The three main male characters in The Girl From Donegal are all quite different in their personalities. Do you favour one over the other and if so, what makes him special to you?
They were great characters to write. Davey, Eliza’s first love, bravely joining the fight for Independence in Ireland. Finn, Saoirse’s fiancée, steady and true. But I particularly enjoyed writing Riley’s character, the rodeo cowboy. When I was a young girl, I used to dream about working on a ranch in Canada, just like Saoirse did. And falling in love with a handsome cowboy!
Share a little about your publishing career and name at least one major highlight.
I only found the courage to pursue a career as an author thirteen years ago. It took a few missteps, but in 2022, I celebrated ten years and ten novels as a published author with Harper Collins. It’s a precarious and often fickle industry, and it’s been reported that less than 2% of writers actually get published. So my ‘ten in ten’ milestone felt worthy of celebration. I will always be grateful that I am a member of that 2% club.
Describe your writing process. Are you a pantser, plotter or both? What comes first: plot, characters or location?
I’m both pantser and plotter! I write using Scrivener, and start the process by setting up chapter headings for the scenes that I know I want to write. Then I fill in the gaps, as I go along.
Plot, characters, location and indeed themes each take turns leading the charge! In The Girl From Donegal, character and location happened at the same time. I was standing on Ballymastocker Bay, watching my children chase waves in the ocean, and Eliza’s character and indeed her first scene, came to me fully whole.
Books can have a powerful effect on us, starting from childhood. Name one book that was your favourite possession as a child and how did it affect you? How have books shaped you into the person and writer you are today?
On my first day of school, I was a crying mess. I really did not want to leave my mother. My teacher - Mrs Joyce - asked my mother what did I like to do. Reading, was of course the answer. So Mrs Joyce, started my first ever class, reading from a new book - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I was hooked by the end of page one, and couldn’t wait to get to school every day, to hear the next chapter. That book taught me how powerful words could be. Every book I’ve read since then, has shaped me into the writer I am today.
Name at least four novels you read this year that got you excited?
Yellow Face by RF Kuang, The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor, The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard and The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell.
If you were having a dinner party and could invite three authors from the past, who would they be and what question would you ask each one?
Maeve Binchy: ‘Can you sign my hardback collection of all of your novels please? And let’s hang out.’
Jane Austen: ‘Do you think the challenges you faced as a female writer are still at play all these years later? And let’s hang out.’
Agatha Christie: ‘Where did you really go, when you went missing for 11 days in 1926? And let’s hang out.’
Are you working on a new novel and can you share a little about it?
I’ve almost completed edits on my 2024 novel. Details of title and story will be shared soon! But I can tell you that it’s another dual timeline, set between 1951 and present day, in two gorgeous locations, Ballycotton, Cork and Maine, New England. It tells the story of four Lighthouse Keepers’ wives, who commit a crime in 1951, vowing never to tell anyone. But someone does tell, and in the present day, the granddaughter of one of the wives receives an anonymous letter saying that they know what happened. There’s a mystery in both the past and present day, with lots of surprise reveals and twists, that I hope will keep readers turning the page!
Thanks for being my guest today, Carmel, and I wish you much success on your new stunning new release which already has topped the charts!
