Tell us about your new work and how it came about the story behind the story.
When I started out as a writer/illustrator I thought I'd make a picture book based on the Táin but quickly realised that was daft – the legend is full of violence, death and sex.
Then, a few years ago, someone said something to me about taking unused ideas and going a different direction with them and that night, as I was about to fall asleep, several things crashed together in my head. What if I tried writing it as a YA novel, not a picture book?
What if I completely reimagined the legend and reset it in the long hot summer of ’76? If CúChulainn was a boy called Dog, talented and charismatic but incapable of ever turning from a fight? Change the setting from the whole of Ireland to two seaside towns, reduce the cast of thousands to two groups of rival teenagers, switch out the magical brown bull at the centre of the story for a friendly bull dolphin. I grabbed a pen and paper and by the time I switched out the lights I had the basic plot outline for On Midnight Beach. Not that you need to know a thing about the legend to read it; it’s about first love, hormones, teenage aggression.
What was the first book to make an impression on you?
Peter and Wendy is the first novel I read on my own. The ending, where Wendy grows up but Peter Pan stays a boy, must have made a deep impression because when I was writing my first children's novel I realised that I was riffing on Peter, attempting to get him to live in the real world and grow up. I'd even put in a version of the Lost Boys and Neverland, all done unconsciously.
What was your favourite book as a child?
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
And what is your favourite book or books now?
Pride and Prejudice/Sense and Sensibility are my go-to books when life becomes overwhelming. They are romantic escapism for sure, but the sharp observation of character which underpins them, the skewering of human foibles, the strong female perspectives, never fail to entertain me. I have probably read Pride and Prejudice 20 times.
What is the most beautiful book you own?
Wave by Suzy Lee is a gorgeous wordless picture book about a little girl and five seagulls, playing at the sea's edge. The line work is loose and joyous; it always makes me smile.
What famous book have you not read?
Ulysses – I haven't even tried (blushes).
Where and how do you write?
I usually write in coffee shops, flat white to hand. At home it's too easy to get up and put on a wash, or sort emails or decide I absolutely have to reorganise my studio. Put me in a coffee shop, an airport, on a plane or a train, and I'll get stuck in, no problem. I've even come up with an idea for a picture book while undergoing a minor surgical procedure. Right now, like everyone else, I'm at home, telling myself to get a grip. Self-isolation is part of the job description, for Pete's sake – I should be acing it!
I write my first drafts in longhand; it’s all about getting the wild mess inside my head out. I barely do more than glance over the first draft when writing the second one, which is typed straight into Word.
What advice would you give to an aspiring author?
Don't worry about agents, publishers, current trends, creating an online presence or any of that palaver. Concentrate on learning the craft, developing your voice and writing (and rewriting and rewriting) your novel.
What weight do you give reviews?
I try to avoid reading reviews of my books on some platforms as they can be such a mixed bag, but a strong response from a trusted reviewer really helps a title stand out from the crowd and find its way into the hands of readers.
If you were to write a historical novel, which event or figure would you choose?
I have written an historical novel. Dark Warning is the story of Billy the Bowl, an infamous Dublin character my gran told me about when I was a kid. He had no legs and rolled himself around Smithfield and Stoneybatter in a bowl fitted with wheels. He was a handsome charmer, and when local servant girls began turning up strangled, nobody suspected Billy.
Some versions of his story suggest that he tried to avoid killing his victims and usually succeeding in choking them only to the point of unconsciousness, before making his getaway with their weekly wages.
Which sentence or passage or book are you proudest of?
The first chapter of On Midnight Beach begins, "Seth Cullen killed a dog when he was eight", a pretty dramatic opening line. The chapter is tight enough to stand alone as a short story – one well-known critic has described it as "astonishing". It won me a literary bursary from the Arts Council in 2017, giving me the time I needed to get the manuscript ready for submission.
Where is your favourite place in Ireland, and in the world?
West Cork and Kerry are my favourite parts of Ireland, so many memories of family holidays. I've used Dingle and Cobh as settings in picture books. Italy is a country I dream of spending time in – six months, a year.
What is your life motto?
Live and let live.
Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick is an award-winning children’s writer and illustrator. Her most recent title, On Midnight Beach, is a YA novel about two rival gangs of teenagers going to war over a dolphin, set in the long hot summer of 1976. It has just been published by Faber.
