Interview with Ellie O’Neill
This week I’ve moved Writers’ Block to Geelong in deference to my guest, Ellie O’Neill, but I’ve still created a piece of the mystical island, Hy Brasil. To the outside world it’s shrouded in mist, but cocooned within that mist is a way of life the islanders protect fiercely. Especially the oldies. They’ve been giving me the evil eye as I wait on one of the low stone walls that honeycomb the island. They are strangely strong, these old islanders, and, when they think I’m not looking, unbelievably content. I hope they’ll be more welcoming to my guest, whose second child is due any day. Here she comes now, looking as bright as the landscape, ready to chat about her latest novel of magical realism and Irish fables, The Enchanted Island.
RH: Ellie O’Neill, welcome once again to Writers’ Block. This time we’ve braved the angry seas to meet on Hy Brasil, a magical, some say mythical, place and home to surly and mysterious locals and surprisingly beautiful homes. But before we get to talking about your second novel, The Enchanted Island, let me congratulate you on the impending birth of your second child! It must be hectic in your household right now.
EO’N: Thank you! I think it’s about to get a lot more hectic, I’m probably in the calm before the storm and I don’t even know it. My son has just turned two and this baby is due any minute now, I’ll be in a sea of nappies soon, but it’s all good.
RH: Sorry to have you sitting on a wall, but the view is to die for. *points to pink streaked sky and purple bluffs in the distance. On cue a few seabirds dance* I have to confess I’ve no idea what food to offer a pregnant woman, but Niamh assures me you’ll be up for some of her chocolate cake and promises it’s just what a growing baby needs. Will you join me?
EO’N: Will I? My pregnancy diet has consisted of chocolate with a side of chocolate. I read somewhere that women have happier babies if they eat chocolate in their third trimester, so I have taken that literally and dropped all other food groups.
Following up a Hit Debut Novel
RH: Sounds plausible to me! When we last talked your debut novel was due to be released. That debut, Reluctantly Charmed, went on to be the fourth best-selling debut in Australia in 2014. That’s incredible! Not that I’m surprised. It must have been a great feeling after all the effort it took for the book to come to fruition.
EO’N: I’m still in a bit of a state of shock about that. It was completely unexpected. I always felt like it was a great book (but I am a proud and oh so biased parent with just a hint of a momager about me) Reluctantly Charmed had had so many knock backs along the way that I was probably more prepared for it to fall flat. I never expected success. Success for me was getting published. Beyond that I hoped it would be read and enjoyed by a few people and that I might get a note or two from a reader who clicked with the story, and honestly that would have been enough. But to know that it has been so much more than that, and read by so many more people than I could have imagined is wonderfully overwhelming.
RH: Let’s talk about your fabulous new novel The Enchanted Island, which I’m certain is going to be just as successful.
About the Novel
When Maeve O’Brien’s boss sends her to a dreary old island to finalise some paperwork, she couldn’t be happier. It’s the career boost she needs to become a fully-fledged lawyer – besides, it hasn’t been so great on the home front in Dublin.
Maeve’s oldest friend and flat-mate has kicked her out, and moving back in with her uptight mother has been less than cosy. But her reception on Hy Brasil, a remote island off the west coast of Ireland, couldn’t be any more hostile – it’s as if the island itself wants her gone. The locals are all ancient – and spookily well preserved – and they’re all so nasty. And what is that terrible screaming noise that echoes around the island?
But no island is going to scare Maeve off, even if she does miss her credit card, and her make-up, and bright shiny nightclubs, and the one night stands. She’s determined to track down Sean Fitzpatrick, the elusive islander, whose signature on Maeve’s paperwork is going to transform the island and open it up to the world.
And then, somehow, life begins to change. The island might be miserable and treacherous, but it’s also beautiful and strangely seductive. Maeve’s never felt better. And there’s also Killian, the dreamy teacher, who stirs up all kinds of unexpected feelings in Maeve.
But something’s brewing, and Maeve is going to discover just how far people will go to protect the ones they love.
RH: Just as I was charmed by your first novel, I am enchanted by this latest release. I read it in one sitting and feel certain it will be as well received as your debut. You told us then that Reluctantly Charmed had been written and rewritten several times before it found a welcoming home with Simon and Schuster Australia. And now, just a year or so later, you’ve written and released another. Share with us how different this process was to writing that first novel. For example, did your writing process differ to that first novel? Did you start from scratch or have the bones of this novel already written? And most importantly, how did you manage any writing with a toddler and another on the way?
EO’N: The process itself didn’t differ that much in terms of it being me and a laptop going head to head, warring with words, and lots of long walks to tease out ideas. Annoyingly, I had terrible self doubt, which is pretty common on second books, and needed to convince myself that I was not a one trick pony, and of course I could do it again. I had lots of motivational Rocky style conversations with myself walking down Geelong waterfront punching the air, ‘you can do it.’ I’m sure I looked like a crazy person.
I wrote the first chapter of this book a couple of years ago, but I had no idea what the story was. I had a very sinister, hostile island in my view for a long time and I didn’t know why. So, I hung around the outskirts for a while, and finally the islanders let me in and the story unfolded.
I’ve been working to two deadlines this year, a book and a baby and both are about to be met around the same time. My guess is that it’s easier to write while pregnant than with a new born screaming, and I’m lucky that I have a very cute toddler who takes long day time naps. Sure, life would be boring any other way…..or so I keep telling myself.
Researching Irish Folklore
RH: Your stories blend Irish mythology and fact and you’re able to pull it all together in a believable and engaging story about a typical young Irish woman thrust into this strange world and having to find her way. With Reluctantly Charmed it was fairies causing havoc. In The Enchanted Island you’ve blended tales of a strange island cut off from the rest of the world (although well up with technology) and another type of fairy from Irish folklore—the Banshee, a harbinger of death. Yet as well as the mystical elements there is strong message here about balancing an eco-system. That’s a lot to pack into one story and you do it in a way that seems effortless. Share with us a little about how you research the elements you’ll pull into your novel. Did you start with Maeve’s journey and then find the mystical elements that will get in her way or did you begin with the elements and then weave Maeve’s story around them? Or is it more chaotic than that?
EO’N: It’s a lot more chaotic than that. Unfortunately I have no linear thoughts, everything falls in on me like an avalanche or not at all. There isn’t much of a process. For this story I knew it was set on an island, and that the island was hostile and remote, but deliberately so. As I started dreaming and letting my imagination run wild, I went through a number of different scenarios as to why a place would cut itself off from the main land. When I got a feel for it, I started this book without an ending, that came much, much later. I had a vague idea of the plot but not entirely so, I then brought Maeve into the story, to bring the reader onto the island and to see how things played out. It’s not the most efficient way to write, but thankfully it worked out this time.
In terms of actual research, I was in Ireland last year and did a massive road trip, which I heartily recommend, all around the west and south west coast. I visited lots of places I hadn’t been to before, and chatted to people in pubs, took bucket loads of photos, embraced the countryside and heard some great stories that I scribbled down when no one was looking. I also read books, and poems, plays that are set in the west of Ireland, and in particular on the islands off the west coast, the Aran Islands which have a unique culture and way of life. It’s really interesting to see how these independent societies have evolved.
RH: The Enchanted Island certainly comes across as an authentic story. And a trip around Ireland sounds like a great idea! I’ll have to chat to my banker…
Character Likeability
RH: The old people who seem to run the town make it clear Maeve is not welcome. Yet it’s Hy Brasil’s secrets, hint of magic and the old people’s desire to keep the outside world ignorant of the island that make it impossible for Maeve to get the signature she needs so that she can leave. And initially Maeve is just as eager to get back to her eye-lash extension, nightclubbing, selfie-obsessed life in Dublin and back to arms of Mr. So-obviously-wrong-for-her. She’s very relatable, and we watch her grow into her own person throughout the novel. Lately I’ve heard a lot of talk about likeability of main characters, so I wonder if that was something you worried about? Especially considering that early in the tale her need to live up to an ideal caused her to do something shameful. Do you think likeability is a necessary quality in a heroine? What’s your advice to writers who may be worried about making their protagonist likeable?
EO’N: Yes, I think writing an unlikeable main character is really tricky. Even if you know your heroine is going to come good at the end and find redemption, the reader doesn’t. You have to show just enough vulnerability and likeability to explain her flaws to keep the reader interested without overkill. She still has to be human.
Likeability is a tough one! If you’re writing a plot driven novel, I don’t think it’s essential, but a character driven one, unless you’re incredibly skilled it is really difficult to keep a reader in the company of someone they don’t like. The reader has a choice to pick up your book or someone elses. I wouldn’t choose to spend time with someone I didn’t like. But like I said, if it’s fantastically written, all bets are off, and all rules are made to be broken. I’m thinking of books, a little extreme, like American Psycho, Brett Easton Ellis, you couldn’t meet a more horrible hero than Patrick Bateman, but it’s such a great, confusing, mind bending story, that’s written so well, you actually begin to understand his actions.
Same with Mosquito Coast, Paul Theroux, the story of a mad inventor who drags his family off to a remote Amazonian village on his quest for a simpler life, exposing them to all kinds of horrors. He’s just horrible, ultimately you never like him, but you grow to understand him. That’s just two examples of two incredible writers, it’s their skill that makes all the difference to the characters.
So, yes, likeability is important, but not essential depending on the type of writer you are. I would say character plausibility is where the focus needs to be.
The Fast Five
RH: I know you are gearing up for your new baby and the release of The Enchanted Island, but if you don’t mind I’ll keep you on this little piece of mystical paradise just a little longer, because it’s time for your …
As you’ve done this before, I’ve come up with a new five just for you! Ready?
RH: What’s your favourite Irish word? (and what does it mean?)
EO’N: Uachter reoite — It means ice cream.
RH: What’s the weirdest thing about living in Australia?
EO’N: The slang. Which I have adopted with gusto for the record, but it is very strange that there isn’t, from what I can see, a word that cannot be abbreviated.
RH: What do you miss most about Ireland?
EO’N: My family.
RH: What’s your favourite Irish folktale?
EO’N: Probably any of the stories around Tir na Nog, the land of eternal youth. I love that whole idea, and it’s getting more and more appealing the older I get.
RH: Finally, what’s the absolute best thing about being a mum?
EO’N: I expected the fatigue and general frump that comes with being a mum but I never expected how much I could love a little snot nosed, red cheeked, tantrum throwing toddler. The pure joy, gets you through the tough days.
RH: I just have one more very important burning question: where can I get some of that incredible seaweed? Or are you keeping all that for yourself? *laughs*
EO’N: Oh my God, I would love some of that…..if you hear of any black market deals let me know.
RH: Thanks for coming all the way out to your Hy Brasil part of Writers Block, Ellie. All the best with your new arrival—are you planning on giving him or her another unpronounceable Irish name? *wink*
EO’N: Ha! Who knows? We’re going in a bit blind and haven’t chosen a name just yet. Hopefully we’ll be inspired sooner rather than later.
RH: Good luck with everything, Ellie. I know readers will embrace The Enchanted Island as eagerly as we embraced Reluctantly Charmed.
Buy the Book
The Enchanted Island can be found at all good bookstores and online from November 2015
Read my Review of The Enchanted Island
About the Author
Ellie O’Neill took the long way around. She sold spider catchers in Sydney, flipped burgers in Dublin and worked in advertising in London. All the while, she knew she had stories to tell. So, at thirty-something, she made the brave leap and moved back in with her parents in Dublin to get the job done, and scribbled away, knowing that there was something about Irish fairies she needed to share with the world. Those scribblings would later turn into her debut novel, a bestseller called Reluctantly Charmed. Then Ellie fell madly in love. The only catch was that he lived in Australia. True to form, she couldn’t ignore the magic and followed her heart to Oz for what was supposed to be a long holiday. Six years later, Australia is home to Ellie, her Joe and their fabulous toddler (with an Irish name no one can pronounce). They live in Geelong.
Connect with Ellie O’Neill
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