1. With your mother being an author, how did she inspire you?

   To grow up as a child and see your mother writing at the kitchen table, send out her manuscript and succeed in getting published was very inspiring. When I went to her book launches and saw her books in bookshops, it made me realise that it could be done. Getting a book published was possible if you worked really hard and had some luck. There is a lot of hard work and a little luck involved in all success, as I have discovered.

2. What is it about Ireland that it's produced so many great chick lit authors?

   To be honest I think it's the way Irish people look at life. We see humour in everything, even the darkest of situations. Irish people have a great sense of humour and are good storytellers. We like a good yarn and are very fond of exaggeration and hyperbole. I love listening to people on buses or in cafes, you hear the funniest things and can get great material for your books.

3. What is your favourite chick lit book?

   Probably Bridget Jones's Diary because it made me think that maybe I could become a writer. It was modern, bitter-sweet and had you laughing one minute and crying the next and that's what I really wanted (and still want) to achieve as a writer.



4. Who is your favourite chick lit heroine?

   I like them all really. I think they are all endearing. If they aren't, then the book won't work. They may start out being un-loveable, but they always end up being loveable.

5. Tell us about your latest book, In My Sister's Shoes.

   It's about two sisters - one of whom has breast cancer. It's about how a family copes with illness and how one sister has to sacrifice her career and move back to Ireland to look after her two little nephews while her sister has chemotherapy. It's about realising what's important in life. Although the main theme is obviously very serious, the book is full of fun and some surprising twists!



6. What was the inspiration behind your character Emma Hamilton, of The Baby Trail series, and her quest for a baby?

   My own life was the inspiration for Emma. It took me four years to have my first baby and I found the whole process very difficult, isolating and lonely. While I was having fertility treatment, I realised how prevalent infertility was and decided to write something that I would like to have read. I wanted to make it funny, because my sense of humour had kept me sane throughout all the various tests and procedures. So I sat down and created Emma and had such fun with her and her journey to motherhood. It was very cathartic for me.

7. What came first for you - the birth of a child or the publication of your first book?

   My book was published one month before the birth of my first son. A very happy time!

8. Tell us about your next book.

   My next book (no title yet!) is about a mixed race relationship. It's about trying to fit in when you live abroad. It's about falling in love with the 'wrong' person. It's about trying to make your parents see past the colour of someone's skin. It's about acceptance and deeply rooted prejudices. It's a cross between Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

9. What are you reading now?

   I'm currently reading Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It's a wonderful and very moving book about the Nigeria-Biafra War of 1967-1970.

10. What is the best lesson you have learnt from another chick lit writer?

    To be proud of what you write and make sure your research is thorough.

11. What book do you wish you had written?

    Four Letters of Love by Niall Williams. It's just beautiful. He writes like a poet. I highly recommend it.

12. What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started writing a book?

    That every writer is riddled with self-doubt and insecurity. It's lovely to know that it's normal to feel that way!

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