May 2008
Hello!
Welcome to May - hope everyone is enjoying the glorious weather. I've been sat out in my wee yard soaking up the sunshine at every available opportunity- although I'm still the colour of a milk bottle. You just can't get away from Irish genetics.
Well, it has been a busy few months indeed. Rainy Days and Tuesdays was re-released in a new format at the end of February and things went a bit crazy for a bit. At the same time I was supporting Aware Defeat Depression who were campaigning for post natal depression awareness so that kept me busy.
I was delighted (I actually cried at my desk) when 'Rainy Days' hit number 2 in the bestseller list and stayed in the top ten for five weeks. I also got some lovely reviews and nice feedback from readers. All us writers are hopelessly paranoid and more than a little nutso so we need reassurance - honestly.
My family also thr
ew me a great party and I got the most absolutely gorgeous flowers from Poolbeg to congratulate me on the book's success!
After that we shifted the focus to book two, which is now on it's third name. We went first of all for 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered' and that became 'Blue Line Blues' and now it has become the fabulously titled 'Feels Like Maybe' and is due for release in September. It has a pink cover. Try as I might not to get excited by pink things, I did a very girly scream when I saw it. It is a thing of utter beauty - so big thanks to the designer and all at Poolbeg for making it more gorgeous.
I can't wait to see the actual book in the flesh - I'm so in love with the story and it feels like such a long time since I finished writing it.
Book three is almost complete - something a little different - but still with loads of warmth and humour.
In other news
I've been on my holliers! The first in seven years! Me, himself and the boy
went to Murcia for a week and I got that immediate "aaaah" feeling as soon I stepped off the plane and felt the gorgeous heat of the sun beat down on me. (Still came home totally white... in fact there was a great deal of suspicion in the office as to whether or not I had actually really been away).
And, I'm going to be an auntie again (and a Godmammy!). My sister is expecting her second baby - a boy - in September (same time as the book). I'm willing to bet they will both arrive on the same day - being that RD&T came out two days before my sister got married last year. We tend to cram all our family celebrations into the same weekend. Saves on the catering.
What I'm looking forward to
Well, obviously now the release of Feels Like Maybe in August/ September. Am very, very excited about that altogether as I think it is such a brilliant book and I'm dying to see what people think.
I'm also looking forward to next month when I'm meeting some writer friends for drinks in Belfast - should be a right laugh. And it's a week before my 32 (eep!) birthday so I plan to celebrate in style.
Once again thanks to everyone who has sent me supportive messages and bought RD&T - you are all wonderful, wonderful people.
Claire
x
February 2008
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Hello, happy new year and welcome to 2008. To those of you who read 'Rainy Days' over Christmas and were kind enough to get in touch, or review it on Amazon, or actually just buy it, thank you! To those who are still thinking of buying it, sit tight! The mass market paperback (with lovely green cover) is out on February 26 - just in time for Mother's Day!. And I can reveal that 'Blue Line Blues' should hit the shelves in September. Although at the minute my focus is very much on book three, which has a working title of 'Jumping in Puddles' and focuses of four lone parents in a Craggy Island style village in Co. Donegal - make of that what you will.
Well, apart from writing and trying to generate press coverage, I have been undergoing a transformation of my own. I decided just before Christmas that Grace Adams has had enough of the glory for long enough and if she could get her bling back, then by jove I could get mine back too. I've started on the Tesco GI Diet yoke (which basically involves eating a lot of chicken and more tomatoes than you can shake a stick at). So far, I've shed 21lbs - which added to the eight I lost before then, means I've busted the the 2 stone mark! Now, like Grace, I've a long way to go but I feel for the first time that I might just do it. My skirts are already looser and I was able to buy a size down in new clothes in the sales. Rock on. However, am still completely and utterly unconvinced by "nothing tastes as good as being thin feels" - whoever came up with that one has obviously never tried Ben and Jerry's Phish Food icecream!
In other shock news - the blonde has gone. The high maintenance roots thing was getting on my nerves and being a very busy working mum/ writer I never had the time to get to the hairdressers so I was starting to look just a little bit dodgy with three inch roots and dried ends. Now I'm back to my natural (ha!) brunette!* (* I say ha! because these days, sadly at the ripe old age of 31, the hair has a fair smattering of grey and if I went au naturale I would have several badger type stripes through my bonce!).
I'm also attempting to try and get fit. (No laughing at the back!) My lovely mammy bought me the Strictly Come Dancersize DVD for Christmas as I have long since fancied myself as a bit of a Karen Hardy (without the manic grinning, obviously). So far I've managed the warm up and a few practise steps. The African Walk is a scream, and me rolling my hips is so not a good look. Still. I'll persevere with the hope of gaining a stomach one fifth as flat as La Hardy's. I've also decided to be a little kinder to the environment and have taken to leaving the car at home and walking where possible. (Although obviously not on the work/ school run as that would be insane). I'm hoping with a little walking the pounds will melt off.
Hopefully by the time youse all see me for the 'Blue Line Blues' launch, I shall be svelte, stunning author and everyone will faint with shock and cry out that surely this could not be the same person that stood before them just one year before. In less frivolous news I've agreed to front Aware Defeat Depression's One in Ten campaign. One in Ten new mums will develop post natal depression That figure scared me, and I had the blasted thing! Aware are doing amazing work to ensure that support groups are available to those who need them, that information is available in GP's surgeries, nurseries and other such places where new mum's congregate and, perhaps most importantly, to ensure that someone is available on the end of the phone if someone needs to talk. It's a cause very close to my own heart and I'm delighted and honoured to be able to do what I can to help.
THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO Apart from obvious new skinniness and the release of Blue Line Blues, I'm also almost wetting myself with excitement at the news that Marian Keyes new book 'This Charming Man' is due for release in May. Hurrah!
Also my lovely friend Luisa Plaja's teen fiction novel 'Split by a Kiss' is set to be released at the start of March. She is a hugely talented (and supportive) person and having seen a few sneak peeks, it's going to be HUGE! THINGS I AM NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO The boy starting big school in September. I'll need a double dose of valium that day! Anyway, it's a short one because life is quite quiet but thanks for reading, Claire |
Autumn 2007
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I’ve never done this before, so cut me a little slack. I’ll try to not to bore the socks off you, and I’ll thank you in advance for having a wee read. Well, what a summer it has been. It has been so busy that I know I’ve let the monthly diary slide but hey, at least we get to catch up now. Brew up a cup of tea, open a packet of jaffa cakes and take a seat. First of all, I became a published author. What a thrill! Rainy Days and Tuesdays went on sale on June 21, which just so happened to be my birthday. (I was 31, but we don’t need to publicise that too much). Having never been a proper writer before I wasn’t sure what to expect but soon got busy with the book promotion. I travelled up and down to Dublin, with occasional trips to Belfast and more than occasional skulking activities in Eason in Derry checking out who (if anyone) was buying the book! The promotion was, as the lovely Lynda formerly of Poolbeg would say, “brillers”. We traipsed around every book shop in Dublin and met some lovely people who were very enthusiastic. We even garnered a couple of dodgy looks from people who saw me signing books and thought I was some rapscallion on a destructive mission to deface chick lit novels. We then stopped off at The Hairy Lemon (got to love the name of that pub - the ones in Derry have such boring names in comparison) and had a glass of wine and fought the urge to giggle all the way round to a dinner with some other lovely people. (It struck me that this was work, and it involved drinking wine at 3 in the afternoon- it can’t be that bad). And then I faced my demons - or more precisely, Pamela Ballentine and some TV cameras and went on “the UTV” for my first ever TV interview. This was followed by my second ever TV interview in the form of TV3. Both of which were relatively painless and I even met Frank Carson. (It’s the way he tells ‘em).
RESULT! Two weeks after it’s launch RD&T hit number 9 in the
IN OTHER NEWS A writer never rests for long. For all those who have asked when my second book is coming out, I can reveal it will be next summer. It’s written(and rewritten and pending an edit) and I’ve actually started writing the third. The second book tells a very different story to RD&T, but there is plenty of very Derry humour to keep people amused. It will deal with the issue of an unplanned pregnancy versus someone experiencing infertility. The third book is currently keeping me awake at nights and I’m loving writing it.
My other sister - the scientist one - graduated and has returned to college to study for a MSc in something else scientific. I definitely did not a science gene when the smarts were handed out - I found physics completely baffling and was a hazard to myself and others in the chemistry lab. The brother has also been doing exciting things with his writing and acting and we are all keeping fingers crossed for him that he gets a big break soon. (He has recently signed with The Agency in London.) Oooooh, the boy started nursery in September. He has settled in well, but my paranoia has gone into overdrive worrying about whether or not he is behaving or being too much of a ‘character’ in class. He does come home with some remarkable stories though and most of the time they make me laugh.
WHAT I’M CURRENTLY VERY EXCITED ABOUT Emma Heatherington’s book launch in October. Emma is a fellow Northern Writer and held my hand during my first proper interview with Northern Women in June. Our books were due to hit the shelves at the same time but she faced a delay and now she is going to take the publishing world by storm! ‘Crazy for You’ is published by Dodder Press and is available from all good bookstores any day now!
Melissa Hill’s new book! ‘The Last to Know’ is published by the fabulous Poolbeg and out now. I’m so going to relax some evening and lose myself in her wonderful writing. It’s going to be Christmas! Okay, it’s a brave while away but I have a child who is obsessed with all things Santa-tastic and this year he’ll be a perfect age to get all excited and act the eejit with us over it. The re-release of Rainy Days and Tuesdays with a br Okay, it’s even longer away (March-ish) but I’m still very excited. The cover is lush - very green and twirly! |
original fiction best seller list and it sat in the top twenty for many a week over the rainy days and Tuesdays that this summer brought to us. This has exceeded my own personal expectations and it was certainly worth sitting in the middle of Eason like an eejit for a signing to get the sales! (Which, if you showed up on the day please accept my undying gratitude!). In fact the same goes for everyone who bought the book, read the book, emailed about the book, told people about the book, etc etc etc. 
Outside of writing, my sister Bridezilla, got married and a good day was had by all. Joseph (my 3.5year old) seems to have grown up before my eyes and performed his page boy duties with style and aplomb. I’ve not watched the DVD yet because I am afraid that my sister said her vows to a repetitive of chorus of “Joseph, sit down” whispered from the altar by yours truly. 
and spanking new cover.