Are
you from a family of readers and or writers?
I
have three sisters and one of them; Rachel is also a writer and editor, her
children’s book will be out next year. We all read widely as children and our
parents made sure we had plenty of books.
What
was your favourite book as a child?
Little
Women by Louisa May Alcott was my favourite book growing up. I wanted to be Jo.
So
it was an inspiration to you?
Absolutely
I wanted to be a writer like Jo and I’m thrilled to able to write for a living now.
Writing is a fantastic job.
How
did you get into ghost writing?
I
was working for Brehon Press and I wrote three history books for them and I
heard that John Mooney from Maverick Press was looking for an editor. I called
him up and he said “What do you know about Thailand Thailand Belsen ”.
What
made you decide to write a Children’s book?
Actually
Michael O’Brien asked if I had ever considered writing for children after he read
“Mother from Hell”. He suggested a Titanic story. I worked on the story for
about six months and then re-drafted for another six months.
So
where did you get the idea to write from Samuel Joseph Scott’s point of view?
I
had edited a book called “Written in Stone” by former Lord Mayor of Belfast Tom
Hartley who does Titanic tours, Tom mentioned that Samuel was Titanic’s first
death and he was buried in an unmarked grave in Belfast so I decided to write
about him and I felt that his ghost would have wanted to watch the mighty ship
being built and launched.
Tell
us about meeting Samuel’s relatives
That
was a huge shock but a good one, Tom got talking to the right people and a
headstone was organised for Samuel and at the ceremony earlier this year I was waiting
for it all to begin when a young man spoke to me and explained that he was a
relative of Samuel’s. I was stunned, the young man then introduced me to his
Grandmother; Samuel’s niece. It was a wonderful feeling and something not many
writers ever get to experience.
The
Spirit of the Titanic is a hugely popular book and you have been speaking about
Titanic around the country in schools, libraries and bookshops have you enjoyed
that?
I
have, it has been a fabulous opportunity and although I have been nervous about
public speaking in the past I am starting to enjoy it now. It has been great to
be able to visit schools, festivals, museums and learn more and more about
Titanic it is a fascinating subject I even had the chance to travel to Paris
Do you have a favourite Titanic movie?
I
have to say that “A Night to Remember” the old black and white movie is the
best one although the James Cameron film had fantastic attention to detail.
Tell
us more about “I was a Boy in Belsen ”
“I
was a Boy in Belsen” is my most recent book it is the autobiography of Tomi Reichental who is one of the last remaining holocaust
survivors in Ireland.
I wrote the book by asking Tomi questions and pulling everything together into
a narrative. It was a difficult process because much of the story was
distressing for Tomi to recall.
Do you have a favourite author?
Absolutely I enjoy reading a lot of
different authors but my favourite writer is Richard Ford and my favourite book
is Independence Day. Some other books I really love are Breathing Lessons by
Ann Tyler and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon.
What are reading at the moment?
I am reading Cheever: A Life by Blake
Bailey who is my favourite biographer.
What was your book of the year?
Life and Fate by Vassily Grossman
What advice would you give to aspiring
writers?
Read as much as you can and write everyday.
Someone once said that they wrote five pages a day and I think that’s a manageable
target even if you have other commitments so if you want to write just do it.
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