#Guest: Cathy Mansell and her new release Shadow Across the Liffey

About the Author:

Member of Leicester Writers’ Club, Just Write workshop, Life President of Lutterworth Writers’ Group, Member NAWG, Member Romantic Novelist Association and past president of Riverside Speakers club.

Cathy is an experienced writer of romantic fiction. Her early work was competition short stories and articles published in national magazines. She was Editor in Chief of the Leicestershire Anthology, ‘Taking Off’, a book promoted and supported by Arts Council UK.

In recent times, Cathy has turned to writing full-length novels that are set in Ireland/England. Her debut book Shadow Across the Liffey was published on 7^th February 2013 by Tirgearr Publishing.  She was a recent contestant on the TV show Food Glorious Food to be broadcast on 27th February 2013

cathy.ashbymagna@zen.co.uk

www.cathymansell.com

www.facebook.com/cathy.mansell4

twitter.@cathymansell3

www.linkedin.com/pub/cathy-mansell/46/B50/550

Welcome, Cathy, and thanks for taking the time to answer my quesitons!

1. At any given time do you work on only one story at a time and maybe plot out the next one or are there many ideas racing around your head?

No.  I’m not that clever.  I have to work on one story at a time.  Sometimes, when

I am three quarters way through the book an idea for another one will come. I let it bubble until I have finished what I’m doing.

2. Is there a genre you haven't written in but would like to? Or wish you could write in? 

Sure, I would love to be able to write a science fiction story. I’m fascinated by stories that are set in imaginary worlds. I often wonder how an author researches for this kind of genre. I would also love to write a book in the first person, and make it believable.

3. Say you have unlimited funds: What kind of writing office/cottage would you create for yourself?

Great question: I’d buy a cottage somewhere in the West of Ireland and have one of the rooms converted into a study overlooking fields, a stream and mountains.  This would definitely inspire me. Oh, but it’s only a dream.  A holiday somewhere like that would be lovely.   

4. If you could turn your novel into a TV show, which novel or series would you do?  Where would it be set? Network TV (ABC, NBC, CBS), Cable (AMC, BBC, Lifetime) or Premium Cable (HBO, Showtime, Starz)?

Shadow Across the Liffey would lend itself nicely to a TV drama/film.  Set in 1960s Ireland where the story is set with the likes of Julia Roberts and Colin Firth as the main characters. and Irish actors to play the minor parts.  It would be such fun.  BBC have done great drams recently.  We need more. Who wouldn’t love to see their novel turned into a movie.

6. Finally, tell us about your latest release!

I’m very excited about my latest release, Her Father’s Daughter, out with Tirgearr Publishing on June 6^th. This is a mystery suspense.  A gripping story of one woman’s search for the truth.

BLURB

HER FATHER’S DAUGHTER

Set in the 1950s Ireland, twenty-year-old Sarah Nolan leaves her home in Dublin after

a series of arguments. She has taken a job in Cork city with the Gazette, a move her parents’

strongly oppose. With her limited budget, she is forced to take unsavoury lodgings where the property owner can’t be trusted.  Soon after she settles in, Sarah befriends sixteen-year-old Lucy, who has been left abandoned and pregnant.

Dan Madden is a charming and flirtatious journalist who wins Sarah’s heart.  He promises to end his relationship with Ruth, but can Sarah trust him to keep his word?

It is when her editor asks to see her birth certificate that she discovers some long-hidden secrets.  Her parents’ behaviour continues to baffle her and her problems with Dan and Lucy multiply.

Will Dan stand by Sarah in her time of need?  Will Sarah be able to help Lucy keep her baby? Or, will the secrets destroy Sarah and everything she dreams of for her future.

                                                                               

Cathy will award a $10 Amazon gift card to one random commenter at the end of the tour and two $5 Amazon gift cards to random commenters during the course of the tour.

Shadow Across the Liffey:

Blurb:

A gripping story of how family secrets can wreak havoc on the present.

In 60’s Ireland life is hard for widow, Oona Quinn, grief-stricken by the tragic deaths of her husband and five-year-old daughter. Struggling to survive, she meets charismatic Jack Walsh at the Shipping Office.

Vinnie Kelly, her son's biological father, just out of jail, sets out to destroy Oona and all she holds dear. Haunted by her past, she has to fight for her future and the safety of her son, Sean. But Vinnie has revenge on his mind . ..

 

Excerpt:

Oona and her sister laughed as they blew up coloured balloons for Jacqueline’s fifth birthday party, placing them prettily around the room.

‘This is hard work.’ Sighing, Oona hooked her long dark hair behind her ears. ‘I wish I’d asked Eamon to do all this and gone to fetch the birthday cake myself.’

‘Oh, yes. Can you see our men making fairy cakes and arranging a table as pretty as this one?’ Connie was perched at the top of the stepladder, tying pink balloons around the lampshade above the party table.

‘Give over!’ Oona handed her another balloon. ‘Eamon wouldn’t have a clue how to bake a cake.’

Oona Quinn was twenty-six, two years younger than her sister, and as dark as Connie was fair. A petite five feet two inches, with dark brown eyes and small slender hands, she worked part-time in a shipping office. Her husband had wanted her to be a stay-at-home mum, but she had won him round by telling him that it gave her a sense of importance to be contributing to the family income.

‘Have you tried Mam’s new teacake recipe yet?’ Connie asked.

‘Is it good?’

‘Well, Dessie loves it. You soak the fruit overnight in cold tea. I’ll bring you some over next time I bake one.’

‘All this talk of food’s making me hungry.’ Oona clutched her stomach. ‘Let’s have a cup of tea and then we can finish blowing up the rest of the balloons.’

Buy links:

www.tirgearrpublishing.com

www.amazon.co.uk

www.amazon.com

www.amazon.com/tirgearrpublishing