Tell us about your new novel, Moving On
It’s the story of Ellen Sheehan from when she leaves home for the first time aged 20 to when she moves into the house she figures will be her last, aged 59. We accompany her through her life, sharing the ups and downs along the way.
It’s your 22nd novel in 21 years. Are you comfortable with that pace?
Well, I’m happy with that track record. It’s certainly been a little hectic at times, and I sometimes wonder if I’d started earlier or spent longer on them whether I’d have fared differently – but they all got written, and nobody died, and people seem to enjoy them, so it’s all good.
Which is your favourite?
Impossible question. Like asking a mother who her favourite child is!
You’ve lived abroad a lot on several continents. How does that feed into your fiction?
Not sure. I’ve used locations I’ve lived in from time to time, but I could probably have researched the info if I hadn’t lived there. Maybe they ring a little truer when I’ve actually had personal experience ... Hard to know.
Victoria Beckham in Dublin: ‘I got married here a long, long time ago so it’s always great to come back’
Regretting working outside the home: ‘We’re told to parent like we don’t work. And work like we don’t parent’
Three new Michelin stars for Galway, Laois and Kildare restaurants show trend for great food outside Dublin
You spent a year looking for your new home and had an unplanned adventure in summer 2024
Indeed I did. A stray cat showed up at my patio door in early June. I started feeding him outside until he grew tame enough for me to grab him and bring him to a vet for the once-over, and to book him in for neutering. Vet told me he was a she, and heavily pregnant. I put a box into my greenhouse but she chose to have her five kittens elsewhere – the only day she didn’t show up for food – and three weeks later she brought them one by one to the greenhouse, and I became her nanny until they were old enough to be rehomed. They’re all gone to good homes, she’s been spayed and has made it into the house and joined my three resident cats, and I am now feeding another stray on the patio, and well on my way to being crowned Crazy Cat Lady of West Clare. PS I’m still looking for a new home. Interesting journey. Might write about it some day.
You write commercial fiction but many of your favourite authors would be categorised as literary. How sharp is the distinction?
Hard to define, but I’d say literary fiction writers go a bit deeper with their characters and their descriptive prose, and maybe require a little more effort to read as a result, but can be really rewarding. I do enjoy both commercial and literary fiction though. Sometimes I’m in the mood for one, sometimes the other.
You managed a Facebook page called Random Acts of Kindness Limerick
I did, with a friend, for several years. We wound it up as we both got too busy, but we had a big following and I’m still a big kindness fan.
Several books are set on the fictitious island of Roone, loosely based on Valentia in Kerry
I visited Valentia when I was trying to fix on a plot for my next book. I was inspired by the scenic location, and intrigued by the idea of small island living. One Summer, the first Roone book, was never supposed to be the start of a series, but the island kept drawing me back. I fully expect to return there before too long, although no definite plans.
[ Roisin Meaney on the island whose grip on her imagination has produced a trilogyOpens in new window ]
You once won a car in a slogan writing competition. What was the slogan?
I would like to win a Ford Fiesta because ... my father won’t let me drive his.
Which projects are you working on?
My next book, due out in the spring of 2026.
Have you ever made a literary pilgrimage?
No, but I’ve stayed in some interesting writers’ retreats.
What is the best writing advice you have heard?
Just do it. So many talk about it, but if you want to see a book with your name on the cover, you have to knuckle down and keep focused.
Who do you admire the most?
Difficult. So many over the years. Currently maybe Sr Stan of Focus Ireland, working quietly and with great determination.
You are supreme ruler for a day. Which law do you pass or abolish?
I bring back hanging for warmongers, with no exceptions.
Which current book, film and podcast would you recommend?
Book: All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker. Film: Small Things Like These.
Which public event affected you most?
9/11. I’d just moved to San Francisco for a year.
The most remarkable place you have visited?
Newfoundland. Very different. Irish but not.
[ Anne Enright: The most Irish island in the worldOpens in new window ]
Your most treasured possession?
My Mini Cooper.
What is the most beautiful book that you own?
Seamus Heaney’s 100 Poems.
Which writers, living or dead, would you invite to your dream dinner party?
Donal Ryan, Niall Williams, Kate Atkinson and Roald Dahl.
The best and worst things about where you live?
Best: my neighbours. Worst: on the side of a road, no barrier between me and the cars.
What is your favourite quotation?
We read to know we are not alone. Mark Twain, allegedly.
Who is your favourite fictional character?
Jackson Brodie, Kate Atkinson’s detective.
A book to make me laugh?
McCarthy’s Bar by Pete McCarthy.
A book that might move me to tears?
Little Dorrit by Dickens.
Moving On is published by Sphere
