I've just finished my third book which I really, really enjoyed writing. The third book is a very special book for me, I didn't want to finish it but was racing to get to the end at the same time. I'm very proud of this one too.
It took me five months to write. Where Rainbows End is the story of how two childhood friends, Rosie and Alex grow together in their life. The book is written entirely in their own words, in the form of letters, emails, instant message, text messages; all the modern methods we use to communicate these days. We see them through their childhood, teenage years and see how they grow and learn in adult hood. No matter where they are in their lives or what happens, they always feel drawn to each other and this book is about their very special connection, their struggles and their celebrations and how they share every single moment of their lives together.
All ideas grow from some sort of thought you are having and if nurtured and given the time, they develop into stories. PS I LOVE YOU came about from my thinking of the value of my loved ones, not wanting to lose them and eventually developing this thought into how another character could survive under these circumstances.
With Where Rainbows End I wanted to write a story about how two people who began life in the very same way, and stayed in touch all their lives could end up moving in very different directions. This happens in everyday life you see how people you grew up with in school or studied with in college all began in the same place but then grasped at different opportunities in life and moved in different directions. Where Rainbows End deals with how the mixture of luck, destiny and fate conspire to pull Rosie and Alex apart and bring them together at various stages.
I decided to write it in this format firstly because I obviously have a love of words, I think that once something is on paper it can be remembered and kept forever. I keep shoeboxes of letters and cinema tickets, journals and bank letters and every so often I go through them. Reading them tells the story of my life, one pile can represent a month or a year, which are the chapters of my life. I wanted readers to feel that they were having access to every part of these character's lives and this book results in being the "shoebox" of their lives.
I wrote half a novel when I was fourteen about a sixteen year old girl who fancied a boy, got annoyed by her parents, hated school and was miserable. They say that your first book is always autobiographical and perhaps in my case it was!
As soon as I put pen to paper I knew that the story of PS I LOVE YOU was something special. It was making me laugh and cry and stay up all night. I was writing for no other reason but for the fact I was enjoying it so much. It was such an intense experience I knew I had to take it somewhere. Combined with the fact that I had just finished college, was getting ready to send all my CV's out and was in that in between stage in my life where it was time to make a decision as to what direction I wanted to go in. My motivation was my mother who was reading the book chapter by chapter and laughing and crying in all the right places. I realised there was a possibility that people other than me, my mother and my sister could enjoy my work.
We're all at the same stage in our lives when we're taking a leap and searching for something that makes us happy. They were and are delighted that I've found a career that really satisfies me.
With Where Rainbows End I still wrote the majority of the book at night time and longhand. But due to editing PS I Love You and then promotion for PS, I couldn't do it all at night time. Night time is when I work best but often I feel the need to put pen to paper during the day too. There is no real routine now, just whenever I have something to say which thankfully is most of the time.
Well it doesn't make editing harder because as soon as a chapter is written I type it up so I'm still working on the book on the computer. I write it in long hand first because I physically like writing and it's all part of the writing process for me. The words and ideas flow much better from a pen than they do pounding on the keys. It's also a great feeling when the ideas are coming so quickly my hand can hardly keep up with my thoughts and I know I'll have done a good night's work when my hand is paining me!
My characters seem to develop as soon as I begin writing about them. It all happens very naturally. Nothing I do is completely planned from the very beginning. While I have an idea of what the story is about, the characters grow with the story.
Because that's what life is about. Life is about relationships. That's how you live, by communicating with people everyday. Everybody feels love for something or someone so I like that to be reflected in my writing. All books are written about relationships and love of some kind.
When I finished PS I Love You I wanted to move in a very different direction, introduce a whole new tone and mood to the book. In PS I Love You Holly was surrounded by a great support group of friends. She had fantastic friends and a family who were always there for her. With Rosie, although her family are supportive, her life is very different. She doesn't have that big network of friends. She's surrounded by silence, things aren't going her way, she's unlucky, her greatest friend, Alex isn't physically there for her so I wanted to create a character who could take her out of that loneliness, put a smile on her face, lift the dark negative atmosphere that she is often consumed by. Rosie feels that she lost out in many ways, when she sees people her own age she sees what she doesn't have. Ruby understands her more than anyone, understands the feeling of disillusionment, of feeling detached from the rest of the world and while Rosie is saddened by this, Ruby takes her under her wing and tries to make light of their situations.
It's taught me so much. I'm learning how the publishing industry works, I've learned that it's always important to try, I've learned that I'm much stronger than I ever imagined I could be. That every time I'm faced with something that I think I can't do, I do it time and time again. I've also realised that physically writing is only half of what writers have to do!
I worked as a sales assistant in a clothes store during my summer holidays when I was fifteen.
No but I've had plenty of jobs where I have felt unfulfilled like selling bananas (don't ask), scrubbing pots and pans (as she does in the Chinese restaurant during her teenage years), waitressing and during college I worked part time in a clothes store. None of these jobs are what interested me but were to help fund my weeks and so I know her feeling of always wanting something better but feeling trapped.
PS I LOVE YOU was published just this year in 2004 but the first publishing deal was with HarperCollins just before Christmas 2002. I know I skipped the queue when it came to being the struggling, starving writer. As soon as people heard the idea of PS they seemed to just cling to it and want to get involved. After seeking advice from someone in the publishing business as to what to do, I sent four chapters to an agent in Ireland (Marianne Gunn O'Connor). After a few weeks she got in touch with me and asked me to send more, so for the following few weeks I was writing on demand and sending chapters to her not knowing what she thought or how she felt. After ten chapters she felt satisfied that I had the talent, told me she wanted to represent me and that she'd like to send the chapters out to publishers. After that point the publishing deals are down to all her hard work and passion for my work. We both believe that all the right stars were aligned to make us meet up and for the magic of PS I Love You to happen.
The first deal as I said, was with HarperCollins before Christmas and only days after I had graduated from College. It was a wonderful Christmas gift and beginning to life after college. After Christmas my deals with the US and the rest of the world began to happen and it was such a fantastic experience.
Once again, a proud feeling to know that people felt connected to the idea of the story. It's very encouraging and it got such a fantastic reaction on the show. I had no idea it would be so successful, you can't for one minute try to presume anything. Before it was chosen for the Summer Reads it had such a huge response especially from Ireland and Germany and at that stage I had realised that there was something about this book that people were connecting with.
I really love Dublin , I was born here and grew up here and as soon as the plane's wheels land on the runway at Dublin airport I feel at home. After all my travelling it's important for me to have a base that I feel comfortable writing in and right now I don't plan on moving. I never say never and I wouldn't close my mind to the idea of moving elsewhere.
I'm really excited about the rights being sold to Warner Brothers. Steven Rogers is the script writer and he's worked on movies like "StepMom" and "Hope Floats" so he has far more experience than me. I have a real love for Film, I studied film studies in college and was about to embark on a masters in Film production before deciding to write the book and so it's extra special for me that this has happened. It's something I would like to get involved with in the future.
I didn't write this book for it to become on the big screen. I just wrote a story from the heart and it showed in the writing. I would never write a book in order for it to become a movie, I would never write a book to appeal to any certain market, I just write because I love it. Due to my love of film I suppose it's why my writing is very visual but that's not to say that books that aren't visual can't be adapted for film. It's just about the right person finding a story that appeal to them and there's nothing an author can do about that.
My course was very broad. We studied radio broadcasting, film studies, tv production, creative writing, print journalism, politics and current affairs, media studies etc so it wasn't just focused on journalism. I wasn't interested in print journalism as there's a formula that you have to stick to and I obviously prefer to write a different way. Anything that broadens your mind, any information of any kind is a help.
By focusing on my writing career it has helped me to become involved in film in another way and I'm looking forward to experience that side of it.
• Write from the heart and not a story that you think people will want to read.
• Find a writing time and environment that you feel comfortable in and stick with that.
• Keep a notebook of ideas.
• Make sure you have someone reading your work as you go along, this can be very encouraging and you can get feedback.
• Remember quality not quantity, some people feel they have to get a certain number of words done per day, it's ok to work slowly if the writing is good quality.
• Find an agent who feels as passionate about your work as you do. It's difficult to do it all on your own. An agent should be on your side and working to help you.
We studied creative writing at college and I always feel that my own methods are the best because it's coming from inside me not from class notes. Writing is such a natural thing for me that I find it hard to associate it with something that can be taught but in saying that, it's obviously been a help to others so I would never discourage anyone from going.
To surround myself by silence.
Time alone. Every writer needs time to think, to step back from everyone and to retreat into their own world.
They are so proud that I've found a career that I feel passionate about, but they would be so proud of me no matter what job I had. The most important thing is that I enjoy what I do.
To have a family of my own, still be writing and to be healthy and happy. I don't ask for much do I?!