Interviewed by Sue Leonard.
Published in the Irish Examiner on 30th June
Beginner’s Pluck. Diarmuid Hudner.
At 14, Diarmuid wrote poetry that was published in a local newspaper. After university, as a head hunter in London, he wrote articles for financial newspapers including the Financial Times.
Deciding the financial world was not for him, Diarmuid returned to Ireland in 2004, and lived in North Cork. He wrote screenplays. And then started work on the novel.
Meanwhile he started the Doneraile Literary Festival; the only free literary festival in Ireland.
Who is Diarmuid Hudner?
Date of birth: September 1974: County Limerick.
Education: CBS Charleville, Co Cork. University Limerick, Insurance and European Studies.
Home: County Limerick.
Family: Two children, Éireann 13, and Jack, 11
The Day Job: Full time writer.
Interests: I collect antiques, from furniture to rare books.
Favourite Writers: F Scott Fitzgerald. “The Great Gatsby got me interested in writing.” John Steinbeck; Jane Austen.
Second Novel: “It’s called when Leaves are Falling. It’s set in England in 1700, and is about a boy with a deformity who is locked away from society, because his parents don’t want him taken to an institution. It’s his view of the world. And my third book is set during world war one.”
Top Writing Tip: Keep going no matter what happens.
Web: www.imhappynow.com Twitter:@diarmuidhudner
The Debut:imhappynow.com. Print Irish: €10.00 Kindle: €3.99.
This book centres on teenagers who have been bullied. There’s Emmet from Ireland, who turns to alcohol when the pain becomes too much. Ralph, who lives in America, is obese, and has such low self esteem that he contemplates suicide. Ming, from China, becomes a bully, then turns to self harm. The three come together through a website called www.imhappynow.com They support each other in their quest to find happiness.
“The message of the book is that you are in charge of your own happiness. You don’t have to rely on your wife or your job for this. Happiness is a state of mind, and only you can let it be taken from you.”
The Verdict: An important insightful book about taking control of one’s life.
© Sue Leonard. 2013
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