Emma Healy

Beginner’s Pluck.
Interviewed by Sue Leonard.
Published in The Irish Examiner on 19th July

Beginner’s Pluck Emma Healey

Emma has always had a joint interest in writing and art. She worked in an art gallery before deciding, at 25, to take an MA in Creative Writing.
“I was always writing, but before that I was trying to write about myself, and was never able to concentrate on anything,” she says. “Then I got the idea for Elizabeth is Missing. I worked on that in UEA.”

The character of Maud is based on Emma’s grandmother, whom she adored.
“She told me lots of stories about her life; I picked up her turn of phrase. My other grandmother had dementia, and I could imagine that in some way. It was easier, for me, than imagining a male character.”

Finishing the MA, Emma worked in a library, then returned to Norwich where she worked in the Marketing Department at UEA.

A summer sensation, Elizabeth is Missing has been sold to 18 different territories.

Who is Emma Healey?

Date of birth: 27th February 1985 in London.

Education: Emmanuelle in London; Foundation Course in Art and Design at St Martin’s; London College of Communication, Book Art. University of East Anglia, MA Creative Writing.

Home: Norwich.

Family: Partner Andy. Parents.

The Day Job: Fulltime Writer.

Interests: “I make cards; I love walking and enjoy playing computer games.”

Favourite Writers: Penelope Fitzgerald; Barbara Pym; Michael Frayn; Jane Austen; Graham Greene.

Second Novel: “I have a novel plan, and a deadline as I have a two book deal.”

Top Writing Tip: “Harness your willpower. I’m less good at writing if I’m using my willpower to do something else, like follow a diet.

Web: www.emmahealey.co.uk Twitter: @echealey

The Debut: Elizabeth is Missing. Viking: €15.99 Kindle: €6.26.

Maud’s memory is going. She forgets to eat, and keeps buying tinned peaches. But she’s clear about one thing; her friend Elizabeth is missing. She’s also bothered by memories of her sister, Suki, who disappeared when Maud was a teenager. Will she remember a vital clue that could solve that post second world war crime?

“I hope my book will give people a perspective on older people, and the way they feel that the world is carrying on around them.”

The Verdict: An astonishingly assured portrait of the vagaries of old age. Touching and compulsive.

© Sue Leonard. 2014

Beginner's Pluck. Justine Kyle McGrath

Beginner’s Pluck.
Interviewed by Sue Leonard.
Published on 8th November, 2014

Beginner’s Pluck Justine Kyle McGrath.
As a child Justine kept a diary. In boarding school she’d tell stories to the other girls, and in her twenties she attended creative writing classes. But studying languages at college, she got sidetracked.

“I worked in marketing, in software and internet companies, using my languages. Then I became a freelance teacher of French and Spanish, teaching adults in various colleges. I still do that, and teach privately, giving grinds.”

Always close to her father, Justine was delighted when he agreed to let her write his story.
“I loved the process. I learned most from the editing; that taught me so much.”


Who is Justine Kyle McGrath

Date of birth: 17th June 1971 in Zambia.

Education: A’Levels at Methodist College Belfast. Sterling University; French and Spanish.

Home: Lusk, County Dublin.

Family: Husband, Conor. One brother, Caleb.

The Day Job: A freelance French and Spanish teacher, and a career coach. “I help Leaving Certificate Students, and those in work. I’ll work with anybody.”

Interests: Trying to keep fit. “I love reading about psychology, human behaviour, and emotional intelligence. And being a linguist, I adore French cinema.”

Favourite Writers: Barbara Kingsolver, Edna O’Brien, Douglas Kennedy.

Second Book: I’ve already started my own memoir of growing up in Zambia, and going to boarding school in Hollywood, near Belfast. At nine, a girl told me Belfast would be bombed the next day. I thought it was my last day of life!

Top Writing Tip: I’m learning my craft, but I am helped by studying great writers. But you don’t copy them – you find your unique writing voice. And write every day to get it flowing.

Web: www.equilibria.ie Twitter: @scarlettjustine

The Debut: Conversations with my Father: Jack Kyle. Hachette Ireland:€17.99. Kindle:€6.38.

A Rugby giant, Jack Kyle is much more than a sporting legend. Whilst contributing to Ireland’s Grand Slam he was studying to be a doctor. This delightful account shows the doctor in Zambia, and as a family man. It comprises conversations with his daughter, the author, Justine.

“I learned that his life wasn’t always easy. The medical exams took effort – he didn’t just sail through.”

The Verdict: Much more than a sports book, this is a nostalgic look at a full life wisely lived.

©Sue Leonard 2014

Louise O'Neill

Beginner’s Pluck

Stewart Foster.

Beginner’s Pluck.
Interviewed by Sue Leonard.
Published in the Irish Examiner on 15th March

Beginner’s Pluck. Stewart Foster

Stewart never read much, but English language was his best subject at school. He studied journalism for a month, but when he sent a poem about the IRA to his tutor, Robert Maxwell and it wasn’t published, he realised it wasn’t for him.

“I spent the next twenty years selling insurance, but six years ago I stopped, and studied creative writing. I drove a taxi for a while, to make money. It got me out, talking to people, and was a good antidote to the loneliness of writing.

“I wrote a novel on the MA; it almost found a publisher.”

Who is Stewart Foster?

Date of birth: 20th November, 1963 in Bath.

Education: Culverhay School, Bath; Bath Spa University, BA then Masters in Creative Writing, Finished the Masters in 2010.

Home: 4 miles from Bath

Family: Separated; two amazing daughters Lois, 20, and Tallulah 17.

The Day Job: Full time writer. “But I do a small amount of market research.”

Interests: “I run, I cycle, and I play football. I love listening to music.”

Favourite Writers: “I still don’t read much, but I love Cormac McCarthy, David Almond, and Kerouac.”

Second Novel: “It could be one of two; the one I wrote for my BA, or one I’ve just written.”

Top Writing Tip: “If you’re stuck take exercise. I was doing 40 mph on my bike, and was inspired to put the end of my book at the beginning.”

Web: www.stewartfoster.com Twitter: @stewartfoster1

The Debut: We Used to be Kings: Jonathan Cape: €18.75. Kindle: €7.31.

It’s Tom’s eighteenth birthday, but for him, that means a move from a care home for troubled children to an adult institution. Unless, that is, he can convince the doctors that the voice of his dead brother Jack has gone from his head.

But he doesn’t want that; it’s all he has left from his old life; from before his mother died and his father travelled to the moon.

“The novel started with a 500 word short story I wrote years ago. Then the voice of Tom, and of Jack got into my head, and I couldn’t stop writing.”


The Verdict: An extraordinary debut. The author trusts the reader to suss out the plot.

© Sue Leonard. 2014.

Alan Walsh

Beginner’s pluck | Irish Examiner

Jackie Burke

Beginner's Pluck: Jackie Burke | Irish Examiner

Maurice Gueret

Beginner’s Pluck. Maurice Gueret
Published in the Irish Examiner, 4th January, 2014

Maurice has written all his life. He was first published on the Junior Page in The Irish Press. There was a pause while he studied medicine, but he has had a medical column ever since he qualified.

“I spent four years postgraduate training in medicine, in paediatrics, gynaecology and psychology, then I became a GP. I gave up practising at the age of forty. These days I write and edit full time.”

Maurice has published 20 volumes of the Irish Medical Directory, but it’s his columns, now appearing in The Sunday Independent of which he is most proud.
“It’s a bit like a weekly clinic, where the patients educate the doctor and lend him their eyes and observations,” he says.

Who is Maurice Gueret?

Date of birth: 1963, in Dublin.

Education: St Mary’s College, Rathmines; The High School Rathgar: Trinity College Dublin.

Home: Terenure, Dublin.

Family: A wife, a daughter and a cocker spaniel.

The Day Job: Writing and editing.

Hobbies: Dog walking and picnics.

Favourite Writers: George Bernard Shaw: Gore Vidal: Alan Bennett: John Banville. “And I love Richard Ellmann biographies.”

Second Book: There are two in the pipeline. A children’s book called Betsy Shrink – Child Psychiatrist, and a follow up to What the Doctor saw.

Top Writing Tip: Keep a lifelong jotting notebook or diary. But consult it only when you are desperate for inspiration.

Web: www.drmauriceguert.com Twitter: @mauricegueret

The Debut: What the Doctor Saw: IMD, Dublin. €16.99.

This comprises 140 published and unpublished pieces from this sharp, yet humorous writer. Gueret writes about everything from Traveller Health and Rude consultants to Papal Health and Sigmund Freud’s birthday.

“Leaving the drudge of daily practise allowed a small chink of enlightenment in. It’s very difficult to think outside medicine, or to look at it dispassionately when you are immersed, or drowning in it.

“I hope readers will realise that health is very much a lucky dip. And that those who preach otherwise are terrible bores!”

The Verdict: A wonderful, beautifully produced book to dip into, learn from, and enjoy.

© Sue Leonard. 2013

Fiona Dillon

Beginner’s Pluck.
Interviewed by Sue Leonard.
Published in the Irish Examiner on 28th December 2013

Beginner’s Pluck Fiona Dillon.

Fiona was a Dublin based workaholic, living in the corporate world, and, even after her move to the country in 1999 she devoted herself to business.
“I was working day and night,” says Fiona, “but when you have children, your priorities start to change.”

In 2007, deciding on a life change, Fiona decided to practise the good life; growing vegetables, keeping hens, and cooking. She started a food blog, and that led to some magazine and broadcasting work espousing the simple, sustainable life.
“My husband is hugely supportive,” she says. “He’s taken to beekeeping; he loves it!”

Who is Fiona Dillon?

Date of birth: 1st august 1965, in Offaly.

Education: St Raphael’s College in Co Galway. “I went straight into work after school. But in my forties, I went to IT Carlow, and studied PR and Media Studies.”

Home: County Carlow.

Family: Husband, Eamonn, children Joe, 22, Kate 19, Ellie 16, Ruth 10.

The Day Job: writer.

Interests: Ballroom dancing; Travelling,; baking.

Favourite Writers: Stieg Larsson. “And for food I admire Darina and Myrtle Allen enormously. They take things back to basics.”

Second Novel: There’s something in the pipeline.

Top Writing Tip: Stick to your deadlines. And make sure you’re not cold. It’s hard to write if you are freezing.

Web Fionadillon.com. Twitter: @fionadolonhl

The Debut: Food from an Irish Garden. The Good Life at Hunter’s Lodge. Orpen Press: €17.95.

This delightful book tells of Fiona’s struggles to become self-sufficient, when she had no idea how to garden, cook, or farm. Without ever preaching, she tells of her experiences, and she gives tips on every aspect of her new life, from composting to keeping hens.

“It hadn’t occurred to me to write a book until someone approached me. It was hugely exciting. It’s the sort of book I would have loved to have had when I started out at Hunter’s Lodge. It explains the basics in a gentle way. I think that is what people want.

The Verdict: A comprehensive, user friendly guide to the good life.

© Sue Leonard. 2013

Jennifer Barrett

Beginner’s Pluck.
Interviewed by Sue Leonard.
Published in The Irish Examiner on 21st December 2013

Beginner’s Pluck. Jennifer Barrett.

After university Jennifer worked in a bank. Then, deciding to get into the Arts, she worked for the National Concert Hall, and then the ARK. A spell at Clongowes Wood College followed, then she moved to the charity, Headstrong.
“I now work for the Christian Brother’s Mission on their projects in Africa.”

Jennifer has been writing for some years, taking various courses. Her debut was the runner up in the Poolbeg TV3 write a bestseller competition.

Who is Jennifer Barrett?
Date of birth: October 1971, in Croydon, Surrey; but lived in Wicklow from 1973, and then Stillorgan.

Education: Sion Hill Dominican College, Blackrock; UCD, B.A. in Economics and History; Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, Diploma in Business Studies; Boston College Irish Institute, Non-Profit Development

Home: Dublin

Family: Parents, John and Maureen; Sister Suzanne, brothers Paul and Chris; seven wonderful nieces and nephews.

The Day Job: Charity CEO

Interests: Whale watching, Travel, Photography, Singing, Hill walking, Scuba-diving, Cycling, Marine Conservation

Favourite Writers: Mitch Albom, John O’Donoghue, Paolo Coehlo, Elizabeth Gilbert, Jane Austen, Anne Enright, Emma Donoghue and lots of popular psychology and philosophy non-fiction

Second Novel: Set in London and Zambia, it explores two core themes – the concept of hindsight, and the many different ways there can be to live a life.

Top Writing Tip: Go to book festivals, and writers’ workshops. It can help to reignite a flagging spirit.

Web: www.writing.ie/member-authors/jennifer-barrett/

Twitter: @JenBarrettEye


The Debut: Look into the Eye. Poolbeg: €9.99. Kindle: €5.84

Melanie McQuaid has a five-year plan. And it doesn’t include love or fun. Richard Blake seems set on self destruction. They have nothing in common, but there’s a spark between them. And then their lives are transformed. Each has an encounter with a whale.

“I came eye to eye with a killer whale, and it changed everything. Afterwards I travelled to Australia and South Africa, and volunteered in a whale conservation project. I’m now heavily involved in the Greenpeace anti-whaling campaign.”

The Verdict: An absorbing contemporary love story. Meaningful, and heartfelt.

© Sue Leonard. 2013

Sheila Bugler

Beginner’s Pluck.
Interviewed by Sue Leonard.
Published on 14th December 2013.

Beginner’s Pluck Shelia Bugler

Sheila has always written, yet never thought she would be a writer. After university she did a TEFL course, (teaching as a foreign language,) and that took her to Italy, Spain, Argentina, and Holland.
“Then I arrived in London. I worked in IT; then in human resources, and I now work in corporate communication.”

It wasn’t until Shelia had her children, than she had a try at writing.
“I loved it at once. I love the idea of embracing my creativity. I can write anywhere; even with my children screaming around me. But my early morning, and my two hour commute are my preferred times.”

Who is Sheila Bugler?

Date of birth: 22nd March 1968, in Galway

Education: Our Lady’s Bower, Athlone. UCG, (Galway,) Psychology.

Home: Eastbourne.

Family: Husband Sean, Luke 12, Ruby 7.

The Day Job: Corporate Communications.

Interests: Cinema, and I adore walking. One of reasons we moved was for the beautiful countryside.

Favourite Writers: Norman Maclean; James Salter; Scott Fitzgerald; Alan Hollinghurst and PG Wodehouse. “When I read Wodehouse, I weep with laughter every time.”

Second Novel: Watch Over You, is out early next year.

Top Writing Tip: Get the first draft done. Then you have something to work with.

Web: www.sheilabugler.co.uk Twitter: @sheilab10

The Debut: Hunting Shadows. Brandon: €12.99 Kindle: €8.72.

DI Ellen Kelly has returned to work after an enforced absence; she had confronted her husband’s killer. Her first case concerns a missing child; she has a lot to prove. But her superiors, wanting the case sorted fast, push her down the wrong tracks. Will she get to the truth in time?

“Years ago a friend shared a house with a woman she didn’t know well. One day the woman came home with a baby, claiming it was hers. Clearly it wasn’t. That stayed with me. And since I’ve become a mother, I’m terrified of my children being harmed. That fear drives me.”

The Verdict: Terrific. The tense interaction between Ellen, and her second in command Abby, makes this particularly compelling.

© Sue Leonard. 2013

David Graham

Beginner’s Pluck.

Interviewed by Sue Leonard.

Published on 7^th December.

Beginner’s Pluck. David Graham

David didn’t start writing until his late thirties. He has worked as a building site labourer, a  scaffolder, a bank assistant, and an IT programmer. Then at 34 he went to college.

“I had a few false starts with my writing,” he says. “I tried different genres, then I decided to draw on things that I’d learned from my extensive travels. I submitted a draft of Incitement; then I rewrote it, but never submitted it again. I was busy with the MBA, work, and moving house.

“I was driving to the office earlier this year, when I heard about the John Murray Show, RTE Guide Kazoo Novel Competition. I entered and later heard I was on the shortlist of five. Then I won! That was amazing. I am so grateful to everyone concerned.”

Who is David Graham?

Date of birth: December 1968, in  Dublin.

Education: Ardscoil Ris, Marino. Irish Management Institute; BA Management. Smurfit Business School; Executive MBA.

Home: Dublin.

Family: Wife Helena, sons Lucas 8 and Ruben, 6, adopted from Guatemala.

The Day Job: General Manager of my own business.

Interests: Walking, spending times with kids, and keep fit.

Favourite Writers: James Ellroy; John D Macdonald; Elmore Leonard; Simon Kernick; James Lee Burke.

Second Novel: I have finished a draft of my second book. It’s a different kind of thriller.

Top Writing Tip: Act your way into a feeling, rather than feel your way into an action. Just start writing.

Web: www.davidgrahambooks.com Twitter: @davidangraham

The Debut: Incitement. Andromeda Publishing: €8.99. Kindle: €4.99.
A war has erupted between two drugs superpowers. Diane Mesi, A DEA Agent becomes convinced that the attacks are orchestrated by a third party, but she is marginalised, her judgement challenged. Meanwhile Michael Larsen, a hired mercenary hopes that by directing the violence he can attain redemption.
            “I liked the idea of one evil trying to destroy another when a third party emerges. The novel has a factual backdrop based on intensive research.”

The Verdict: An exciting action thriller, with lots of  twists. 

© Sue Leonard 2013

Jennifer Burke

Beginners Pluck: Jennifer Burke | Irish Examiner

Rosanne Hewitt-Cromwell

Beginner's Pluck: Rosanne Hewitt-Cromwell | Irish Examiner

Alan Timmons

Beginner's Pluck - Alan Timmons | Irish Examiner

Diarmuid Ó Conghaile | Irish Examiner

Diarmuid Ó Conghaile | Irish Examiner

Maura Mulligan

Beginner’s Pluck.

Interviewed by Sue Leonard.

Published in the Irish Examiner on 2^nd November 2013 

Beginner’s Pluck. Maura Mulligan

As a teenager Maura was a servant in a big house. Then, sailing for America, she worked as a telephone operator before becoming a nun. Eventually leaving, she had occasionally acting parts, and she ran a language school. Then she taught English in the New York system.

            “I started writing in the nineties. I took a writing course on Achill Island, led by the poet, Macdara Woods. That was where I first heard the echoes of childhood mingle with the winds of emigration.”

Who is Maura Mulligan?

Date of birth: May 1941 in Aghamore, County Mayo.

Education: “I left school in Ireland at 12, but I gained a BA when I was in the convent. Afterwards, I earned an MA in Arts at Hunter College, New York.”

Home: New Jersey, near New York. .

Family: A sister Bridie, and a brother John.

The Day Job: Retired teacher. “I still teach Céilí dancing, and, occasionally, Irish to adults.”      

Interests: “I love attending dance and music summer schools in Ireland.”

Favourite Writers: Edna O’ Brien, Frank McCourt, Colm Tóibín. Nuala O’ Faolain and Anne Lamott

Second Novel: I’m working on a novel based in Ireland.

Top Writing Tip: Enjoy the process. If it’s not fun, do something else.

Web: www.mauramulligan.com 

The Debut: Call of the Lark. Greenpoint Press: €10.70.

This memoir follows Maura’s childhood in forties rural Ireland, and shows how emigration, back then, seemed the only choice. It’s a vivid portrait of life as a nun; the joys, frustrations, the humour, and, finally, after Vatican 11 brought in changes, the decision to leave the confines of that life.

“Leaving Ireland didn’t feel like a free choice. It was what was expected of you. All that was familiar stayed firmly planted in my head, and in my heart. I simply had to write it. And besides, someone needed to give witness to living in that corner of Mayo.”

The Verdict: A beautiful, gentle memoir of life in a convent. And of a woman unafraid to change her life.

© Sue Leonard. 2013.

Jennifer Ridyard

Beginner’s Pluck.

Interviewed by Sue Leonard.

Published in The Irish Examiner on October 26^th.

Beginner’s Pluck Jennifer Ridyard.  

Jennie enjoyed an Idyllic South African childhood, unaware of apartheid. After school she had various jobs, including waitressing and nursing. She worked in a bank for years before becoming a journalist in 1994. After a stint in London, she became Lifestyle Editor for a South African National newspaper. She moved to Ireland in 2004 to be with John Connolly.

“I met John in 2000, when I interviewed him.” 

She now works as a copy editor, and has written three unpublished manuscripts.   

Who is Jennifer Ridyard?

Date of birth: 8^th October, 1981, in Stockport, Manchester. “But I emigrated to South Africa when I was two years old.” 

Education: A government school in Benoni, near Johannesburg. Jennie went to WITS university but left when she became pregnant in her first year.

Home: Dublin.

Family: Partner, the writer John Connolly. Cameron, 22, and Alistair 15. Two rescue dogs, Sasha and Coco.

The Day Job: Fulltime writer/copywriter.

Interests: Dogs, cake and reading.

Favourite Writers: Jeffrey Eugenides; Chimamanda Adichie; Dennis Lehane and Marian Keyes.

Second Novel: “We’ve started writing the second in the series. We spend hours discussing it over dinner.”

Top Writing Tip: “Just do it. Don’t edit yourself all the time. Writers can get so caught up in the words that they forget about the story. The story and the characters are paramount.”

Web; www.chroniclesoftheinvaders.com  Twitter: @JennieRidyard

The Debut: Conquest. Part One of the Chronicles of the Invaders. (With John Connolly.) Headline: €18.75 Kindle:€7.67.

Conquest shows a time when earth is ruled by the Illyra. Syl Hellais is the first Illyra to have been born on earth. She longs to escape her father’s stronghold. At 16, she saves the life of a human, Paul Kerr, and, cast out, her life changes for ever.  

“John had the idea, but not enough time to write it. He gave me the beginning and the synopsis, I wrote it, and we both bashed it into shape.”

The Verdict: The first of a new series for teenagers. Original, funny, and beautifully written.

© Sue Leonard. 2013

 

 

 

 

Colin Barrett

Beginner’s Pluck.

Interviewed by Sue Leonard.

Published in The Irish Examiner on October 19^th

 

Beginner’s Pluck. Colin Barrett 

Colin can’t remember a time when he wasn’t writing. He read randomly, too.

            “There weren’t many books in our house, but I remember reading The English patient at thirteen. I didn’t understand it all, but I was fascinated by the language and kept reading.” 

After college, Colin worked for Vodafone for five years, but all that time he read widely, absorbing influences, and experimenting with writing. He left work to take a Masters in Creative Writing, completing four short stories that year.

            “Two were published by the end of the course, and Declan Meade of The Stinging Fly said he would be interested in publishing a collection.”

 

Who is Colin Barrett?  

Date of birth: April 1982, in Canada.  

Education: St Muredachs College in Ballina, Mayo. UCD, English. UCD Masters in Creative Writing. (2008.)  

Home: Mullingar.  

Family: Girlfriend, Lucy Perrem; parents, and four younger brothers.

The Day Job: Fulltime writer. “I was working until June, on and off.”

Interests: Football. “Playing as well as watching. I find it therapeutic. I play twice a week.”  

Favourite Writers: Influences have been, Kevin Barry; Flannery O’Connor; Barry Hannah and David Foster Wallace.

Second Novel: “I’m working on a novel.”  

Top Writing Tip: Don’t be afraid of overwriting in your first draft; you can always cut it back.

Twitter: @colinbarrett82

The Debut: Young Skins. The Stinging Fly:€12.99. Kindle: Available soon.

 

Set in a fictional town in County Mayo, these stories examine the minutiae of the lives of the young in post-boom Ireland. Superbly observed, many show the vulnerability of young men compared to the relative strength of the women.  

 Tug is obsessed with the case of a missing child; Bat fears socialising after a random attack leaves him with a messed-up face and constant headaches; Doran and Eli take refuge in a pub, reluctant to attend a funeral of a women they both loved.

The Verdict: Every sentence counts in these mesmerising stories from an exciting new literary author. Although vicious, they show a tender side of humanity.

 

© Sue Leonard 2013

Virginia Gilbert

Beginner’s Pluck.

Interviewed by Sue Leonard.

Published in the Irish Examiner on 12^th October. 

Beginner’s Pluck Virginia Gilbert.  

Virginia’s father was a film director. As a teenager, she helped him make a movie on Oscar Wilde. She loved Ireland, and resolved to go to university here. After college, she worked for the film producer John Kelleher, and made a documentary on Lord Haw Haw for RTE.  

“I was more interested in the writing and directing side, so I gave up my job and started writing short films and short fiction.” 

Virginia’s debut feature film, based on her own short story, starred Brenda Fricker. Her short stories have been published internationally and broadcast on BBC and RTE. 

             “The novel seemed a natural progression. I set a daily word count and wrote the first draft in a month.”

 Who is Virginia Gilbert?  

Date of birth: 1980 in Harrow, London.  

Education: North London Collegiate School; Trinity College Dublin. English and drama. “I directed a lot for Players.” 

Home: Just moved to London having spent 15 years in Dublin.  

Family: Husband, Keith Farnan a stand-up comedian from Cork.

The Day Job: Working writer and filmmaker.  

Interests: Film, theatre, comedy, spending time with loved ones, and I’m a great walker.   

Favourite Writers: John Fowles; Doris Lessing; Philip Roth; Ian McEwan; Claire Messud; Thomas Hardy; DH Lawrence; the Brontes; Dickens.  

Second Novel: There’s an idea there.  

Top Writing Tip: There’s no magic. Writer’s write. You need courage, stamina and strategies to push through when the critical inner-voices start.  

Web: no. Twitter: No.

The Debut: Travelling Companion. Liberties Press: :€17.25. Kindle: Not available in Ireland.

 On his first trip abroad, Michael finds himself alone on a touristy Greek Island. Georgie, there to relax and reconnect with her boyfriend, takes pity on him. She chats to him each morning whilst her boyfriend sleeps. But Michael, concocting an inner fantasy life, decides to test her loyalty – with devastating consequences.

“I’m fascinated by the disconnect between what we present to the world, how others see us, and what is really going on.” 

The Verdict: A well observed debut with a terrifying twist ending.  

Ends.

 

 

Susannah Healy

Beginner’s Pluck.

Interviewed by Sue Leonard.

Published in the Irish Examiner on 5^th October

 

Beginner’s Pluck Susannah Healy.

 Susannah has always enjoyed writing, but it took a back seat for many years.  A psychologist who is currently researching a PhD, she started writing articles for various magazines years ago. She loved it. And the more she wrote, the more her ideas snowballed.  

           “I often thought about writing a book, but the idea had to be a compelling one. There had to be something I really wanted to share with a large audience, in order to generate the energy to write one.

             “I had started on a new diet, and suddenly realised I was using ‘all or nothing’ thinking. I realised I was missing out by not applying psychological aspects to my dieting. Since then, I have lost 3 stone.”

 Who is Susannah Healy?  

Date of birth: 31^st August 1969, in Glenageary, County Dublin.

 

Education: Holy Child, Killiney. UCD, Spanish and Greek and Roman Civilisation. Post grad in Marketing in Mountjoy Square. American College, Dublin, psychology degree. UCC – doing a PhD in psychology.  

Home: Cabinteely.  

Family: Husband Arthur, and three sons, Arthur 9, Oliver 7 Chester 5.  

The Day Job: Part-time psychologist.   

Interests: Philosophy, quantum physics, that whole invisible world.  

Favourite Writers: “I love books for the amateur physicist, where science and spirituality meet.”  

Second Novel: “I would love to write another, but I think it’s a few years away.”  

Top Writing Tip: “You have to be disciplined; so just sit at the desk and do it. Getting up early helps me too.”  

Web www.fabulousjelly.ie  Twitter: no.  

The Debut: Fabulous Jelly. Use your Brain to Lose Weight.  Mercier: €12.99. Kindle: Not yet available.

 We all know how to lose weight, yet most of us fail. And this, Susannah Healy contends, is because we try for overnight transformation, instead of examining our eating habits, and implementing small, gradual changes.  

“I wanted to introduce a new step into the dieting process. People should first address their psychological eating habits. It’s a weaning process.”  

The Verdict: A comprehensive, common sense guide to avoiding the pitfalls of dieting.

 

© Sue Leonard. 2013.