Could you provide me with more insights about your recent book, The Bookseller’s Gift? Was it a result of your tour to libraries and bookstores throughout the Irish countryside?
Indeed, the novel captures the story of a mother and daughter working together to launch a bookstore in a make-belief town on the west coast. It also hones in on the themes I frequently return to in my writings: community, familial bonds that span generations, entrepreneurial spirit within a small town, opportunities to start afresh, mid-age romance, and ecological existence.
You categorise the novel as ‘uplit’. What’s your understanding of ‘uplit’?
The core of ‘uplit’ revolves around an optimistic outlook which doesn’t evade the sadder aspects of life, including death, mourning, social seclusion, and past traumas.
You once got an offer to teach at Mount Anville but the nun who offered you the job advised you to leave for London to pursue a creative career.
I pursued English, History, and Irish at UCD and for a year, I taught Irish. My parents viewed teaching as the evergreen fallback option in Ireland. However, it was apparent to everybody that teaching did not ignite my passion.
You trained to become an actor. How has this influenced your writing? Can you share some career milestones?
My first professional acting gig was a premiere of an Emlyn Williams piece for BBC Radio 4, based on Tolstoy’s death at Astopovo station. I played the part of the station master’s daughter who was with Tolstoy during his last moments. This performance was mainly a duologue featuring me and Michael Redgrave, with Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies playing the older version of my character during the start and end. Gwen couldn’t record on the same day as me, but left behind her script, signed with a lovely note. Val Gielgud, the then head of BBC radio drama, wrote to me after the recording, foreseeing a promising career for me. Unfortunately, during my numerous relocations between damp rented accommodations, both the script and letter were lost.
My acting career likely influences my writing. I see my novels resembling Shakespeare’s bucolic comedies which blend psychological authenticity with humour that readers might be familiar with from modern romantic comedy films, American TV comedies or traditional English pantomimes.
You also had a short stint of fame in Japan through the early CD-ROM work.
Wilf and I, his wife, collaborated on CD-rom content production for a company named Notting Hill, which was initiated by Andreas Whittam Smith from UK Independent newspaper. My husband took on the role of producer while I wrote scripts. The works included engaging video and audio ‘interviews’ with historical figures, led by contemporary specialists like Jonathan Miller. Despite its short-term popularity in Japan, the project bagged awards and was groundbreaking.
You could term our lifestyle as the best of both worlds as we manage to divide our time between west Kerry Gaeltacht and London. The environment there has also been a muse to my inaugural book, ‘The House on an Irish Hillside (2012)’, a memoir. Strikes the perfect balance for us, a feat that took us thirty years to create.
‘Memory, History & Remembrance’, another memoir written in 2015, gave an account of the women in my family in tandem with the formation of the Irish State. A notable mention here is Marion Stokes – a relative of my grandmother from Enniscorthy, who played a significant part in the Cumann na mBan girls’ demonstration of the tricolor flag over Athenaeum in Enniscorthy during Easter Week. Knowing her in her later years, I was oblivious to her involvement in the revolution in 1916 until I read an article by Colm Tóibín in the New York Review of Books where he referenced his surprise at discovering her past as he knew her as a family friend during his childhood.
In 2016, I wrote my first novel, ‘The Library at the Edge of The World’, which appealed to the readers’ fascination with books and was the initiation of the Finfarran series set in contemporary rural Ireland. Why it was successful? Perhaps because people have an undying love for books and there’s a growing interest in uplit, a genre popular since the days of Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë.
The project I’m currently focusing on is a standalone for Hachette Ireland, which would be releasing next year.
Best piece of advice for fellow writers? Grab a book from a genre that you wouldn’t normally write, and start reading.
Who I admire the most?”
Meet Greta Thunberg.
How would you rule if you were monarch for a day? Which legislation would you introduce or repeal?
I’d prohibit the use of electronic sound magnification for all outdoor musical performances.
Could you suggest a book, movie, and podcast you’re fond of?
Rónán Hession’s written works have my loyalty, while film-watching is not something I often find time for. My choice of podcast is The Quiet Riot, focusing on contemporary political topics.
Is there a public event which profoundly impacted you?
Indeed, it’s the festivities that followed Ireland’s revocation of the Eighth Amendment.
Could you name an amazing location you’ve been to?
Corca Dhuibhne is certainly the place that stands out.
Do you hold a possession dear to you?
Yes, my mum’s nuptial band.
Could you share the title of the most aesthetically pleasing book in your possession?
The Táin by Thomas Kinsella, which was made even more impressive by Louis Le Brocquy’s artwork.
Which authors, whether deceased or alive, would be your guests in your ideal dinner gathering?
The entire group of characters from The Late Night Writers Club, a graphic novel by Annie West.
What are the pros and cons of your residence?
I can proudly say everything is ideal – I’ve managed to find the perfect equilibrium.
Could you share your preferred saying?
Beckett’s quote always resonates: “No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
Who claims the title of your favoured fictitious character?
That would be the mother character in James Stephens’s book, The Charwoman’s Daughter.
Do you have a book recommendation for a humorous read?
One of the Ross O’Carroll-Kelly books would surely tickle your fancy.
How about a book that might lead me to tears?
Yevgenia Ginzburg’s Journey Into The Whirlwind could very well do that.
The Bookseller’s Gift, a novel by Felicity Hayes-McCoy, is available at Hachette Ireland.