From ACCOUNTANT to AUTHOR, the story of the Kildare woman who managed to top the IRISH BESTSELLERS CHARTS with her debut novel …
Karl Gormley
Margaret Scott, an accountant by trade, fulfilled her dream of becoming an author with her debut, Between You and Me in 2013. The book topped the Irish bestsellers charts for several weeks and received strong online support. Last year Margaret’s creative roots grew more embedded with the publication of her second novel, The Fallout. Her sharp depiction of four interlinked women, as they tread murky water in a ravaged financial sector, scored excellent reviews. The Sunday Independent said of The Fallout – ‘expertly crafted with a page-turning storyline, this is a terrific read’.
Formerly a columnist with the Leinster Leader, Margaret’s quick witted prose substantially explores the humorous side of family life. Inspired by her belief that mothers should look out for each other, Margaret co-founded the popular household guide thedinnerladies.blogspot.ie, which was short-listed for an Irish Blog Award.
Margaret Scott lives in County Kildare with her husband Keith and their three children. She is currently writing her third novel.
Between You and Me (€9.79) and The Fallout (€16.99) are both published by Poolbeg Press and available from all good bookshops.
On home
I am lucky to live on one of the most beautiful roads in County Kildare – the Craddoxtown Road which leads from Naas Hospital to Punchestown Racecourse. A very small country road, it’s hugely popular with walkers and cyclists so locals know to drive slowly. Punchestown Racecourse is such an amazing facility to have on our doorstep. Many’s the chapter has been dreamt up while walking the track there with my little lurcher, Bea. Alice’s Restaurant in Naas is where I wrote a lot of the first two books. Eibhlinn is hugely supportive of the local arts and is renowned for bringing fresh tea at precisely the right time. We’re actually blessed in Naas with super coffee shops and restaurants, and our other two favourites are Urban Kitchen for a Sunday afternoon hot chocolate and Butt Mullins for special birthday teas. The staff in both are fantastic and hugely patient with the kids, especially the two year old half-boy-half-bullock who is incapable of sitting still for more than five minutes at a time.
On roots
I’m the least ‘well travelled’ person ever. I’m almost embarrassed to say that I’ve always lived in the same field – just at the opposite end. But the truth is, I love where I live. We’re not too far from the town but still in the heart of the countryside with room for not only a pony, but four dogs, two cats, two guinea pigs and of course, the three kids. I grew up playing in these fields, heading off on adventures and falling into the stream and I love that my children are getting up to the same mischief we did. My dad still lives in the house I grew up in and my brother and sister-in-law are close by too, which is lovely.
On creating
I hear all the time about fellow writers heading off to writing retreats but the furthest I usually make it these days is to the play room, which is where my desk is. There is no point in waiting until I’ve time to go somewhere else anymore; certainly not since number three arrived. This way the kids are near, the kettle is near and I can get up to fill beakers, change nappies and intervene in arguments between humans or animals as required. The best bit about being a novelist is that the equipment requirement is minimal – a computer, desk and a chair, which is just as well as it’s the smallest room in the house packed with the most stuff! On the wall are my two favourite paintings. One is of Dublin Bay painted by my hugely talented sister Michele to celebrate the launch of The Fallout. The other is by Donegal artist Jacob Stack of a giant whale underneath the sea, as a fisherman sits in his boat seeing nothing above the surface. I use it to remind myself daily that there are always two sides to any story. My desk sits in behind the rocking horse and across from the fire station and just ahead is my prized giant TV. It sounds crazy but I find it much easier to work there where I can see what’s going on rather than squirreled away upstairs where I can hear the roars in the distance and constantly feel the need to come down to investigate…
On bookshops
I absolutely adore our local bookstore Barker and Jones in Naas and even just slipping in the front door has a tendency to bring down my blood pressure. The manager Kate is an incredible support to local writers and I’ve had the fantastic Kildare launches of both my books there. I also have a huge loyalty to the Gutter Bookshop in Temple Bar, which hosted the Dublin launch of The Fallout, and the selection of books there is really second to none. For me you just can’t beat an independent bookstore. The love for books in these shops is both enveloping and encouraging in equal measures. I do believe we have a new independent bookstore in the nearby village of Kilcullen – Woodbine Books – but I’ve yet to make it over to say hi…
On her nightstand
At the moment I’m working on my own third book Spin, which is based on a collision between the worlds of comedy, PR and politics, so my current reading reflects this. On my nightstand are the autobiographies of Ivan Yates and Mary O’Rourke and I’m also re-reading comedian Stewart Lee’s How I escaped my Certain Fate. As I rarely read just one book at a time you’ll also find there a brilliant book I got for Christmas from my brother called The Writer’s Journey and a diary kept by John Steinbeck while he wrote the Grapes of Wrath. Given my housework aversion you’ll also find that Graham Norton’s Holding is still sitting there which I’ve just finished and absolutely loved.
On escapes
My next confession is that I haven’t been abroad since before my eldest daughter was born. We do, however, have the most amazing holidays in Ireland every year and my only stipulation is that we go to somewhere beside ‘a sea with waves’. Last year we went to Ballybunnion, Co. Kerry which turned out to have the best sea ever. I can’t explain the creative energy that I got from the waves crashing on the shore there and wasn’t a bit surprised to find out that Maeve Binchy spent a lot of her summers on that very cliff writing her books. I fantasise that some day I will own a little cliff top cottage where the waves crash off the windows as I write my bestsellers but the closest I’m going to get to that for now is my playroom, Jacob’s picture and the odd spray from a plant-mister filled with salty water for authenticity…
On work
I don’t write full time. I work as an accountant three full days a week, sometimes more. I know I should say that I would love to write full time. But I’m going to be honest and say that, as I also like to eat and wear shoes with no holes in the sole, I’m happy enough with my current situation. Yes it’s busy, deadlines fly past and there just aren’t enough hours in the day but I think the fact that I’m not relying on my ‘art’ to pay the ESB bill makes it easier to enjoy. I like to think of it as being akin to serving some kind of apprenticeship where the learning curve is much steeper than the financial return and that’s something I’m prepared to put up with for now. I actually really enjoy being an accountant. There’s no imagination required, which can be a nice break! Plus, as I tell my colleagues, if I never left the house I’d have no one to base my ‘observational fiction’ on!
The question I get asked most in life is ‘how do you fit in so much’ and the absolute honest answer I give every time is ‘I have the most patient husband’. It just wouldn’t be possible without his support. But also, if you’re trying to work and write and have children and have friends, you have to prepare yourself for the fact that something will have to give. Obviously, as it can’t really be the children, everything else has to fall into a pecking order of sorts… I have learnt that I can’t be all things to all people and that saying ‘no’ is sometimes a better option to putting myself under crazy pressure to fit something in. I have become fiercely protective of my spare time, hence I make my phone calls on the hands-free in the car and if someone wants to meet for a chat they can come with me while I’m walking the dog. I’ve also started now to write in the work canteen at lunchtime. I find that even if I get a few words down then I’m far more productive when eventually the children are all in bed and I’ve a few hours to myself. But finally, don’t become a recluse altogether; I have the best group of friends and really without them, I’d be even more crazy than I already am…
On what’s next
I absolutely have to get this book finished or Paula Campbell from Poolbeg is going to give up on me altogether, so that’s me tied up until the summer. My other goal for this year is to focus on some kind of comedy writing but I haven’t yet decided what form this will take. Given my public speaking phobia and my by-day profession, I could yet find out that comedy is not for me. But as my seven year old daughter once said to me, ‘I’ll give it a bash, sure at the end of the day, the worst that can happen is the bash doesn’t work’.
SOPHIE GRENHAM
Don’t miss our next issue, out Saturday March 4.
Love THEGLOSS.ie? Sign up to our MAILING LIST now for a roundup of the latest fashion, beauty, interiors and entertaining news from THE GLOSS MAGAZINE’s daily dispatches.