Although Roisín Meaney was nearly 40 when she wrote her first book, from a young age she displayed a way with words, which in turn won her a car, multiple holidays and a mountain bike, among other things.

Once Roisín turned 18, she began to enter “finish the sentence in 25 words or less” competitions ie “I should win a car because…”. This proved a very successful venture for her.

After school Roisín, studied to become a primary school teacher, a profession she did like, but one she followed her parents’ footsteps into and wanted a change from eventually. Due to her obvious skill in writing, that general direction was highlighted as a possible option to her.

“One of my cousins said: ‘Why don’t you do something in the writing line, because you seem to be snappy with words?’. So I went into advertising and I actually got a job, I don’t know how I got a job,” says Roisín.

“It was in an ad agency in London, working as a copy writer. I did that for a few years and it gave me a taste of writing. Basically that’s what led to me writing my first book, but it wasn’t for another several years. I came to writing very late.”

On her return from London, Roisín went back teaching and because she enjoyed her day job, was slow to leave it. But the idea of writing a book wouldn’t leave her, no matter how much time elapsed and so she put pen to paper for The Daisy Picker.

Her expertise in writing competitions stood to her, winning a two-book deal with this first novel. Having left teaching in 2008 and recently released her 15th novel The Anniversary, clearly, Roisín hasn’t looked back since.

Growing Up

Roisín was born in north Kerry and lived in Tipperary until she was eight, before moving to Limerick City where she still resides. For the first six months of her life she called the seaside town of Ballybunion home and although she says the sea was wasted on her then, it must have somehow left its mark, as The Anniversary is set in a holiday-esque home by the sea over a long weekend.

The story is loosely inspired by Roisín’s own newly acquired holiday home where most of the second half of the book was written. “Last year I bought a small little cottage on the outskirts of Milltown Malbay in Co Clare. The town is lovely, gorgeous and my house is just on the outskirts. It’s about a minute’s walk to the main street, but it’s on a lovely country road, the perfect location,” she explains.

“The house in the story is similar. It’s a bigger house, because it has to sleep seven of them for the long weekend. So that house is actually a five-bedroom and it’s closer to the coast. I love writing about the sea and about people by the sea, just the whole sea vibe.”

The Anniversary centres on Lilly and Charlie, who are both in their 50s and split up four years ago after 26 years of marriage.

They have two grown-up children, Thomas and Paul. After the death of Lilly’s mother Kitty, Lilly decides to assemble the whole family one last time in Kitty’s house by the sea, new partners in tow. As you can imagine, this eclectic group have some interesting encounters.

Slices Of Life

Her novels are primarily set in contemporary Ireland and are about ordinary people, so therefore Roisín describes her stories as “slices of life”. It is no wonder so, that she has often been compared to the late, great Maeve Binchy.

“How could I not be flattered by that comparison really,” reflects Roisín. “I used to love Maeve’s books when I was younger, I think I read every single one of them and I was very sorry when she died.

“She had a great writing style, very warm and natural. I think you were drawn to her characters and you were drawn to her stories. You felt you knew those people at the end of the book. That’s the kind of way I am trying to write as well.”

And, with such relatable characters, naturally Roisín gets very attached to them, as do her readers.

“I decided one of my characters, that he had to die really. The story needed some kind of an emotional injection. I was so upset you would swear he was real, it was ridiculous. I mourned him after he was gone. Some readers gave out to me for killing him off.”

With such a connection between Roisín and her characters, it is no wonder they ring true to readers and as Roisín is already now on to her 16th novel, there will certainly be plenty more to come.

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