Ila Golden was born in Plymouth, England, the second of three children. When she was six her maternal grandmother had a series of strokes which left her permanently disabled. As a result of this she and her family moved in order for her grandmother to live with them, selling both their home and their grandmother's home in the process. During this transitional period Ila discovered her love of storytelling whilst telling her younger brother stories about two little mice during the long car journeys to school and back.
As she grew this love of storytelling became a constant rock in her life, despite all the turmoil and changes happening around her. And it was during her teens she would begin work on the two stories that would drive her ambition forward and eventually lead her down a path towards Indie-Authordom.
The first of these two stories was Hyena Boy, which would undergo years of on and off attention before finally being published in 2018. The second was a fanfic which gave her insight into why she loved writing - for the enjoyment of the readers, especially those she was able to connect with.
Ila Golden went to university in Winchester, England, where she studied Drama and Creative Writing, leaving with a 2:1 degree. She would then go on to self-publish her first book, Blood, Friendship & Marriage: Time Forgets in 2008 with print on demand company Lulu, but was unable to find the right marketing to promote the book at the time. In 2012 she tried again with Realms & Reality: Zero Conformity, and a different company who set the price of her print on demand book for her, pricing it out of the market. The lack of early success, combined with growing health concerns led to a five year long withdraw from attempting to become an author. Time spent writing without the intent of publishing, honing skills whilst attempting to be satisfied with the idea of never achieving her dream.
It was during this five year period she was first diagnosed with Hypermobility Syndrome and later with Fibromyalgia. The priority became learning to live with and manage these conditions without losing the ability to work. Something that still continues to be a juggling act.
Then, after the death of her grandfather and rabbit in 2016, the fire of a true author began to burn within her again. No longer content to write books the world would never see, she began the long process of preparing her next book for publication, returning once again to Lulu. 2017 saw the release of Echoe, first in ebook only and later in paperback. And, in the turmoil following a difficult breakup, Ila also began posting vlogs on her YouTube channel, which only furthered her drive to make a success of her dream career.
It was at this time she turned her attention back to Hyena Boy, making it her next book for release. During the long editing process she not only found herself re-falling in love with the story and its characters, but also inspired to tell a different story, one that she spotted happening in the background of Hyena Boy. One which would go on to surprise her in many ways, whilst giving birth to The Neva Aton Collection.
Hyena Boy, the first book from the collection to be released, was originally published in 2018 via Lulu. In 2019 The Colours I See, the companion book, was published using KDP. Shortly after the publication of The Colours I See, Hyena Boy received a second edition release via KDP, to improve its continuity, and give it its own more unique flavour within the collection. The collection is currently planned to be four books in total, with the third and fourth books hoping for release in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
With a large backlog of unpublished books at her disposal, Ila Golden may not yet be the best selling author she dreams of being, but she's now more than ever determined to reach that goal.
