Author Interview: Martina Reilly

Regulars to my blog will know that I am a HUGE Irish fiction fan having previously held a Irish feature month so today I'm delighted to welcome back to my blog bestselling Irish author Martina Reilly who I have interviewed previously.

Martina's latest book The Things I Want You to Know has recently been published in Trade Paperback format online and in Ireland but is now also available in eBook format on Amazon today.   

Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book The Things I Want You to Know?

Things I Want You to Know is my eighteenth book. It’s about Nick, who returns home to look after his two little children when his estranged wife Kate dies. On the day of her funeral, he is given a book, written by Kate, called Things I want You to Know. It details the rules for bringing up their children. There is also a request for Nick to go out on five dates with five women who were important to Kate. Nick, who has shied away from life, soon realises that there were other things Kate wanted him to know. Is it too late for him to learn them?

It’s a story of grief and redemption with a lot of humour thrown in. 

What inspired you to write about an estranged father returning home to look after his young children?
Fatherhood has always fascinated me. I think the way men see parenting is very different to the way women see it. 

I could also see the potential for humour in a man’s man suddenly becoming immersed in a woman’s world. For added drama and poignancy, Nick had to be floundering in some way. 

The book was also inspired by a poem I wrote when a good friend of mine passed away. I wrote it in the hope that one day we would meet again. 

Books Read: Martina Reilly - What If?

When Lily Flynn's memory starts to fade, she dusts off the long-forgotten diary she'd kept when she was fifteen and slowly begins to fill in the details of her life.

Five years later, when Lily is admitted to Lakelands Nursing Home, a helper finds the diary and a letter addressed to Lily's daughter Deirdre with instructions that the diary be read aloud to her.

Lily's last wish is that Deirdre learn the truth about her birth so that she might be able to understand her mother's choices all those years ago.

And there begins a journey of three women - Lily, a young woman dreaming of the day she can escape to the city; her daughter Deirdre who has always felt responsible for the life her mother never had; and Zoe, the young helper who reads the diary to Deirdre.

As each woman steps back in time, they realise that while life might turn on a single moment, what happens afterward is up to them.

Author Interview: Martina Reilly

I've read quite a few of Martina Reilly's books over the years, A Moment Like Forever is my current favourite, so I was delighted to be able to welcome her to my blog for a chat about her new book What If? amongst other things...

Can you tell us a little bit about What If?
What If? is about three women and one diary which changed their lives.

The diary is written by Lily and was started when she was fifteen. It chronicles her life and as she slowly loses her memories to Alzheimer's, she asks that her diary be read aloud so that her daughter may listen. It is Lily's way of explaining her choices and asking her choices and asking her daughters forgiveness. 

The book also follows the lives of Deirdre, Lily's daughter and Zoe, the helper who reads the Diary.   

Which came first, the characters or the plot?
The idea of the diary being a force for change was the driving factor in this book. To be honest, the way I write is a bit slap dash. My characters develop along with the plot as I write. I am not a planner, so the vaguest idea sets me on the track to writing.

What would be your What If...moment? 
My what if moment is when I was offered two jobs in one day (never happen now in recession Ireland!). On another day, I would have jumped at the first offer as my friend was working in the same place... but that day I'd had an argument with her and wanted nothing more to do with her, so I took the second offer and met my husband! I subsequently made up with my friend but what if we'd never disagreed...