A few years ago, MARIA DUFFY ditched her office job to pursue her real passion – writing. Six novels later, she discusses her HAVEN IN TRALEE, finding time to write in a very busy household and how HER CHARACTERS often surprise her …
When Maria Duffy left a career in banking to start a family, little did she realise what creative joys lay ahead. For her, writing was always a dream; and it was during the school run that it became a reality. Six novels later and Maria’s tenacious knack for storytelling continues to delight.
A self-confessed Twitter aficionado, Maria started a series for Hello! magazine online called Stars in the Twitterverse in 2010. The blog featured celebrities she has connected with via the social media giant. For three years, Maria interviewed such household names as Eamonn Holmes, Ruth Langsford, Gino D’Acampo, Keith Barry, Carol Vorderman and Jedward, to name but a few. Maria’s hit first novel Any Dream Will Do (2011, Hachette) was inspired by her online experiences.
Maria’s new book, Falling Softly, is an effervescent romance set during the magical Christmas season. If this bestseller’s track record is anything to go by, the uplifting tale will find its way into many a stocking.
Maria lives in Lucan, Dublin with her husband and their four children. She is currently working on her next novel.
On home
I live in Lucan in Dublin and am very lucky to belong to a fantastic community. Most of my neighbours moved into the street at the same time sixteen years ago and our children have grown up together. We’ve all become great friends and we have a great social life. There’s always some party or other going on in one of the houses. Lucan has grown hugely over the last number of years and we’re lucky to have plenty of lovely places to go for food and drink and to meet up with friends. Carroll’s Gastropub in Lucan village is a favourite of mine with lovely staff and great food. Their steak on a stone is delicious and lures me on most Friday evenings when I don’t have the energy to cook. I’ve also recently joined the local golf club along with a number of the other women on my street. I’d never even held a golf club before and never saw myself as a golfer, but I’m really enjoying it. The Hermitage Golf Club has a fantastic chef too so my time there is divided between the golf course and the club house.
On creating
I feel very lucky to be a full time writer and even luckier to work from home. It means that I can get the kids organised in the morning, wave them off and slip into my office at the back of the house, still in my pyjamas. But I didn’t always have a particular space to write in. I had my laptop and moved around the house with it trying to find a quiet space which, in a house with four children and a dog, can be very challenging. But a few years back, we built an extension and I got myself a little office. It’s small and very cluttered but I love it. My desk is a corner one with shelf space above and either side. I have some of my favourite books on shelves on one side and copies of my own books on the shelves above. When I’m struggling with my writing or in a bit of a slump, it gives me inspiration to see my published books in front of me and to know that dreams can come true.
When I have a deadline, I tend to write a lot during the night. It’s definitely my favourite time to write, although I couldn’t sustain it long-term. When everyone is in bed, I sometimes sit down to my laptop around midnight and could write until six or seven the next morning. I can get so much done during those hours without any distractions. There are often times, usually a few weeks before a book is due into my publishers, when my children hardly see me at all. I’m buried in my office and dinners tend to be either takeaways or sandwiches. But I’m very lucky to have a supportive family and they understand the crazy book world that I live in
On bookshops
A couple of years ago, my answer would have been very different. In Lucan, we had a wonderful bookstore called Abtree Books. It was owned by a lovely lady called Aideen and everyone in Lucan knew her and the shop. Aideen and the other staff who worked there, always went out of their way to welcome people and nothing was ever too much trouble. I’d spend hours there just browsing or chatting to the staff about books. When my first book was published five years ago, Aideen was like a proud mother. She held a launch for me there and invited lots of the locals. Unfortunately, as is the way with a lot of independent book stores these days, she was forced to close her doors last year. It was a huge loss to the community. There are other bigger book stores around the area but they’re just not the same. I’m living in hope that one day Abtree Books will open its doors again in Lucan and I will be first in the queue.
On personal taste
I think everyone likes different things and one person’s absolutely favourite may not appeal to someone else. Read what makes you happy. Read the book that you hate to put down and you can’t wait to pick up again. If a book can draw you into a different world and clear your mind of the stresses and strains of life, well that’s the essential book for you to read. One of my own personal favourite books is Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding. No matter how many times I read it, I laugh and it makes me feel good.
On escapes
I don’t have one particular place I go to get away from it all but I definitely think that getting away from the humdrum of day to day life is essential. As a family of six, we try to have a family holiday every year but we like to go to different places abroad. When the children were younger, our holidays were busy. We were always on the go, keeping them amused with theme parks, etc. But now as they’ve got older, they’re happy to relax a little more and for me, sitting on a sunny beach with a book in my hand, is sheer bliss. Here in Ireland, sometimes my husband and I escape to Tralee in County Kerry. My brother has a mobile home down there and we have an open invitation to visit them in the summer. It’s a beautiful part of the world, full of wonderful places to go walking or hiking. Although I love my city life, Tralee is like escaping to a different world for a few days and it’s my favourite thing to do to recharge my batteries.
On inspiration
I think my inspiration comes mainly from the people around me. I’m nosy by nature and there’s nothing I love better than to sit in a coffee shop, pretending to read my book, when really I’m listening to the conversation going on at the table beside me. I love imagining people’s stories – what job they have, where they live, what drives them. Before I start writing a book, I spend a long time getting to know my characters. They live in my head and they come with me everywhere until I know them inside out. I’m very close to my own family so I suppose naturally, I like to write about families. I love to explore their relationships and dig up their secrets. Sometimes my own characters even surprise me when they go off and do something I haven’t planned for them.
On what’s next
Having four children, I’ve always had a passion for children’s books and I have hundreds of children’s poems I’ve written over the years. I’d love to have a children’s book published someday, so that’s something I’ll be thinking about in the future. I feel very lucky to do what I do so fingers crossed that whether it’s for children or adults, I’ll be writing books for a long, long time to come.
Falling Softly (€17.99) is published by Hachette and available today from all good bookshops.
Image by Eoin Rafferty, taken at the Hermitage Golf Club, Lucan
Sophie Grenham
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