I was delighted to drop into Debra’s Book Cafe, where we talked from Jonathon Swift to comfy chairs! Just a few of my favorite things…

You can catch the Q&A here:

http://debrasbookcafe.blogspot.ie/2016/08/blog-tour-my-husbands-wives-by-faith.html

many thanks to Debra for having me on and I look forward to dipping in to her book blog again to keep up with what’s current in reviews!!

Here’s a copy of the blog post:

Better to have loved and lost, than never loved.

Paul Starr, Irelands leading cardiologist dies in a car crash with a pregnant young women by his side.

United in their grief and the love of one man, four women are thrown together in an attempt to come to terms with life after Paul. They soon realise they never really knew him at all.

The love they shared for Paul in his life and which incensed a feeling of mistrust and dislike for each other, in his death turns into the very thing that bonds them and their children to each other forever.

As they begin to form unlikely friendships, Paul’s death proves to be the catalyst that enables them to become the people they always wanted to be.

About Faith Hogan

‘My Husband’s Wives.’

Faith Hogan was born in Ireland. She gained an Honours Degree in English Literature and Psychology from Dublin City University and a Postgraduate Degree from University College, Galway. She has worked as a fashion model, an event’s organiser and in the intellectual disability and mental health sector.

She was a winner in the 2014 Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair – an international competition for emerging writers.

Her debut novel, ‘My Husband’s Wives,’ is a contemporary women’s fiction novel set in Dublin. It will be published by Aria, (Head of Zeus) on 1^st of May 2016. She is currently working on her next novel.

Author Interview

 

If you could work with any other author, who would it be and why?

This is a big confession, since he was quite unfortunate looking in later years, but I loved Jonathon Swift! He was witty, smart, acerbic and yes, perhaps he was a tad eh, single minded? He was all of those things, and probably many more, but when I read him first, as a teenager at school, I just fell madly in love with his brain! Although I’m not sure how he’d take to writing women’s fiction!

The other writer that I really admired was Maeve Binchey. I loved so many of her books, they were just feel-good books, with simple stories but they had that Maeve magic! I was truly honoured to be compared to her by a number of reviewers. The thing about having had a chance to collaborate with Maeve, I’m sure I’d learn so much from her as well as coming up with a real fiction cracker!

2. What would be a typical working day for you? When and where do you write?

Like the vast majority of writers, I write when I get the chance. So, first off, I’m a wifey and mammy (and Irish mammies are very busy women!) Next up I work in a day job so that is meant to take up five days. I’ve been lucky, in that I have been able to take one day per week off to concentrate on writing.

I’m up before most people each day and I love the quiet of writing in the mornings. On one day per week I’m at my desk by nine am, the phone switched to flight mode and I’m doing authorly things! (No, not on ebay!) My favourite is when I’m writing something new – unfortunately, in my case, the first draft is only one fifth of the process!

At the moment, I’m enjoying the buz of being recently published. There’s a lot of social media stuff happening and my publishers are great at providing opportunities to highlight the book.

My best writing is done at home, I have an office at the top of the house, several desks, a comfy chair for first drafts and an array of children’s art and school photos on the wall in front of my desk.

3. What is the hardest part of the writing for you?

The hardest part, by far is when you can’t get near it. You know, that thing called ‘life’ has a habit of taking over some days. I get a little angsty if I feel I haven’t done anything for a few days. Even a blog post counts!!

4. When and why did you first start writing?

I’ve always written. I’ve always been a collector of nice notebooks and I’m the woman who will always have a pen in her bag! For years, I just wrote bits, poems, short stories. Many years ago, I wrote a radio play – I don’t think it was very good, but there was always that thing in the back of my mind that it was something I should be doing.

5. How did you come up with the idea for your book?

Most writers will tell you that the ideas are everywhere. You start with just a thread, for me it was a ‘What if?’ question and it built from there. Some of the characters were very clear in my mind and they really did lead the story on from the beginning.

6. Are you a big reader? If so, what are you reading now?

Aren’t we all?

I love books, always have. Now, I’m addicted to my e-reader. The thing is, I’ve come across so many great books that are calling out to me… (I blame all you brilliant bloggers!)

In the past, I read a lot of crime fiction, but these days, my choices are a little more diverse!

At the minute I’m finishing up on ‘The Casual Vacancy,’ by Jk Rowling, it was one of those books that I always meant to read (I’ve read everything else she’s written!) but I had a hard back copy and it’s a real door stopper, so I had put if off, selecting e-titles instead. I’m really enjoying it though.

Also, on the bedside table, I’m heading into ‘Mothers and Daughters’ by Minna Howard and I’m really looking forward to this. We share not only a publisher, but also an agent and I’m assured the writing will be great, also I’m told the story is fab!

7. Do you have any advice for other aspiring writers?

My advice is the same as every other writer is going to give you. If you want to write a novel, you have to sit on a chair for a long time – for your own sake, make sure it’s a comfortable one!

Faith Hogan’s debut novel, ‘My Husband’s Wives,’ is published on 1st of May 2016 by Aria (Head of Zeus). It is currently available to pre-order on Amazon and all good E-reading sites. She lives in the west of Ireland with her husband, children, a very fat cat called Norris and a selection of (until recently!) idle writerly mugs and cups. Follow Faith on Twitter at @gerhogan or like her on Facebook.comFaithhoganauthor/ or, if you’re really interested, you can catch up with her on www.faithhogan.com