Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Could there be a better Christmas present than a luxury Caribbean cruise?
Dublin socialite Bunny McElroy thinks not and invites her family on one for the holidays. Her husband Richard is not so sure about it, and her son Gavin and his down-to-earth wife Fiona are apprehensive about spending two weeks cooped up with his family. But even they could never imagine the havoc Bunny’s two beautiful daughters, Sarah and Jess, will cause on board.
Meanwhile Tony Kenny, a wealthy Galway businessman, fed up with his wife’s family who descend on them every Christmas, thinks a cruise is the perfect way to escape them. His timid wife Ann is nervous about it all but, as always, Tony gets his way. His children are less than enthusiastic but, as it turns out, their handsome son Jack is pleasantly surprised by the action on board and his shy sister Emily begins to come out of her shell.
Declan Jordan is terrified that his sexy mistress Alix will reveal their affair to his classy wife Cassie, so he whisks Cassie away for what he promises will be a second honeymoon. However, it turns out to be anything but . . .
This group form what they laughingly call ‘the Irish Mafia’ on board the Liberté and, between the drama and the shenanigans, there is never a dull moment!
I have followed Pauline Lawless' career ever since she got her first publishing deal with Poolbeg Press as we were both members of the same online forum so it seemed only fitting to invite Pauline to be part of this Irish Fiction feature week to talk about her sixth novel Meet and Delete which was published in January.
"No more meeting crappy men in crappy pubs! Online dating is the modern way to meet Mr Right." declares Viv to her two friends and housemates. All three are in their mid-thirties and have been unlucky in love. "Out of every ten replies I'll probably get two perverts, two nerds, two frauds - usually married - and four genuine guys. Not a bad percentage really."
Claire is apprehensive about it and Megan downright sceptical but Viv with her usual joie de vivre, takes to it with gusto. Many en and many dates later - from the boring to the bizarre - Viv thinks she has found her Mr Right. But does the course of true love ever run smoothly?
Meanwhile she coerces a doubtful Claire into joining the dating site too. Add to this mix Claire's nasty sister Sarah, who bored with her marriage, embraces online dating with even more enthusiasm than Viv. Not to mention Megan's thrice-married mother who's looking for a toy boy not a husband...
Can you tell us a little bit about your latest novel Meet and Delete?
Meet and Delete is about three girls who have been unhappy in love and then one of them discovers online dating. She takes to it with gusto and has some hilarious experiences with the guys she meets online. She tries to convince the others that this is the modern way to meet Mr Right. One friend absolutely refuses to have anything to do with it but the third girl is persuaded to do so. Unfortunately, her experience is not so hilarious and is in fact downright scary. Add to the mix her nasty sister who, bored with her marriage, is looking for excitement. She certainly finds that.
Where did the inspiration come from to write about internet dating?
I was giving a book talk and afterwards the women started talking about the men they'd online. Their stories were so funny that I thought it would make for a good storyline.
How much research did you do about internet dating to enable you to write Meet and Delete?
I spoke to people who had been online dating and googled a few sites. I resisted my daughter's suggestion to join a site myself.
Meet and Delete is a light-hearted read, but you also deal with some strong topics througout, how did you find the right balance between humour and dealing with these issues?
I try to put myself in my character's shoes and keep my story as real-life as possible and life is never plain sailing. There's good and bad, happy and sad in all our lives and I try to reflect that. It's not always easy to get the balance right.
Who would have thought a wine course could be life-changing? But a group
of people signing on for wine-expert Sam's course are about to find
out.
Ellie is planning her dream wedding to accountant David who has
just been head-hunted by a prestigious firm. She detests social
pretensions but he seems overawed by his elite new colleagues. Can they
overcome these differences?
Rachel is the beautiful wife of newly
elected politician, Carl. Perfect life, perfect home, perfect children
but is anything ever as perfect as it seems? Does Carl have a roving eye
and is Rachel too fond of her wine?
Ronan's marriage to shopaholic
Louise is teetering on a knife-edge and, when he loses his job, things
go from bad to worse. Then Sam offers him a job in one of his wine
shops. But can he get his life back on track?
Zita, who works in
television, is fiercely ambitious and has set her sights on Rachel's
husband to further her success. Will she be able to ensnare him?
Eight
weeks later, they know their wines but everything else has changed out
of all recognition.
