Sitting in her bedroom which overlooks Brittas Bay is where you’ll find Anna McPartlin with her laptop (and her three dogs and cat), writing some of the best women’s fiction to have hit the shelves in recent years.

“Sometimes I write in the office,” interjects Anna, laughing. With her bubbly personality and a laugh that warms the soul, you really wouldn’t think that Ms McPartlin mainly focuses on the theme of grief in her books. However, with a childhood that was anything but easy, she says this, along with the theme of friendship and family, are what she knows best.

“When I was six, my mother was diagnosed with MS and, until I was 12, I helped care for her and my granny. Then when my mother was too sick and had to go into a home, I moved to Kenmare to live with my aunt and uncle. Leaving my mother that day was nearly harder than the day she died, because at least when she passed I knew that she was no longer in pain.”

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It’s this childhood story that has provided inspiration for Anna’s newest book, which was released last week. The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes tells the story of Rabbit (Mia) Hayes, a single mother to teenager Juliet, who, at the age of 40, is dying from cancer. As bleak as it sounds though, the book reveals the power of family who pull together during this important period of their lives. And although it’s a tearjerker, you’re also guaranteed some belly laughs and an uplifting tone of a life that is celebrated.

Finally on paper

“This was definitely a book that I had been mulling over for years, and when I did go to write it, it was done within eight weeks. The story was just sitting there ready to spill out.

“My husband, Donal, always knows when I’m ready to write a book. I have all the characters worked out, ready to go on the page, and he says it’s like 15 different voices in my head. In fact, this is just the beginning of the craziness. Some days, he’ll walk into the bedroom and I’ll be in floods of tears. Other times, I’ll be laughing away to myself.”

Her tactic really pays off, however, and the characters that McPartlin creates are ones that will remain with you long after you close the last page.

“One thing I really wanted readers to learn about was the character of Rabbit.” And so, through her drug-induced final days, Rabbit reflects over the life she lived, her one great love, Johnny, how her family helped develop her into the adult she became and how her greatest achievement was her daughter, Juliet.

Anna says: “I wanted readers to remember that a long illness doesn’t define a person – it is just one chapter in their life and there is a whole life that was lived and enjoyed before diagnosis.”

Character inspiration

One character that certainly helped shape Rabbit’s story is her mother Molly.

“All my characters are fictional but many are inspired by people I know, and my mother-in-law Terry was definitely the inspiration for Molly.

“Terry is a very matriarchal, strong and funny woman, but is also massively empathetic and I wanted Molly to have many of those characteristics. We’re very similar and get on great. The running joke in my husband’s house is that when Donal married me, he married a replica of his ma. I know they are teasing, but I take it as a massive compliment.”

It’s definitely the character of Molly who is responsible for many of the belly laughs in the book and finding light and laughter, even during bleak periods, is characteristic of how Anna views life experiences.

“Ask anyone who has been there through the last few days of a person’s life and, although it is filled with grief and pain, there is always a funny story that helps ease the tension. The Irish are great at finding light in darkness.

“I recently received a letter from a reader who took some time out of life to care for her best friend in her last days. She said that up until she read the book, she blocked those last few days out of her head and only thought about the memories of her friend before she got sick.

“I was so touched when she said this book allowed her to remember the special moments they shared when she was dying, the reminiscing they did and the laughs they had. She said this book gave her something back. When I hear a comment like that, it makes all the effort worth it.”

Dipping her toe into TV

This isn’t the only positive comment that Anna has received about The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes, and she says it’s a huge relief to hear such good feedback. With Anna a writer and Donal a musician, they are both creative spirits, which can bring the burden of financial uncertainty.

“The last few years have hit everybody hard, ourselves included. Female fiction really felt the brunt of the recession because, when money is tight in the house, often the last people to spend money on themselves are women.”

So Anna dipped her foot into TV scripts, which has really paid off. When Irish Country Living met her, she had just finished a long weekend writing scripts for the British medical drama Holby City.

On top of that, she is in talks with BBC Wales, but Anna is still far happier writing these scripts from the comfort of her Wicklow home, rather than being on city sets.

“Donal and I moved to Wicklow from Dublin about four years ago, and it’s great being close to the city but I love living near the beach out in the country. I suppose I grew up first in Dublin and then in Kenmare – two different worlds, and I have both in my heart.”