Raised on a diet of such influential female authors as Catherine Cookson, Anne Tyler, Anita Shrieve and Marion Keyes, it was perhaps inevitable that Kathy Rodgers might one day turn her hand to writing herself and today she is basking in the glory of the publication of her fifth book with leading Irish publishers Poolbeg.

Still resident in her native town, Kathy is somewhat overwhelmed by her success which has already seen her publish ‘Misbehaving’, ‘Afterglow’, ‘It Started With a Wish’ and ‘When the Light Fades’ and she has high hopes for her latest offering ‘Finding Ava’.

As her latest novel hits the shelves an excited Kathy says, “It’s about feisty American Eva Dimato who believes she was born to an American family but then discovers that neither of her parents are who they claimed to be and she leaves her native Boston and finds that she has to come to Ireland to find her real family and, in doing so, find herself. It’s about her search for her own identity as a young woman in the sixties and the challenges she encounters along her way.”

Rodgers has come a long way since her own first novel became a best seller with Poolbeg, achieving 10,000 sales. The stepping stone to success for her was Longford Writers Group which is based in Longford Library and meets twice a month.

There, under the guidance of former writer in residence Paul Perry, she found the right environment and the encouragement to develop her skills. The main character in her first novel was a woman quite similar to her in both age and background and this, she maintains, made it easier for her to create authentic characters.

Initially, she says, she was both writing for herself and with a view to publication. “I was conscious of the market but certainly couldn’t be writing something that didn’t relate to me. I sent in a few chapters to Poolbeg and they asked for a few more, but it didn’t happen overnight. I believe everyone has a story to tell, sometimes it’s not so much the story they are telling but the different way people react to events that happen to them.”

Kathy is already working on her sixth novel which must be completed by summer 2007. “It is very challenging. You have to be very disciplined to write, I currently have an idea in my head but haven’t started in on paper as yet. Once I have the first 20,000 words or so done then the story is established and I get to know my characters and then I really begin to enjoy it as I feel I know where I am going– or where the story is taking me.

“The characters take on a life of their own and of course the deadline is a great motivator! It is also a great escape from reality. I seldom watch television as I don’t have much time and I can have my own dramas going on in my head.”

Finding Ava is published by Poolbeg and is for sale now at €9.99.