Womens Fiction

A Moment Like This, Anita Notaro

Tue, 15 May 2012 20:49:35 +0100

Sarah Cadden explains, "Ultimately, a PET scan, which maps the brain, showed there was an issue in the front temporal area of Anita's brain, where personality and behaviour is controlled. Gerry, Anita's sister and Anita were there for the diagnosis. "And the doctor's saying, 'It's not good, it's going to get worse, she shouldn't be driving and all of this'," Gerry recalls. "And Anita says, 'Fine. I'll see you in a month and we'll see how it's going'. That's a perfect example of the disregard that...

This Is How It Ends, Kathleen MacMahon

Wed, 02 May 2012 22:58:16 +0100

MacMahon did not necessarily feel huge pressure to follow in her ancestor’s famous footsteps, but declares she was most concerned about what her family would think of her book: “I certainly was aware that anything I did write would have to stand up to scrutiny and that my mother and her sisters, in particular, would know if it was any good.” Whatever she was to create, MacMahon wanted first to escape from her “Grandmother’s shadow” and the idea of “upholding some sense of a family l...

A Family Scandal, Zoe Miller

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 18:01:06 +0100

Having decided to write her novels under a pen name, Zoe explains how this works day-to-day. ‘Most of my writer friends know that I use a pen name, but I don’t go around shouting about it as I like to keep my writing career separate from the day job. Some people I meet in the course of my job would be very surprised to hear that the prim and proper lady in the corporate suit goes home to write glitzy novels! The pen name allows me to take that leap of courage out of my comfort zone and tap in...

Sarah Webb and The Shoestring Club

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:45:20 +0100

Interestingly, diversifying into children’s fiction is something which Sarah feels has benefited her writing greatly. “Writing for children has taught me so much about writing in general and I am a much better writer for the experience. After nine adult novels I was starting to feel a little jaded and wondered if I had anything new to say as a writer. Writing the Amy Green books reminded me of what how exciting and joyful writing can be, and I've now brought this sense of joy and possib...

Ciara Geraghty Talks to Sarah Webb

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:09:14 +0100

The story intrigued me. I often thought about him. Why did he leave? Did his wife ever see him again? Did they have any children? Where did he go? Did he ever come back? I never forgot the story and it returned to me at odd times during the preceding 15 years. That formed the basis for the idea of ‘Finding Mr. Flood.’

How long did it take you to write?

About a year and a half.

How do you organise your writing day? For example, where do you write? And at what time of the day are you at your...

Colette Caddle on her Writing Style

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:52:52 +0100

When I actually get started on a new book I scan the random ideas I’ve scribbled down in a myriad of notebooks or post-its until something clicks. It will be almost a feeling rather than an idea. I Strangely, I often get an idea for a book as I am working on the final pages of the previous one which, I can tell you, is distracting.

But when I get started there will be no middle and certainly no ending, just a single incident to kick things off. I put a lot of time and effort into developing th...

Martina Reilly - Even Better than the Real Thing

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 11:08:04 +0100

When and why did you start writing?

I started writing real stories when I was about eight years old. I have no reason as to why this was other, than that is who I am. I’ve always adored creating alternate worlds, meeting new characters and seeing how the stories turn out.

I don’t remember a time when I didn’t have a pen in my hand, even as a child, the physical act of writing was something I longed to do and as young as three or four, I’d make marks on a page and pretend it was a story...

Writing Romance with Abby Green

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 13:10:08 +0100

When I sent in my first three chapters to Mills and Boon I got rejected primarily because I hadn’t done my research well enough. The chapters I sent in were falling between two styles – the modern romance I’m now writing and the slightly more classic, sweeter romance. I had to decide which one I wanted to go for and I chose the modern romance line because that’s where my heart was – they were my favourite stories.

You might find when you sit down to try and write your romance that you ...

Claudia Carroll's Christmas

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:31:49 +0100

These days there's still something extra special about giving and receiving books as gifts. ‘There really is something for everyone, from toddlers looking at cute furry animal books to a good juicy novel your Granny would love. And it’s so important to support local independent bookstores this Christmas too.’ As much as books can make perfect gift, make sure to match the book to the person- this advice comes too late for one of Claudia's pals. ‘I was once given a book called ‘Don...

Dreams Do Come True: Maria Duffy

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:11:53 +0100

With four children, life in the Duffy household was very busy for a number of years. Despite her lack of free time, Maria held a dream of perhaps writing a book. ‘But,’ she says ‘I doubted that anyone would take my writing seriously.’ She had a story in her head that was beginning to clamour for release. Lack of confidence was a huge issue. ‘Being a mother you lose a part of yourself. For years I was always known as someone’s mam, as opposed to being Maria.’&...

Sheila O'Flanagan - All For You

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 21:19:31 +0100

Yet it wasn't until Sheila was in her thirties, after pursuing a successful career in the financial sector, that she decided to take the plunge and write her first book. "I'd written a workbook for students taking bank exams and, although it was very boring, it gave me a sense of discipline. I thought that if I could make myself sit down and write a boring workbook I could make myself sit down and do something I really wanted to do. I wanted to tell the story of a girl who'd grown up on a suburb...

Roisin Meaney on Writing A Bestseller

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:05:42 +0100

Roisin's even tried her hand, very successfully, at penning books for children and collaborated with top children's author, Judi Curtin on See If I Care. "I loved getting into the heads of my childish characters. Writing for children is every bit as challenging as writing for grownups - maybe even more so - but I really love it, and hope to do lots more when I have time."

Roisin lists her favourite writers as the biggest influences on her writing and reads to help improve her writing, "I hope my...

Me And My Sisters: Sinead Moriarty

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 10:59:05 +0100

With the perspiration out of the way, her thirties saw more room for inspiration. Sinéad’s creative impulses were put on hold for a time but the urge to write something of her own never quite went away. What made her ditch the trade writing to begin the first novel? “The catalyst to writing The Baby Trail was actually turning thirty. I decided that if I was going to write this book that I always felt was in me, it was time to knuckle down and get on with it”. Since then she hasn’t looked...

Always on her Mind - Colette Caddle and her Writing

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:39:43 +0100

Getting the time to write is very tricky, according to wannabe writers. But Colette told me, “you can always think and observe, you must never forget that. I don’t have time is one prevarication we all use; yes, I’m as guilty at the next person. But, you know, there’s always a way. I remember something a good friend said once when we were discussing people who claimed that they had no time to exercise - she was an avid Corrie fan, never missed it, but while she watch...

Will the real Grace step forward

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:50:48 +0100

An extremely talented make-up artist had virtually painted a new face onto her and a brilliant photographer had captured the image with the help of filters and special lighting and heaven knows what else. In a Cambridge bookshop I even had to show the assistant my NUJ card to prove that the woman and I were actually the same person. "Good anecdote, bad reality" as Carrie Fisher once remarked.

Sometimes I felt it was the woman in the photo who had written the book, not me, and I was her shabby se...

Going Places with Michelle Jackson

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 10:58:42 +0100

A background in the visual arts and a love of travel provide the aesthetic descriptions of places that give Jackson’s stories an almost tangible vibrancy. As with all authors, the responsibility that goes along with writing something that is intended for the general public to read ensures that research is crucial to her work.Visiting the places she writes about is key.

Although the characters in Jackson’s books are essentially tourists in their particular destination she explains that she is...

Writing a Best Seller: The TV3 / Poolbeg Winner

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 20:25:38 +0100

With a burning ambition to become a writer, an ambition Siobhán McKenna has had since childhood, she explains that for a long time she didn’t have the confidence to pursue her dream. Describing a crossroads in her career, and her tendency to keep her writing private, Siobhán voices her concern that “we often let our fears rule and we end up paralysed by inaction rather than going after what we truly want”. It was a chance meeting with Deepak Chopra, a public speaker and writer...

Woman to Woman: Maria Duffy meets Cathy Kelly

Mon, 30 May 2011 10:09:03 +0100

I wanted to know a little about Cathy’s early life – whether writing was something she always wanted to do or something she discovered later on. “Oh I can’t ever remember a time that I didn’t want to write,” she said. “I was already reading books when I was three! My brother was two years older so I was probably copying him. My grandmother thought it was hilarious that I could read when I was barely out of nappies so when I’d go to visit her in the west of Ireland, she made me rea...

At Home with Monica McInerney

Tue, 24 May 2011 09:17:22 +0100

Monica McInerney herself grew up in the chocolate box setting of a large, "rambling" house in the small country town, Clare in Southern Australia, where her father was the railway stationmaster. As the middle child of seven children, home was never quiet. "My parents ran an open house, and in addition to the nine of us, there were always visitors, cousins, aunts, uncles coming and going, with so much conversation, drama, laughter and arguments too. I used to love lying in bed at night...

Shirley Benton on Finding her Dream Job

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 09:40:09 +0100

Looking For Leonwasn't Shirley's first attempt at getting published, "I had written a woman's fiction novel and sent it to every single agent and publisher in the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook, and I got absolutely nowhere with it - it cost a fortune on printing and posting." When it came to Looking For Leon,Shirley decided to do things her own way this time around, and instead of blanketing everyone with her submission, chose her target, matching a list of potential publishers to her book...

Pauline Lawless on Sitting Down to Write

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 21:31:51 +0100

With her first book finally under her wing, she embarked on the daunting task of securing a publishing deal."I quickly found out that it's more difficult to get an agent than a publisher. Some of them didn't have the courtesy to reply and others said they weren't interested." So Pauline took the bull by the horns and contacted the Publisher at Poolbeg, Paula Campbell. "When I had almost given up they emailed me to say they liked it and would be willing to publish it. I was ove...

Making it Happen with Ciara Geraghty

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 12:27:45 +0100

Geraghty explains that although there were times when she tried to emulate her heroes ultimately “attempting to write like someone else is as hopeless as trying to look like someone else”. Reading her comfortable, chatty style of writing leaves you with the feeling that you have been hanging out with your own friends rather than a group of fictional characters and it is this sense of truth and reality that ensures Geraghty’s work oozes with authenticity.

As far as she is concerned ...

Piecing it All Together with Sinead Moriarty

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 20:54:06 +0100

How do you approach a novel such as 'Pieces of My Heart' from first flash of inspiration to getting the words down? It would be great if you could elaborate on any specific processes you use in terms of plot and character development and give an indication of how long you typically spend planning before committing pen to paper?

I tend to spend about three months researching and plotting the novel. I like to let it mull over in my mind before I plot it out. So I tend to read very widely abou...

Kate Kerrigan On Writing

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 17:33:22 +0100

Getting Published

In her own words, the first novel she penned “took seven years and is unpublishable”. Indeed, Kerrigan’s love of making up stories endured a somewhat unsuccessful start- entering short story competitions but never winning them. But as a successful journalist she knew she was capable of writing large volumes and getting paid for it, so for her a published novel was a natural and almost inevitable progression. Through her work with magazines, Kerrigan met Marianne Gunn O’...