{"id":73847,"date":"2025-08-17T18:53:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T18:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/73847\/"},"modified":"2025-08-17T18:53:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T18:53:14","slug":"expect-betrayals-a-heavy-body-count-twists-heartbreak-and-romance-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/73847\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Expect betrayals, a heavy body count, twists, heartbreak and romance\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tell us about your new YA thriller, Enter the Endgame, whose hero Asha has been called \u201ca Lisbeth Salander for a new generation\u201d.<\/p>\n

Asha is an underdog and, similar to Lisbeth Salander, has trust issues. She is a 16-year-old orphan who has taught herself hacking, coding and security operating systems, skills that were supposed to be her ticket to a good life once she left school. Instead, they become the tools she needs to find revenge after her only remaining family, her older sister Maya, is murdered. Her search for answers also means she has to accept help from the one person she shouldn\u2019t \u2013 Dark, the boy who broke her heart.<\/p>\n

This book is the third of a trilogy alongside A Game of Life or Death and A Traitor in the Game. Can it be read as a stand-alone? What is the story arc of the trilogy?<\/p>\n

You can read the books as standalones but the experience is better if you read them in order. <\/p>\n

The trilogy takes you from Maya\u2019s murder to the bigger conspiracy and then this final book \u2013 an all-or-nothing, high-stakes battle where it\u2019s not just Asha\u2019s life and future on the line. You can expect betrayals, a heavy body count, twists, heartbreak and romance. (And no, you don\u2019t need to be a video gamer to enjoy the books, you just need to like fast-paced thrillers).<\/p>\n

You created Ireland\u2019s first TV series on video games Gamer Mode<\/a> (RT\u00c9) and produced the ground-breaking UK teen drama Sofia\u2019s Diary. Tell us more<\/p>\n

For almost two decades I produced TV series (mainly for teen audiences) around the world. It was an incredible experience working with studios such as Sony Pictures and for channels such as HBO shooting in Brazil, Canada, the US, UK and Ireland. <\/p>\n

Then, while back home working on Gamer Mode, I made the decision that I wanted to focus on writing my own stories instead of producing other people\u2019s words. <\/p>\n

Gamer Mode for me was a love letter to the games I adored and a chance to showcase the passion teens have for video games. The thing about being around so much high-energy enthusiasm on a subject you love is that it rubs off on you when you start thinking about what you want to do next. For me I knew what I needed to write: something set in the video gaming world.<\/p>\n

Your late sister Keelin was born with severe disabilities. How did that influence you as a writer?<\/p>\n

Watching my parents with Keelin was seeing love in action, and she taught me so much. Especially about how to communicate when words aren\u2019t an option. My love of visual storytelling comes directly from her and when I write I think in terms of images first, words second.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve had several well-known mentors, including Louise O\u2019Neill and Sarah Webb. How did they help you?<\/p>\n

Sarah Webb is an inspiring advocate for writers. I did a \u201cstarting to write for kids and teens\u201d course she taught at the Irish Writers Centre and we\u2019ve been friends ever since, especially since she began the Discover Irish Kids Books campaign, which I volunteer with. <\/p>\n

During Covid, I was lucky enough to get a mentorship from Words Ireland with Louise O\u2019Neill (and I think I definitely fan girled her on the first Zoom). Louise kept me on track to finish my first draft and start shaping the work. She also became a practical sounding board for help in navigating the publishing world. It takes a tribe and I was incredibly lucky with mine.<\/p>\n

What is the best writing advice you have heard?<\/p>\n

A good story well written can change your life: Scott Frank, screenwriter of The Queen\u2019s Gambit. To some it sounds naive but it was the best piece of advice right when I needed to hear it. <\/p>\n

Have you made a literary pilgrimage?<\/p>\n

Talk to me in two years\u2019 time \u2013 I desperately want to do a Stephen King themed trip to Maine.<\/p>\n

Which current book, film and podcast would you recommend? <\/p>\n

Books \u2013 Looking forward to reading Catherine Doyle\u2019s new book: The Rebel and the Rose; Film \u2013 F1 (and Kerry Condon is brilliant as always in this). Podcast has to be Here and Back Again with David O Callaghan. I am obsessed \u2013 it is where I get most of my viewing picks. <\/p>\n

Which public event affected you most? <\/p>\n

Covid \u2013 it changed everything for me.<\/p>\n

The most remarkable place you have visited? <\/p>\n

My heart always goes back to Roundstone in Galway.<\/p>\n

Which writers, living or dead, would you invite to your dream dinner party?<\/p>\n

My husband Nuno Bernardo, a Portuguese author \/ film director (and also the best cook I know so he would hopefully cater while I mix cocktails). The late Nora Ephron and Douglas Adams. Rebecca Yarros (because like everyone I devoured Fourth Wing). And then some of my favourite Irish authors \u2013 Caroline Grace Cassidy, Ellen Ryan, Alison Weatherby, Alan Nolan and Shane Hegarty. For music \u2013 the brilliant Foil Arms and Hog preforming some of their songs.<\/p>\n

The best and worst things about where you live?<\/p>\n

Family. We moved recently so our kids could be closer to their younger cousins and grandparents. It is both the best and worst thing.<\/p>\n

Your most treasured possession.<\/p>\n

Coffee machine (used daily).<\/p>\n

Enter the Endgame is published by Scholastic<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tell us about your new YA thriller, Enter the Endgame, whose hero Asha has been called \u201ca Lisbeth…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":73848,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[457,32143,37806,309,96,37807,37808,388,37809,56,54,55,37810],"class_list":{"0":"post-73847","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-chefs","10":"tag-communism","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-frances-armstrong-jones","14":"tag-hugh-corcoran","15":"tag-london","16":"tag-restarants","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom","19":"tag-unitedkingdom","20":"tag-yellow-bittern"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}