Beginner's Pluck. Margaret Scott

Beginner’s Pluck.
Interviewed by Sue Leonard.
Published in The Irish Examiner on 16th February, 2013

Beginner’s Pluck Margaret Scott.

Margaret started writing as a child.
“I desperately wanted a pony. Writing stories, I could imagine I had as many as I wanted.”

After college, unable to find a job in dress design, Margaret waitressed. Then, after a secretarial course, she worked in an accountant’s office. She studied accountancy, then worked with Price Waterhouse Cooper for two or three years.

“I started writing again in 2004, when I joined a creative writing class in Naas. It became a writing group. Then I wrote a weekly column for the Leinster Leader. The novel took me about three years.”

Who is Margaret Scott?

Date of birth: 22nd October, 1974, in Naas.

Education: St Mary’s College, Naas. The Grafton Academy, Dress Design. Dublin Business School.

Home: Naas.

Family: Husband Keith Darcy, Isabelle 6, and Emily, 3; 4 dogs, 2 cats, 2 donkeys, a pony and a rabbit.

The Day Job: A self Employed Accountant, and a Writer.

Interests: I love to cook, and read about cooking; horse riding, and walking the dogs.

Favourite Writers: My favourite books are Wuthering Heights and the Great Gatsby. And I loved Sebastian Faulks’s Birdsong. I love non-fiction, including sporting, and chef biographies.

Second Novel: It’s a sequel to the first one, about what Holly does next.

Top Writing Tip: Just do it. Pick where you get your advice from carefully. Professional input is essential.

Web: www.margaretscottdarcy.com Twitter: @mgtscott

The Debut: Between You and Me. Poolbeg: €9.99. Kindle: €6.30.

Holly Green is an auditor based in New York, with a dodgy love life. She’s always getting into scrapes. Which is why she finds herself working as a nanny, in Ireland, for a vet. Initially at sea, she soon becomes the area’s childcare expert.

“I was on maternity leave with my first daughter, and felt a fish out of water. It was a totally new me. Holly stems from that. As a New York auditor, she was totally removed from motherhood. It lent itself to funny anecdotes.”

The Verdict: An accomplished and funny debut.

©Sue Leonard. 2013