WEST Cork based Claire O’Connor has self-published a thriller trilogy while renovating an old cottage.
BY KATHRYN M CROWLEY
‘I enjoy writing short fiction and poetry as well as novels. There’s very often an overarching theme of womanhood, facing injustices, and exploring the moral compass in my fiction,’ she said adding that her plan was always to self-publish.
‘I never considered spending years querying or looking for agents. I didn’t want to waste time, I just wanted to write and get my work out. That’s the best thing about self-publishing, just getting on with it, in full control of your own creation, with no middle man!’ she said.
What prompted her to write about a girl who was born into a cult but escaped?
‘I’ve always had a fascination with cults and religions. As a teenager I soaked up every documentary and biography I could find on sects and closed religions. That was way before YouTube and Netflix. I’ve always been interested in the type of personality or character that starts them, and how they draw people in. Another aspect that interests me is life after the cult: that point where people let go. We might assume life gets easier then, but it takes a lot of work to fit into a new society,’ she said.
Claire is currently restoring a cottage in Eyeries.
‘Someone mentioned it might have been originally affiliated with Lord Puxley’s Castle and farmlands, because the cottage chimney is built in the British style. Lord Puxley was British and he set up a local mining industry and collected taxes, the usual stuff. After that, Irish families lived in the cottage. It has been decades since anyone lived there. We’ve had visitors tell us about the family who lived there. We’re gathering information. It’s been a long process but I’ll finally be in the house this year.’
Issues with her back, and surgeries, left Claire unwell for almost four years, but she got a standing desk and ‘got into writing’ after walking the dog on the beach every morning and has since published her adult cult trilogy called ‘Over The Wall’, some poetry, and shorts.
