I'm very lucky today to be part of the Secret Sisters Keep Blog tour and as part of that I get not only to bring you a pn exclusive post from author Sinead Moriarty but also get to giveaway a copy of her fab new novel. I wanted to know all about Sinead's writing process and how she arrived at this novel and in the post below she reveals all. It's fantastic to hear because I love Sinead's writing so you guys are privileged to hear from her today.
Scroll down to the bottom and leave me a comment if you would like to be in with a chance to win this intriguing novel. As always, I'll keep the giveaway open for a week and announce the winner next Monday!
The Secrets Sisters Keep is my 10th novel. It deals with lots of different themes. It’s a story about three siblings going through very different traumas. I wanted to write about the loneliness of being divorced in your early 40s and how frightening the prospect of spending the next 30 or 40 years alone can be.
I also wanted to look at money. While having money can help take away a lot of stresses, it does not come without a price.
And finally I was interested in the intense relationship between a single mother and her daughter. How a woman whose whole life is defined by her intelligence and success would cope if she found out that her beloved daughter was going to have a very different and difficult life.
It’s about sisters drifting apart but ultimately supporting each other. It’s about very modern problems that we all can relate to. I wanted to write something very true and raw. There are lots of funny parts to the book, but it’s also (I hope) moving and thought provoking.
You would think it gets easier. You would think that your confidence would grow with each book. You would imagine that facing a blank screen is no longer daunting…you would be mistaken!
In the strangest way, each book becomes more difficult to write. Why? I think it’s because as a writer you want each book to be better. You strive to grow as a writer. You want to engage your reader. You want to grab their attention and keep it. You want them to turn the page and the next one and the next one…
Starting a new book can take a while. You often hear of writers, cleaning out their offices, clearing their desks, tidying their attics. We have so many avoidance techniques. The sight of a blank screen or blank page is just as daunting now as it was when I started my first book thirteen years ago.
My first two attempts at novels were turned down by everyone. But instead of letting it stop me in my tracks, I dusted my very bruised ego down and started a new book. I think it’s very important to keep writing. When I’m working, whether it’s on a novel or my weeklycolumn for the Irish Independent, I’m happy. I find I’m quite grumpy when I’m not working on something. I need writing; it’s like eating and drinking to me. I realise that may sound a bit ‘hippy-dippy’ but it’s how I feel.
I am happiest and calmest and most at peace when I’m in the middle of a book and consumed by my characters, my plotlines and my writing. There is no greater feeling than the one after a constructive writing day. But every high has a low and there is no worse feeling than the one after one of the days when the words just will not flow. Those days when writing is like dragging blood from a stone. You go to bed feeling depleted and despondent.
But…the good news is that often, you’ll wake up the next day and find the words will flow and you will once again be in your happy place. Writing, like all jobs involves a lot of hard graft. It’s not all creativity and inspiration, it’s a lot of hard work, focus and discipline.
Whenever I have a book that is about to be published I always want to run away and hide. A month in the Witness Protection Programme sounds like a goodidea. Even though this is my 10th book to be published, the nerves never subside. I think they actually get worse.
But the book is finished, it’s printed and it’s about to go into the shops and so I have to set it free and just cross my fingers and hope for the best.
Hi
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed reading this post. Interesting to hear from the authors. Thanks for the giveaway, would love to enter.
She sounds like a lovely lady. Thanks for the giveaway :) x
ReplyDeleteseems like a good book :)
ReplyDeleteI have only read one other book by Moriarty but I loved it! Would love to extend my reading with another by her. Thanks for the chance! X
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