Where did you grow up and what was your childhood like? Did you have any particular experiences/stories that shaped your adult life?

I grew up in a seaside suburban town in Dublin and have had a pretty idyllic life, very fortunate to live in such a beautiful country and to have the freedoms we have. My parents certainly have helped shape who I am; my father’s role in politics all throughout my life and his position of Taoiseach (Prime Minister) for ten years provided me with many insights into the world, human behaviour, people, but also in how I carry and manage myself. I suppose it’s pretty obvious that their marriage separation when I was very young also helped shaped the person I am. I’m very independent, observant and see scenarios from many people’s perspectives.

What is something you wish you would’ve realized earlier in your life?

Many things but here’s a simple one: The people who speak the loudest, for the longest, don’t always know what they’re talking about. It’s okay and sometimes better to be quiet.

What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession or area of expertise?

Some creative writing advice can bother me. Predictable writing by numbers kind of teaching really bothers me. I think people should be free to tell a story in whatever way they want without having to follow writing tips that most writers couldn’t even make sense of. If you analyse and break down a story from the very beginning before it’s even written, how does the story find a way to flow out through all those barriers?

Tell me about one of the darker periods you’ve experienced in life. How you came out of it and what you learned from it?

I’ll keep the incidences to myself but the lessons are always the same. Be kind to yourself, do all the work on yourself that you can. Exercise, eat good food, sleep, get therapy if you have to. Fresh air, breathe, surround yourself with good people, move away from the ones who are bad for you. Mind yourself. Do the work to lift yourself out of it. It’s always hard, and at times it feels as if you’re taking baby steps, but every day you’re progressing.

What is one thing that you do that you feel has been the biggest contributor to your success so far?

I write my novels with real emotion. I really care about what I’m writing, I’m genuinely moved by my words and my character’s journeys and I think if you can feel it, like with writing a song or cooking food, if there’s emotion involved, then the reader can feel that and it will resonate. I’ve just finished sobbing my eyes out while writing a chapter and I’ve poured my heart and soul into it. The wonderful thing is that we are all so similar, no matter where we’re from, so my stories can be identified by so many different kinds of people all around the world. We all know what it’s like to be human and to experience the same struggles.

What is your morning routine? 

I’ve been in and out of lockdown for almost a year and there’s no school right now so here’s the lockdown/no school morning.

Awake at 6 am with my one-year-old. Downstairs for cartoons and playing. Nine am I wake my other two children. I try to go for a walk every morning before I begin work.

What habit or behavior that you have pursued for a few years has most improved your life?

A few years ago I began boxing and kickboxing with a professional MMA fighter. I initially began because I love working out but wanted to add a different kind of cardio to my gym routine, one that could actually teach me something, and it ended up giving me so much more. It improved my confidence, made me physically and emotionally stronger. Not only did it change the shape of my body in ways the gym never could, but it also changed the way I thought and made me more confident which made me make bigger changes in my life.

What are your strategies for being productive and using your time most efficiently?

I’m very disciplined. I set myself personal goals and challenges and always want to beat them, I have a strict and disciplined schedule and I stick to it – simple as that! I have three children and a busy job so everything gets put into very specific organised times and it’s the only way things can function and flow!

What book(s) have influenced your life the most? Why?

Under The Hawthorne Tree by Marita Conlon McKenna was the stand-out book of my childhood. It was the first really moving and educational book about life that I read, where I felt like I was in the story and it all felt real.

It’s been a long time but The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield really opened my eyes. It confirmed a lot of what I was already feeling inside about connecting with people and I found it enlightening.

The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger is one of my favourite novels and apart from being a beautiful story, it is a kind of goal post of where I see myself when publishers and booksellers find my stories quite uncategorisable. It’s unique, original, and to the left, but so full of love and so moving.

Do you have any quotes you live by or think of often?

Make it happen. It motivates me, reminds me that we can’t sit on the sidelines and watch life unfold, or allow things to happen to you, you have to get involved and be responsible yourself because no one will do it for you.