Accidental Author
I never set out to write books. The idea never crossed my mind. I had a career as a graphic design consultant, working in a pleasant building in Dublin’s Fitzwilliam Square (the house where painter Jack B Yeats once lived). However, I got bored with the whole ‘lipstick-peddling’ aspect of the business and wanted something less soul-destroying, something more satisfying, more uplifting and fulfilling. I began to gravitate to an interest that stayed with me since my student days in the National College of Art and Design – painting and illustrating. Another activity to catch my interest about this time was theatre and drama. It was a combination of these two interests that eventually led me to quit the graphics industry and become involved in writing.
On a trip to the USA with a troupe of players I became involved in the production of the works of playwright Samuel Beckett. On the tour I stayed with a number of Irish/American families. One of the subjects that came up from time to time concerned Irish Folk tales. To answer their thirst for knowledge on the subject I set about writing and illustrating all the old stories I’d learned at school. I rewrote the adventures of CuChulainn, Fionn, Deirdre and many of the other favourites. In all, I illustrated eight books and made several trips to various fairs throughout America where, fortunately, the books proved hugely popular.
It was only when I ran out of the better known legends that the idea came to me to create my own stories. I had written little more than half of the first tale when it struck me that what I was writing was not really suitable for children. It was then that I made the decision to write adult fiction. I had no training or expert knowledge on how to construct a novel but I’d come up with a good story and ploughed away at it until, 350 pages later, I finished it. I offered it to a publisher (Marino/Mercier) and had it accepted. They informed me that my writing fell within the ‘crime fiction/mystery’ genre. This was news to me. As far as I was concerned I’d written a story that happened to have a murder as part of its plot. So, there you have it – I stumbled into the writing game by accident and into the crime fiction segment without any intention of going in that direction. And now, nine books later, I feel fortunate indeed to have had such a wonderful experience, to have met so many fine writers and more importantly, to have gained a growing band of readers along the way.
(Illustration above by KT McCaffrey in ‘Deirdre and other Heroines of Celtic Folklore) click on illustration to enlarge.
