Erin Kaye

Erin Kaye was born in Larne, Northern Ireland in 1966. She studied Geography at the University of Ulster where she met her husband, Mervyn. They married ten days after graduating and moved to Scotland where Erin joined a Scottish bank as a graduate recruit. Ten years later she’d had enough of the long working-hours culture and decided to pack it all in to write her first novel. Her first novel, Mothers and Daughters, was published in 2003 followed by followed Choices, Second Chances, Closer to Home, My Husband’s Lover, The Art of Friendship, The Promise of Happiness and most recently, Second Time Around in 2012. Her latest book ‘Always You’ is now out.

1. Your latest book ‘Always You’ tells the story of Sarah and Cahal who fell in love, but against all odds their love didn’t survive and twenty five years later, their lives turn out completely different to what they had planned. But one day on a chance meeting, they are brought back together and they wonder if they can do things differently this time around. What inspired you to write this type of story?
   The original inspiration was a Scottish friend who fell in love with a guy in Australia. They faced seemingly insurmountable obstacles to being together including ex-spouses and children. But then my lovely editor, Sammia at Harper Collins, wisely pointed out that the story needed more emotional depth so I decided to give Sarah and Cahal a history – and the story just grew from there. My novels (so far!) have all been set in Ballyfergus, a fictional town in Northern Ireland. Having faced opposition to my own marriage (I’m a Catholic; he’s a Protestant and that’s a big thing in Ulster) I completely understand the pressures Sarah and Cahal face. They buckle under the pressure first time round. Second time, it’s a different story. I guess, like all my novels, I ended up writing about what I know.
2. To the readers of the blog, that may not be familiar with you or your writing, can tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into writing?
   I did English to A level and always loved reading but I ended up doing a Geography degree. I was great at writing essays but never thought of writing a novel. I went straight into banking from uni and worked in various jobs for ten years. The bank was keen to promote women and knew I would do well if I stuck with it. But I was becoming increasingly disillusioned with my chosen career and one day, in a meeting, I had a eureka moment. I looked around the faces in the room and realised that if I stayed, this was where I’d be in twenty years’ time. Panicked, I went out at lunchtime that very day and bought a self-help book on choosing your perfect career. It was full of practical exercises and questionnaires designed to help you identify your strengths and weakness and then, based on the analysis of these, it suggested possible careers. I beavered away at it for weeks and then, at the end of all this self-analysis and introspection, I collated my scores and guess what career the book deemed me most suitable for? Banking! Well, the book got tossed straightaway, I handed in my notice and decided to give writing a shot. The idea of writing a novel had been simmering away for a few years by then and I thought that if I didn’t write it now, I never would. I liked the idea of being my own boss. My first novel, ‘Mothers and Daughters’, was picked up by lovely Irish publishers, Poolbeg, and the rest, as they say, is history!
3. What authors do you admire?
   Margaret Attwood and Barbra Kingsolver because they write so beautifully. Jodi Picoult and Harlan Coben because they are the queen and king of the page turner.
4. I always thought the opening lines to “The Lovely Bones” was quite memorable, are there any opening lines to books that stuck out to you?
   Mmm…no. Not anything’s that stuck with me. I tend to remember characters from a book best. Everything else (plot, setting etc.) fades with time.
5. Out of all the books that you have written, which one is your favourite?
   I think the last one, ‘Second Time Around’, though my latest, ‘Always You’ comes pretty close. I think my books have gotten better with time – like anything, the more of it you do, the better you become at it!
6. Regarding the phenomenon of ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ and how well it did. Some people criticised the writing and the books that followed on after the series. Do you think the standards of writing has slipped?
   Not at all. I think there has always been a wide range of literature out there for different tastes and markets. What happened with this phenomena is that a light was shone on a genre that the mainstream had previously ignored. Erotic fiction doesn’t claim to be literary fiction – and some is well written and some is not.
7. Who is your favourite literary hero/heroine?
   The Wife of Bath in the Canterbury Tales. Way ahead of her time. The original man eater.
8. Where do you get your ideas for your stories?
   Life! From the town where I live to the people I know intimately to those I meet at parties and other social events. People love to tell me stories too – sometimes quite personal stuff – and that can sometimes spark an idea. Though I’d never write about a real person. That’s why I set my stories in the fictional town of Ballyfergus – I don’t want to accidentally libel the dentist or the bank manager in a real town!
9. If you were stranded on a desert island, which three books would you bring with you to pass the time?
   ‘Encyclopaedia Britannica’ (is that cheating?), ‘The Metaphysical Poets’ and a Dictionary. Sorry, boring I know but I they’d keep me busy until I got rescued.
10. What area do you suggest a budding writer should concentrate on to further their abilities?
    Oh, that’s a hard one. I guess you’d need to know what your weaknesses were to start with. But the best piece of advice I can give is this: if you ask someone for their opinion (assuming they are connected with the industry in some way and you respect their skill/ability) listen to what they say – and take it on board. Do not be precious about what you have written – they are probably right! Do not be afraid to rewrite and rework. I ditched a third of my first novel and rewrote the rest of it in line with my agents recommendations – and she promptly sold it! It would not have sold without that work.
11. When sitting down to write, what is the one item you need beside you?
    My synopsis. Lost without it.
12. And finally Erin, do you have any projects or releases on the horizon which you would like to share with the readers of the website?
    I’m taking a short break from writing just now though I hope to be back next year with a new book. Just waiting for inspiration to strike!

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