Tell us about your new novel, Secrets Between Friends. What inspired it?<\/p>\n
Secrets Between Friends is a novel about life after loss and the power of female friendships to support and help us. I know many women who have been widowed and have had to reshape their lives when one of the worst possible things has happened to them. I wanted to explore the experience of three different women.<\/p>\n
One of your characters is called Bronte. Are you a fan of the sisters? Do you have a favourite?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s my homage to three amazing women writers whose books explored dark themes and the societal constraints placed on women. I don\u2019t have a favourite!<\/p>\n
You made your name with your debut novel Dreaming of a Stranger. Tell us about it.<\/p>\n
Like the Brontes\u2019 novels, it deals with societal constraints and women finding their path in a man\u2019s world.<\/p>\n
Your first career was as a financial trader for the Central Bank. What was that like and has it fed into your work? <\/p>\n
My work for the Central Bank<\/a> was as a regulator. My trading career was commercial. It was very interesting but solely focused on making money for the bank. Some of my books have financial backgrounds and characters have been inspired by people I met during my time in finance.<\/p>\n Your last novel, The Honeymoon Affair, featured a man who won the Booker Prize for a romantic novel. Was that an opportunity to write about the publishing industry?<\/p>\n It\u2019s always fun to write about publishing but I also wanted to explore how men and women are treated differently when it comes to writing romantic fiction.<\/p>\n You won Popular Fiction Book of the Year for All for You. Is that your favourite or your best work?<\/p>\n I\u2019ve written a lot of books since then. I always hope that I\u2019ve learned something with each book and improve as a writer with every one I write. I\u2019m very proud of All for You, which is about a difficult mother-daughter relationship, but I don\u2019t have a favourite of my books.<\/p>\n Do you think the distinction between popular or commercial fiction and literary fiction is a false one?<\/p>\n Good writing is good writing whether it is literary or popular. There\u2019s no need for intellectual snobbery about writing, but some people seem to feel superior by dismissing popular fiction.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve spoke out about sexism in the industry, such as an event where male authors spoke individually but women authors were grouped together and called the Divas.<\/p>\n Giving greater attention to the work of men continues to be endemic in every industry. However, young Irish women writers have deservedly found great respect in the last number of years and they are treated as the individual stars that they are. <\/p>\n You wrote about your mother\u2019s family story in The Woman on the Bridge. Tell us about it.<\/p>\n This is probably the book I\u2019m most proud of as it deals with a tumultuous time in Irish history. I wanted to write about the impact of war on society, particularly on the women who had to keep going in very difficult situations and on families that were fractured because of divided loyalties.<\/p>\n Your mother and a sister died in 2023. Did that make you re-evaluate your life?<\/p>\n Losing family members makes you aware of how fragile our connections are and how important it is to make time for the people closest to us. I\u2019m very cognisant of that in my own life.<\/p>\n Which projects are you working on?<\/p>\n I\u2019m currently running some creative writing workshops for older writers.<\/p>\n Have you ever made a literary pilgrimage?<\/p>\n My novel, The Women Who Ran Away, is a literary pilgrimage itself. It follows a route through France<\/a> and Spain<\/a> and stops at locations where some classic authors were born or lived, or where some of my favourite novels were set.<\/p>\n What is the best writing advice you have heard?<\/p>\n A published author is an amateur who wouldn\u2019t quit<\/p>\n Who do you admire the most?<\/p>\n Every classical female novelist who had to publish her work under a man\u2019s name. <\/p>\n You are supreme ruler for a day. Which law to you pass or abolish?<\/p>\n Male leaders have to retire at 70<\/p>\n Which current book, film and podcast would you recommend?<\/p>\n I love Japanese authors and recommend Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. I\u2019m more of a TV series fan than a movie person and am enjoying the fifth series of Astrid: Murder in Paris. As a tennis fan, I enjoy The Tennis Podcast<\/p>\n What public event affected you most?<\/p>\n The passing of the marriage equality referendum<\/a> in 2015.<\/p>\n The most remarkable place you have visited?<\/p>\n