Sinead Moriarty

Sinead Moriarty is an Irish author, who was inspired by watching her mother writing children’s books at the kitchen table. After university, she lived in Paris and then London and it was then at the age of thirty while working as an journalist that she began to write creatively in her spare time. Her first book “The Baby Trail” was written after she joined a creative writing group, a bitter-sweet about a couple struggling to conceive, it was snapped up by Penguin and went onto, to being translated into twenty languages,

Since the success of “The Baby Trail” Sinead moved back to Dublin with her husband and her two sons and their daughter and has written six more bestselling novels. Her latest book “Me and My Sisters” tells the story of the Devlin sisters, who think they have nothing in common, but there are a few surprises in store.

1. Your latest book “Pieces of my Heart” tells the story of Ava, whose life seems to have too many pieces as she struggles to look after her two daughters and work obsessed husband but when a crisis suddenly threatens everything she holds dear, she has to take a step back and figure out how to hold onto the pieces of her heart. What inspired you to write this type of story?
   I have always been fascinated by women’s lack of physical self esteem. It seems to be in our DNA to be self-critical. Do we ever look in the mirror and think – Wow?!

   This negative body image can lead to crazy dieting and in some cases, eating disorders. I started to think about the whole area of eating disorders and the story began to form in my mind. I did a huge amount of research into Anorexia for my book and it was heart-breaking. The disease can take hold of you so quickly. I also wanted to see what the impact of one child’s sudden life-threatening issue, would have on a family.

   I love exploring family dynamics and I think every person within a family reacts differently in a crisis. I wanted to look at how differently a mother and a father would deal with an eating disorder. I wanted to explore the affect that having a sick sister would have on her sibling.

   A crisis can make or break a family and I wanted to write about that.

   But the book has a lot of humour in it too. Otherwise it would be too dark. So I have tried to write a book that married humour with sadness. Its what I strive to achieve with every book. The best humour often stems from the darkest places, so it is possible to achieve…I hope!

2. What was the turning point in your life that made you become an author?
   Turning 30 was a big thing for me. I decided that if I was ever going to get really serious about my desire to write a novel, I needed to get on with it. Also, my own struggle with infertility gave me the topic for my first book – The Baby Trail, which I think was the first time infertility had been dealt with humorously.
3. What was the first book you ever read?
   Well, the first book I remember reading over and over again was Little Women. I wanted to be Jo March. She was my absolute heroine.
4. What authors do you admire?
   I admire all authors, published and unpublished. To write a book is not easy. To write a book is an amazing achievement and even if you don’t get published you should be very proud of yourself. So many people talk about writing books and never do….so if you do write one, from beginning to end, I salute you!
5. What part of the writing process, do you find the most difficult?
   For some reason – and I have discussed this with many other authors and it’s a common problem – when you get to about 20,000 words you start becoming crippled with doubts. You wonder if the book is good enough, will you be able to sustain the pace, interest, story-line….I don’t know what it is, but I always find that stage of the book really difficult.
6. Did you read any writers guidebooks during your career? Are there any that you would recommend?
   Yes, Stephen King’s On Writing is a wonderful guide for aspiring writers and also a book called Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, which is another little gem.
7. What area do you suggest a budding writer should concentrate on to further their abilities?
   Anyone wishing to write a book needs to sit down and start. The only way to get the book written is to write and then write some more. It doesn’t matter if you don’t think its good enough. The more you write the better you become. So, get writing!
8. Where do you get your ideas for your stories?
   I get my ideas from life. I listen, observe, absorb, read and watch. You have to feel passionately about your subject matter or the book won’t get written. So, I feel very strongly about all my topics.
9. How do you feel about the current state of the publishing industry? Do you feel it is an exciting time for authors?
   It’s harder to get published now, but that shouldn’t put anyone off. Because agents and publishers are ALWAYS looking for the next big thing and it could be you. So, although it is difficult at the moment it’s still achievable.
10. I’m always reading and I’m always on the look out for book recommendations from reliable sources. What are you reading at the moment and would you recommend it?
    I’ve just finished The Glass Room by Simon Mawer and I loved it. It’s an unusual book that combines history with architecture. It’s a really clever book. I also read Madeleine by Kate McCann, which is utterly heart-breaking.
11. When sitting down to write, what is the one item you need beside you?
    My story-board. I do up a chapter breakdown before I begin each book. This allows me to work out where the story is going and it stops me from going off on tangents and keeps me focussed on my story.
12. And finally Sinead, do you have any new projects or releases on the horizon which you would like to share with the readers of the blog?
    My new book, Me and my Sisters is out on August 4th. I loved writing this book as it’s about three sisters all dealing with very different issues. One of the main themes I explore in the book, is the fact that women lose their identity when they have children. They become somewhat invisible, and I think a lot of women struggle with that. It can be lonely and isolating having children and giving up work. I think a lot of women really find the loss of identity, income, independence and adult company very difficult. The main character Julie has four boys under the age of four and she is really struggling to maintain her sanity. There are lots of funny moments in the book too….it was fun to write.

Read more about Sinead Moriarty online