Beginner's Pluck. Felicity McCall.

Beginner’s Pluck.
Interviewed by Sue Leonard.
Published in The Irish Examiner on 13th October, 2012

Beginner’s Pluck Felicity McCall.

Brought up in the North, the legacy of the troubles will always influence Felicity’s perception of the world. She worked in the North as a prize winning journalist, joining the BBC in 1980. She took redundancy in 2000, and started writing creatively.
“I was determined I wouldn’t write about the troubles.”

Felicity has written in many genres. She enjoyed writing her debut for teenagers.
“I love working in schools,” she says. “It’s been fun.”

Who is Felicity McCall?

Date of birth: 11th of November, 1957 in County Armagh.

Education: Armagh Girls High. Queens University. Some courses at technical college in Armagh.

Home: Derry. And Donegal, where I have a weekend cottage.

Family: Divorced with one daughter, Aoife, now 23.

The Day Job: Full time writer, and arts facilitator, involved in various groups and different contracts.

Hobbies: I love reading groups, writing and theatre groups, and any live performance.

Favourite Writers: John Banville; Eoin McNamee; John Connor; William Trevor and John McGahern.

Second Novel: I’m discussing an idea with my publishers soon.

Top Writing Tip: Don’t take rejection personally. Keep trying. And join a supportive writing group.

Web: www.felicitymccall.com Twitter: @fmcc57

The Debut: Large Mammals, Stick Insects and Other Social Misfits. Little Island: €8.99. (Not available Kindle.)

Aimée is excited. Its Halloween in Derry, and Caoimhe is coming from Dublin, as part of a cross boarder exchange. And she’s bringing her gorgeous brother. Life, at 15 is full. Aimée is busy sorting out her best friends’ love lives. Then there’s her health regime and Facebook to keep up with.

“The idea came in 2006, when my daughter was a teen. Her friends were always around. They were great fans of the diary genre, but there was never anything that related to Northern Ireland, with our particular black humour. They said, ‘could your mummy not write one?’ So I wrote three chapters for fun. I finished it in 2010, when New Island started out.”

The Verdict: Zany and fun. A true reflection of life at 15.

© Sue Leonard. 2012