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Michael McLaverty Short Story Competition
Northern Lights: The Women from Poolbeg =
Garbhan =
Downey=20
meets the northern chick literati
Cynics, =
intellectuals=20
and other assorted begrudgers can stop reading now. You=E2=80=99re not =
going to like it.=20
But the sharp fact of the matter is that the north=E2=80=99s three most =
promising=20
fiction writers =E2=80=93 in hard-boiled sales terms =E2=80=93 are all =
30-something chick lit=20
writers.
Christmas stockings all over Ireland are likely to =
contain at=20
least one offering from Poolbeg=E2=80=99s new northern army. Romantic =
comedies from=20
Derry=E2=80=99s Claire Allan, Donaghmore=E2=80=99s Emma Heatherington =
and Galbally=E2=80=99s Fionnuala=20
McGoldrick (writing as Fiona Cassidy), are making a huge impact on the =
Irish=20
book charts.
And, given the immediate success of =
McGoldrick=E2=80=99s recent debut,=20
(Anyone for Seconds? is currently at ![3D""=20](3D"http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/UserFiles/Image/Poolbeg%20Wo=)
Number 6 in the Paperback Fiction chart), it is =
only a=20
matter of time before at least one of these women goes global.
Their achievements are no accident either. They are =
quality=20
writers, who deliver fine and funny stories. I=E2=80=99ve read both =
Allan and=20
McGoldrick, fearing the worst, but have finished their books with a big =
smile on=20
my face and an even bigger pit of jealousy in my stomach. Heatherington, =
I=E2=80=99m=20
assured, is every bit as good.
And it is, I hasten to add, now okay to describe their =
work as=20
chick lit. At least according to them, it is. =E2=80=98I'm all for =
reclaiming the title=20
'chick lit' and taking away the notion that somehow it's an inferior =
genre,=E2=80=99=20
says Allan.
=E2=80=98A lot of modern chick lit deals with very =
serious issues - the=20
window dressing is just nicer. The genre is popular because it is =
honest,=20
accessible, funny and uplifting.=E2=80=99
McGoldrick / Cassidy agrees. =E2=80=98I don=E2=80=99t =
mind the term,=E2=80=99 she=20
admits. =E2=80=98It=E2=80=99s others who seem to have a problem with it =
=E2=80=93 in some cases seeing=20
it as fluffy story-telling lacking in substance or depth, which is =
completely=20
untrue!
=E2=80=98Don=E2=80=99t be fooled, however. Just because =
chick lit can be=20
described as 'easy reading', don=E2=80=99t dismiss it as being somehow =
inferior to its=20
literary counterparts. In the words of the hugely successful 19th =
century=20
American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Easy reading is damn hard =
writing."
Heatherington, who writes both under her own name and =
as Emma=20
Louise Jordan, prefers the term =E2=80=98romantic comedy=E2=80=99, but =
is equally fine with=20
=E2=80=98chick lit=E2=80=99. =E2=80=98It's just another marketing term =
like 'lad lit',=E2=80=99 she stresses.=20
=E2=80=98People like the genre because it's nice to have some sense of =
escapism when=20
reading, and it=E2=80=99s important to add in a giggle or two, and some =
lively=20
characters with real life issues.=E2=80=99
All three women work in the media =E2=80=93 Allan is a =
reporter and=20
columnist with the Derry Journal, while the Tyrone contingent =
both work=20
in PR. They also all have young families, which means hitting book =
deadlines can=20
be quite an accomplishment in itself.
'100,000 plus words, in any genre, requires =
discipline,=E2=80=99=20
explains Heatherington. =E2=80=98I have two books to write by February =
and am=20
way behind. But without deadlines we would have no discipline. =
I=20
believe I can do it.=E2=80=99
McGoldrick, who=E2=80=99s currently working on her =
second novel about=20
an adopted woman searching for her mother (the writer herself was =
adopted),=20
believes the trick is to stick to what you know. =E2=80=98My particular =
style of writing=20
is quite comedic and humorous with lots of dialogue and one-liners, =
which I find=20
quite easy to write,=E2=80=99 she reveals.
=E2=80=98However, it is important to maintain a balance =
as in order to=20
give a book authenticity it needs to have a serious and 'real-life' =
element to=20
it. Although we would love our lives to be one long laugh, =
unfortunately,=20
they=E2=80=99re not.=E2=80=99
For Claire Allan, the main concern is to keep her =
writing fresh=20
and innovative. =E2=80=98Personally I like to make sure I don't fall =
into the old chick=20
lit clich=C3=A9s (secretary bonks boss on the office desk and drinks =
Chardonnay while=20
polishing her Jimmy Choos). Writing good chick lit =E2=80=93 about =
honest issues like=20
depression, domestic abuse, fertility problems =E2=80=93 requires a lot =
of research so=20
that you don't patronise the reader, but it also requires a great sense =
of=20
empathy. You have to live the lives of your characters, and that can be=20
all-encompassing at times.=E2=80=99
Financially, none of the trio is, as yet, in the Marian =
Keyes=20
or Cecelia Ahern league. And they all doubt it is possible to make a =
full-time=20
living from the Irish market alone.
But McGoldrick insists that getting published in =
Ireland makes=20
for a great start. =E2=80=98From what I know of the industry, any Irish =
writer who is=20
penning novels on a full-time basis is doing so due to a UK and/or =
worldwide=20
publishing deal, which may have been secured as well as or due to being=20
published in Ireland first. Whether or not getting published in Ireland =
would=20
lead to the purchase of a speed boat or a second home in Florida (or =
even=20
Donegal) remains very debatable, especially in the current financial =
climate.=E2=80=99
Heatherington too is unlikely to give up the day job =
just yet.=20
=E2=80=98I love the way people, in a well meaning way, automatically =
assume you are a=20
millionaire because you're a published author. I make more money writing =
scripts, but my dream was always to have a book published. I never =
dreamed I=20
would have two book deals as I have now, so until I'm published in other =
countries it will continue to be a labour of love.=E2=80=99
Allan likewise sees money as a bonus and not a goal. =
=E2=80=98You make=20
some. But times are tough, books are discounted in almost every big =
store, and=20
the market in this wee island is limited. Although that said, we are =
great=20
nation of readers. But truth is, very few authors can make a full time =
living=20
out of it. You don't do it for the money anyway.=E2=80=99
The three authors cite a wide variety of writing =
influences and=20
favourites, from Marian Keyes and Brian McGilloway (Allan); to Jodi =
Picoult and=20
Roald Dahl (Heatherington); to Sharon Owens, Sinead Moriarty, Lisa =
Jewell and=20
Roddy Doyle (McGoldrick).
So, given that they=E2=80=99re not allowed to pick one =
another, what=20
would they each most like in their Santa pile?
=E2=80=98The new Marian Keyes,=E2=80=99 states =
Heatherington. =E2=80=98And I want to=20
read Ciara Geraghty too. I'm also going to request Mickey Harte's new =
book -=20
come on Tyrone!=E2=80=99
Allan, however, is more inclined to indulge her taste =
for=20
vampires over the festive season. =E2=80=98I'm tempted to read the =
Twilight=20
series to see what all the fuss is about - but also on my list of =
to-reads=20
at the moment are The Seven Secrets of Happiness by Sharon =
Owens and=20
Please Forgive Me by Melissa Hill.=E2=80=99
Rising star McGoldrick also wants the new Sharon Owens =
=E2=80=93 but=20
will be happy with any book she=E2=80=99s given.
As for finding a few minute=E2=80=99s peace to read it, =
though? That=E2=80=99s=20
a different matter entirely...
Anyone for Seconds? by Fiona Cassidy , Playing =
the=20
Field by Emma Heatherington and Jumping in Puddle by Claire =
Allan=20
are all out now, published by Poolbeg Press.
![3D""=20](3D"http://s9.addthis.com/button1-bm.gif")
Number 6 in the Paperback Fiction chart), it is =
only a=20
matter of time before at least one of these women goes global.