Best-selling Irish author Cecelia Ahern’s 21st novel Paper Heart represents a milestone, given that was the age the Dubliner secured her first-ever book deal. Now, over 20 years on and one of Ireland’s most successful contemporary writers, she continues to delight audiences, with over 25 million copies of her books, in 37 languages, sold worldwide.
Set in the midlands, Paper Heart tells the tale of a young mother Pip, whose only way to escape a domineering home life is through her origami art and the poems she writes. Restricted from mothering her teenage daughter, by her own domineering, narcissistic mother, Josephine, Pip fades into the background of her life until a chance encounter with a Dutch astronomer forces her to notice the world around her.
Irish Country Living caught up with Cecelia recently in the stunning gardens of the Museum of Literature Ireland (MoLI) to discuss her writing, her inspiration and Paper Heart.
“Every book is different, the feel and the rhythm, and this one is gentler than my last novel, Into the Storm, although Paper Heart is still heartbreaking at times, seeing what Pip is going through,” she says.
“She has disappeared into herself, folding herself away like her origami, to make herself smaller. But it’s uplifting, hopeful and a nice read. I use the word nice intentionally because I think the world needs more nice at the moment. Some readers will be shouting at Pip in frustration to be more assertive but ultimately, the feedback has been that people are cheering her along.”
Cecelia has been writing since she was a child and says she enjoys the creative process of developing her characters and storylines years in advance of sitting down to write.
“I thought of the idea for this book about five years ago when the story just popped into my head but it wasn’t ready to be written as Pip’s character wasn’t fully formed. But then two things happened. I thought of the idea of infantilisation, which was both horrible and yet appealing, this ultimately formed her character. It’s the idea where someone is being told what to do consistently even though they are an adult. The other thing was the idea of disassociation in order to cope. When we first meet Pip in the first chapter, she is a passenger in her own life, drifting until she ultimately becomes the driver and drives right out of her the story.”
Rural themes
While many will draw rural themes from Paper Heart, with turf cutting, defective building materials and its bogland location all central to the story, Cecelia says Pip could live anywhere.
“When I was writing this book, I had Seamus Heaney’s poem Digging in my mind and it got me thinking of all the ways in which we dig. We dig into the soil for the turf, into the rock for stone and ultimately into our hearts.
“I brought my friends on a walk while I was researching Paper Heart, and we went to the Cuilcagh Boardwalk Trail in Fermanagh, the Stairway to Heaven as it’s called. I wanted to immerse myself in that environment, to smell the bogland.
“I also knew I wanted to write something where there was a lot going on beneath the surface.
“My initial working title was Signal from a Distant Star, which was the phrase that sparked the entire story, so I knew I wanted the character to be waiting for something to happen, yet not necessarily doing anything to make it happen.”
With her next book already written and in the editing stages, Cecelia says she follows the same writing pattern that began when she signed her first book deal when she had just graduated from college.
“My writing begins every January with a deadline of June, and then a couple of months for editing with publication the following autumn.
“I have lots of ideas, they formulate very quickly, touch wood, and a lot of them I come up with years in advance and let them bubble away until I get that ‘bam’ moment and I know it’s time to write.
Cecelia Ahearn photographed at the museum of modern literature in Dublin ahead of the release of her new book. \ Claire Nash
“I am comfortable writing at that rate because it’s all I’ve ever known. From the very beginning, the deal for PS I Love You was a two-book deal so once I delivered it, I was immediately into writing the second book, after which I got another deal.”
Cecelia has suffered the curse of Irish begrudgery with many claiming her initial success was based on the fact she was the daughter of then-Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. Over 20 years later – and with her father in the limelight again regarding the presidential run – she says she still faces that criticism. However, the support of her readers has always carried her through.
“It wasn’t a huge shock, the backlash I got at the very beginning, not that that made it any easier or nicer. But PS I Love You sold a lot of books so the support from readers was immense, despite what was being said. There are still people out there who believe I had connections and there’s nothing I can say or do to change their minds.
“It is always in the back of my head, that inner voice that everyone has where I think I’m not good enough but I have learned to ignore it. Because there’s a louder voice that prevails. The one who knows the truth and believes in me. The one that thinks I’m capable and deserving and is cheering me on – that’s the one I listen to.
“Writing feels like home and I’m very lucky there is a home for my books every year. My imagination is a muscle that needs to be exercised and I’m afraid that if I took longer breaks, I would not be able to get it started again, so I keep exercising it.”
A mother of three, Cecelia no longer burns the midnight oil when writing.
“I was a night owl at the outset of my career as I found there were no distractions at night and it is such a quiet, peaceful, relaxing time, when it feels like the world is yours. You’re not on a normal life schedule so you can indulge yourself and it feels like the rules don’t apply. I had just come out of college, so I didn’t have the life responsibilities I now have during the day.
“I’m learning all the time and it’s mainly from observation, imagination and life experience where I get my ideas. My characters are completely fictional. I don’t want to write about me, that’s not interesting. I’ve never met a woman like Josephine, but I am sure people like her exist.
“I have had some moments in my life that are similar to Pip’s and I think I can identify with the infantilisation a bit. Becoming a writer at 21 and being in this industry for over 20 years, sometimes people forget that I have aged in the way they speak to me.
From book to screen
While PS I Love You was the first of Cecelia’s books to make it to the big screen, eight other productions – including her short story collection Roar which was turned into a 2022 Apple TV mini-series with Nicole Kidman starring and producing alongside Cecelia as executive producer – have followed.
“It seems to be things are happening more for me on that score outside of Ireland,” she says. “I always try to get things made here, but I keep being told no and to take it to America. I’m bringing my first short film into production early next year, so I’m going to do that here myself.”
A novelist spends most of their time working alone, but when Cecelia needs a sounding board she has plenty of fellow Irish writers to check in with.
“Myself and John Boyne are very good friends and are hoping to work together at some point, and I would love to work with Roddy Doyle, who is also a great friend and huge support to me.
“I’m blessed to have people like Sheila O’Flanagan, Louise O’Neill and Donal Ryan as friends who all offer their support and who I consider my friends in the industry.”
Paper Heart, published by HarperCollins, priced €14.99.
Best-selling Irish author Cecelia Ahern’s 21st novel Paper Heart represents a milestone, given that was the age the Dubliner secured her first-ever book deal. Now, over 20 years on and one of Ireland’s most successful contemporary writers, she continues to delight audiences, with over 25 million copies of her books, in 37 languages, sold worldwide.
Set in the midlands, Paper Heart tells the tale of a young mother Pip, whose only way to escape a domineering home life is through her origami art and the poems she writes. Restricted from mothering her teenage daughter, by her own domineering, narcissistic mother, Josephine, Pip fades into the background of her life until a chance encounter with a Dutch astronomer forces her to notice the world around her.
Irish Country Living caught up with Cecelia recently in the stunning gardens of the Museum of Literature Ireland (MoLI) to discuss her writing, her inspiration and Paper Heart.
“Every book is different, the feel and the rhythm, and this one is gentler than my last novel, Into the Storm, although Paper Heart is still heartbreaking at times, seeing what Pip is going through,” she says.
“She has disappeared into herself, folding herself away like her origami, to make herself smaller. But it’s uplifting, hopeful and a nice read. I use the word nice intentionally because I think the world needs more nice at the moment. Some readers will be shouting at Pip in frustration to be more assertive but ultimately, the feedback has been that people are cheering her along.”
Cecelia has been writing since she was a child and says she enjoys the creative process of developing her characters and storylines years in advance of sitting down to write.
“I thought of the idea for this book about five years ago when the story just popped into my head but it wasn’t ready to be written as Pip’s character wasn’t fully formed. But then two things happened. I thought of the idea of infantilisation, which was both horrible and yet appealing, this ultimately formed her character. It’s the idea where someone is being told what to do consistently even though they are an adult. The other thing was the idea of disassociation in order to cope. When we first meet Pip in the first chapter, she is a passenger in her own life, drifting until she ultimately becomes the driver and drives right out of her the story.”
Rural themes
While many will draw rural themes from Paper Heart, with turf cutting, defective building materials and its bogland location all central to the story, Cecelia says Pip could live anywhere.
“When I was writing this book, I had Seamus Heaney’s poem Digging in my mind and it got me thinking of all the ways in which we dig. We dig into the soil for the turf, into the rock for stone and ultimately into our hearts.
“I brought my friends on a walk while I was researching Paper Heart, and we went to the Cuilcagh Boardwalk Trail in Fermanagh, the Stairway to Heaven as it’s called. I wanted to immerse myself in that environment, to smell the bogland.
“I also knew I wanted to write something where there was a lot going on beneath the surface.
“My initial working title was Signal from a Distant Star, which was the phrase that sparked the entire story, so I knew I wanted the character to be waiting for something to happen, yet not necessarily doing anything to make it happen.”
With her next book already written and in the editing stages, Cecelia says she follows the same writing pattern that began when she signed her first book deal when she had just graduated from college.
“My writing begins every January with a deadline of June, and then a couple of months for editing with publication the following autumn.
“I have lots of ideas, they formulate very quickly, touch wood, and a lot of them I come up with years in advance and let them bubble away until I get that ‘bam’ moment and I know it’s time to write.
Cecelia Ahearn photographed at the museum of modern literature in Dublin ahead of the release of her new book. \ Claire Nash
“I am comfortable writing at that rate because it’s all I’ve ever known. From the very beginning, the deal for PS I Love You was a two-book deal so once I delivered it, I was immediately into writing the second book, after which I got another deal.”
Cecelia has suffered the curse of Irish begrudgery with many claiming her initial success was based on the fact she was the daughter of then-Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. Over 20 years later – and with her father in the limelight again regarding the presidential run – she says she still faces that criticism. However, the support of her readers has always carried her through.
“It wasn’t a huge shock, the backlash I got at the very beginning, not that that made it any easier or nicer. But PS I Love You sold a lot of books so the support from readers was immense, despite what was being said. There are still people out there who believe I had connections and there’s nothing I can say or do to change their minds.
“It is always in the back of my head, that inner voice that everyone has where I think I’m not good enough but I have learned to ignore it. Because there’s a louder voice that prevails. The one who knows the truth and believes in me. The one that thinks I’m capable and deserving and is cheering me on – that’s the one I listen to.
“Writing feels like home and I’m very lucky there is a home for my books every year. My imagination is a muscle that needs to be exercised and I’m afraid that if I took longer breaks, I would not be able to get it started again, so I keep exercising it.”
A mother of three, Cecelia no longer burns the midnight oil when writing.
“I was a night owl at the outset of my career as I found there were no distractions at night and it is such a quiet, peaceful, relaxing time, when it feels like the world is yours. You’re not on a normal life schedule so you can indulge yourself and it feels like the rules don’t apply. I had just come out of college, so I didn’t have the life responsibilities I now have during the day.
“I’m learning all the time and it’s mainly from observation, imagination and life experience where I get my ideas. My characters are completely fictional. I don’t want to write about me, that’s not interesting. I’ve never met a woman like Josephine, but I am sure people like her exist.
“I have had some moments in my life that are similar to Pip’s and I think I can identify with the infantilisation a bit. Becoming a writer at 21 and being in this industry for over 20 years, sometimes people forget that I have aged in the way they speak to me.
From book to screen
While PS I Love You was the first of Cecelia’s books to make it to the big screen, eight other productions – including her short story collection Roar which was turned into a 2022 Apple TV mini-series with Nicole Kidman starring and producing alongside Cecelia as executive producer – have followed.
“It seems to be things are happening more for me on that score outside of Ireland,” she says. “I always try to get things made here, but I keep being told no and to take it to America. I’m bringing my first short film into production early next year, so I’m going to do that here myself.”
A novelist spends most of their time working alone, but when Cecelia needs a sounding board she has plenty of fellow Irish writers to check in with.
“Myself and John Boyne are very good friends and are hoping to work together at some point, and I would love to work with Roddy Doyle, who is also a great friend and huge support to me.
“I’m blessed to have people like Sheila O’Flanagan, Louise O’Neill and Donal Ryan as friends who all offer their support and who I consider my friends in the industry.”
Paper Heart, published by HarperCollins, priced €14.99.
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