It’s amazing how many famous people live in our area. Walk through Irishtown, Ringsend, Bath Avenue and Sandymount and you are sure to see a famous face such as Hollywood star Colin Farrell, ‘Fair City’ actors, poets, writers, musicians, artists and TV presenters, carrying on a long tradition, going back to the silver screen days of Milo O’Shea and Noel Purcell to name but a few.
The renowned author, Fiona O’Brien, is another such, she lives in Sandymount and I recently went to meet her and ask her a few questions about her career so far.
How long have you been living in Sandymount and how do you like it?
I have been living here for about two years and I love it. Even when I didn’t live here, I always wanted to.
What did you do before you became a writer?
I used to work in advertising. I was a copywriter so that was a natural progression for me. I started working in advertising years ago in the production department and discovered that the copywriters seemed to be the ones having the most fun, so that was what I decided I wanted to be. I couldn’t manage that here so I went to London and wrote a funny letter to ten big agencies and received some funny replies. The first agency I went to hired me so that was the start of my creative career.
When did you write your first book?
I wrote my first book, ‘Charity’ in 2002. It was about Dublin 4 ‘ladies who lunch’ back in the boom times. My second book, ‘Sold’, was about the madness of the property boom in Dublin and the sale of the most expensive houses ever. My third, ‘None of my Affair’, was about a classic love triangle. My latest book, called ‘Reservations’ is set in a restaurant and is about the lives of people who frequent the place and also about the restaurant chasing its first Michelin star.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
All around me. I could be doing anything. Sometimes an idea just pops into my head, or something I read or something I see on a chat show like ‘Oprah’ might throw up an idea and I’ll think there could be a book in that. You just never know if there is a book in it at the time. You just hope that you string out a sentence into one hundred and fifty thousand words.
How long does it take to write a book?
How long is a piece of string? As long as the deadline will allow. It usually takes me the best part of a year.
Do you write from your own experiences?
Not directly, but I suppose everything I’ve been through would form me and form my characters. Yes, a lot of myself would come through in that aspect. So yes, I do write about myself and some of my experiences.
What do you do to relax?
I walk a lot on Sandymount beach. I love a good night out or rather a night in with friends with a few glasses of wine. I love a bath with scented candles. That is probably my favourite.
Who is your favourite author?
It changes all the time. I love Marian Keyes, Cathy Kelly, Patricia Scanlon and Jilly Cooper, all of whom I think are great. I like quite fast-paced stuff. I also love classical writing. Really, what I love is a good story well told.
Do you know any famous people?
I met quite a few over the years. The first ad I did in London was with Gerry Hall and she was really nice. I met Michael Parkinson when I was doing an ad in Australia and he was also a really nice man. I worked quite a lot with Angus Deayton in London. At the time, he was really huge in voice-overs. That was before he did ‘Have I Got News For You’.
Do you like to travel?
Yes, I find I don’t have the energy I used to have for long haul flights these days. I just like short city breaks. It’s nice to be able to flake out for about ten days or so.
What is your favourite country?
I love the States, not necessarily for a holiday, but I love the sort of positive mental attitude that they have. I suppose my favourite place would be France, and in particular, Paris. I also love Rome in Italy.
Fiona is in the process of writing her fifth book and we wish her every success in the future.