://beanloveblog.wordpress.com/2017/08/01/human-bean/ and here https://knighterrantpress.com/store/

(Note: Please think twice before asking a trans / non-binary person what their 'real' name is - more info about why this might be upsetting / considered offensive is available here https://www.theodysseyonline.com/why-you-should-never-ask-trans-person-what-their-real-name-is )

What pronouns do you use?

They, them and theirs.

I heard you had amnesia – what’s that like?

I was diagnosed with retrograde, anterograde and post-traumatic amnesia following an acquired brain injury in 1992. You can read more about it here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cracked-Recovering-After-Traumatic-Injury/dp/1843100657

See if I hit you over the head with a <insert blunt object of your choice>, do you think that would help get your memory back?

Please don’t!

Why are lots of your stories written under a different name?

See answer to question 3.

I really enjoyed your Bean Love blog – why did it have to end?

Bean Love was an experimental year-long writing project that I started mostly as a way of keeping in touch with my friends back in Scotland. I learnt a lot from it, but it was also stressful at times because I felt I wasn’t always being my authentic self – I was constantly editing the posts so that they reflected the person I thought my family and friends wanted me to be. (I added the entry on coming out two years after what I’d intended as the final post because I wanted to be completely honest with my readers)

Can I ask a question about your writing?

Always!

10.

Where can I buy your novels?

You can get both Vicky Romeo Plus Joolz and Duck Feet direct from the publishers*.

Here:

https://www.knighterrantpress.com/product-page/vicky-romeo-plus-joolz-by-ely-percy

And here:

https://www.monstrous-regiment.com/shop/duck-feet

*Duck Feet is currently out of print but ebook and audio book versions as well as a new print run will be available later in 2022.