Published by Poolbeg, Ireland - August 2007 Published by Orion, UK + Commonwealth – Sept. 2007

It's the start of the 1960s, and the world is changing. But for one woman, it seems things have changed too much already. From the bright-eyed girl growing up in a small Irish village, to the confident young woman running a fine English hotel, Tara's life seems to have changed beyond recognition. On the way, she's met love and heartache - from becoming mistress of Ballygrace house and marrying the dashing Gabriel Fitzgerald, to losing that same sweetheart and being left a desperately young widow.

But some things remain, and despite her tumultuous life, Tara still carries with her the spark and determination that has brought her this far. With a spirit as fiery as her striking Titian curls, Tara knows she must face the future with a bold heart, wherever it may lead.

TARA'S DESTINY is the captivating final part in Tara's story. Filled with the warmth and charm that have won her so many fans, Geraldine O'Neill delivers a stunning saga, full of passion and drama

Geraldine O’Neill grew up in Cleland, a small mining village, in Lanarkshire, Scotland. The second of six children, she was educated in St Mary’s Primary in Cleland then Holy Cross High School in Hamilton. She moved to Newcastle-upon-Tyne to train as a teacher, and there she met her future husband, Mike Brosnahan whom she married in 1977 after returning to Scotland.

After several years teaching in Scotland, Geraldine had her two children, Christopher and Clare. In the mid-eighties, the Brosnahans moved to Mike’s hometown of Stockport, near Manchester, where she taught for a number of years before the family moved to Ireland in 1991. Mike and Geraldine have remained there since, although they make frequent trips back to the UK to visit family and friends.

Whilst working as a teacher in the local primary school in Ireland, Geraldine helped start up a local writers’ group which is still going strong 15 years later She is an accomplished public speaker, and was President of Tullamore Toastmasters in 2002.

She started up a Book Circle in Tullamore which is now in its 8th year, and one of their meetings was broadcast live on National Radio from Geraldine’s house in April 2004!

She has taken up art classes in recent years, and has already exhibited and sold several pieces of her work.

Geraldine O’Neill has been writing since the early 90’s and had gained a number of awards for her short stories before embarking on her first novel. She has also had a number of poems published. She has been involved in many community projects to do with writing, and regularly gives readings at literary festivals and gives workshops and talks on her writing career.

Geraldine has five novels published in Ireland by Poolbeg: Tara Flynn, Tara’s Fortune, Aisling Gayle, The Grace Girls and her latest book The Flowers of Ballygrace.

Tara Flynn, Tara’s Fortune, The Grace Girls and The Flowers of Ballygrace (June 2006) are also published in the UK and Commonwealth by Orion.

Her books are also available in large print and on audio-tape.

Geraldine’s agents are Watsonlittle, London.

Top Of Page

An interview with Geraldine (for a New Zealand publication)

Did you always want to be an author?
I’ve always loved writing, but it didn’t dawn on me until I was in my late thirties that I was talented enough to actually have a book published. Coming from an ordinary working-class background, the idea of being a teacher had seemed ambitious enough and besides, I didn’t know any authors.

What kind of a child were you at school? 
Probably very annoying – as I never stopped talking!

Do you think your teachers would be surprised to discover you are now an author or would they expect it? 
I really don’t know! I certainly don’t remember any teacher suggesting to me that I should be a writer, although I always got good marks for essays and short stories and won several school writing competitions. My favourite subjects were always English and History and Office Studies (during which I learned to touch-type) – all three subjects which are now imperative to me in my writing career.

As for all the other school subjects like maths and science and geography - I’m afraid that I talked and day-dreamed my way through them. I have only learned how to read and understand maps properly in recent years and now I’m fascinated by them!

What did you do before you became an author?
I trained as a primary school teacher and have worked in teaching up until the present. I am now in the position financially to write fulltime, so I’m planning a break from teaching to allow me to devote all my time and energy to it. I’ve had a long and rewarding career in teaching and I’m very lucky to now have a second wonderful career.

Where were you born and raised, and are there any other writers in your family?
I was born in a small mining village called Cleland, in Lanarkshire, Scotland. There were five girls in the family (I’m the second eldest) and one boy. My brother Eamonn O’Neill is a well-known political journalist in Scotland. He has also written two travel/personal insight books and a political book. He also teaches journalism at Strathclyde University.

Do you have a partner and/or children? How do they feel about the fact that you are an author?
I have a husband, Mike, whom I’ve been married to for 28 years, and a 25 year-old son, Christopher, and a 23 year-old daughter, Clare. They are all immensely proud and supportive of my writing success.

What were your favourite books and who were your favourite authors when you were a child? Who are your favourites now?
As a young child I loved Enid Blyton books, (especially The Secret Seven and Famous Five) The Bobbsey Twins, Billy Bunter and Little Women. As a teenager I read historical romances by Jean Plaidy and any books I could get my hands on about Henry VIII, as I was absolutely fascinated by him! I also read Helen Forrester’s early books and at teacher-training college in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, I read every book by Newcastle author Catherine Cookson. The college library had all her books and I read them when I should have been studying. I also loved all the early Adrian Mole books.

Nowadays I read a huge variety of books as I’m in a Book Circle and we read a book a month. Recent books I’ve loved are Brick Lane, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, The Bridges of Madison County, The Shipping News and Enduring Love.

My favourite authors of all time are – Alan Bennett of Talking Heads fame, John Mortimor (Rumpole of the Bailey) and Pat Conroy (Prince of Tides). I like them because they know what makes people tick, and they also make you laugh. I also enjoyed the earlier books of Catherine Cookson, Maeve Binchy and Joanna Trollope.

I also read lots of inspirational books and my favourites are The Magic of Thinking Big, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, Simple Abundance - and for inspiration when I’m working - Stephen King’s On Writing (although I’m too afraid to read all his horror books.)

Do you have any mentors?
Malcolm Ross McDonald – A historical romance writer who edits the work in the book circle I’ve been a member of for thirteen years. Although we write in very different genres, I’ve learned a lot from him about writing technique and the world of publishing.

Do you have any special writing rituals? Describe your typical working day. 
When I’m not teaching, I get up when my husband rises for work around eight o’clock and the first thing I do is switch on the computer and check for e-mails. Over coffee and toast I attend to any e-mails that need answering, then I glance at a book or magazine for a while(I’m a magazine addict! Mainly monthlies like Good Housekeeping, Oprah magazine or Hello magazine) to get my mind in writing mode, then I start writing! Some days I write on and off all day through until midnight with breaks for coffees and lunch etc. During my school holidays I often stop work around 10 a.m. to go for a swim in the local leisure centre. I love swimming, and I feel I need some physical exercise when I’ve been sitting at the computer all day. 

I don’t have any particular rituals during the day, I just get on with writing, although I do take little detours where I check e-mails again or do some research on the internet. If I get stuck for a while trying to find the right words to describe a scene, I read a magazine or a book for a short time and then suddenly I find I’m back in front of the computer having subconsciously worked out what I want to say.

I am very adaptable and can write in any situation. At home I have my workstation in the main sitting-room and I can write and watch television simultaneously. If it’s something I love like Friends or a good film, then I watch and concentrate properly, but if it’s The News or something I’m only half-watching, then I write in between the boring bits. I think it comes from growing up in a large family where there was a lot of chatter and noise. I learned to tune-out and concentrate on reading in the midst of chaos, so I simply apply the same skill to my writing.

What tips or advice do you have for aspiring writers?
Just start and keep on writing! The first efforts are always painful and never sound the way you want them to sound, but if you keep on making changes here and there, eventually you will find a voice you feel comfortable with. It’s a matter of writing and re-writing until it’s the best you can do.

It’s also a good idea to read books you enjoy and consider well-written. Study them, and see how the writers use language to good effect – how they handle sad, romantic or funny scenes, how they start and finish chapters. When you are a novice, studying how established writers work is like an apprentice learning a trade from a master.

What did you do to celebrate the publication of your first novel?
I had a book launch party in a local hotel with over three hundred people from Ireland and the UK. It was a brilliant night, and when the formalities of launching the book were over, we had a disco and danced until two o’clock in the morning! 

What are you working on now?
I have completed my 6th book which is the third in the Tara Flynn trilogy, called Tara’s Destiny – and I’m currently working on my 7th book which is set between County Clare, Offaly and Dublin.

What is the best part of being an author?
Knowing that I’ve created something concrete that gave other people pleasure and will remain long after I have gone. What is the worst? There’s nothing bad about being a writer - I love it all! The writing process itself is relaxing, and the author lifestyle part, such as giving talks or workshops about writing or attending festivals, I find very sociable and stimulating. I attended all these events as an aspiring writer, so actually being asked about my own writing experiences is wonderful. I go back to being the little girl in school who is now allowed to talk as much as she wants! And if I don’t have an audience to listen, I simply write it down. That’s what being an author is all about – communicating your thoughts to other people.

If you could invite six people (living or from the past) to a dinner party, who would they be and why?
Oprah Winfrey - because she is the woman I most admire and I think she is a great role-model for other women. Alan Bennett because I adore his writing and his sense of humour. Kris Kristofferson because I love his voice and songwriting skills (and he’s still very handsome!) Catherine Cookson – because I’d like to ask her about her childhood and why it dominated the rest of her life. J.R. Tolkein – because he was not only a wonderful writer, but because he created a whole new world. Billy Connolly – because apart from being a fellow Scot, he would undoubtedly be controversial and liven things up! 

What (and/or who) would you take with you to a deserted island?
My husband, children and their partners and my two best friends, Alison and Helen - because they are far more organised and resourceful than me! I would take my books and magazines and a karaoke machine for entertainment. I would take advantage of the situation to lose weight (the stone I’m always losing and putting back on again!) and get fit by all the activity involved and non-stop swimming. For the long sunny evenings, I would also take a few bottles of gin and a crate of tonic as I like my drinks long and weak!

Where would you like to be 10 years from now?
Alive and well – I don’t take this for granted as I lost my younger sister, Patricia, four years ago to cancer. Losing someone you love who is much too young to die – and losing them very quickly - makes you constantly aware of your own mortality.

I hope that in 10 years time I will be writing as much as ever and travelling all over the world to promote my books. 

If Tara Flynn was turned into a movie which actors would you chose to play the main parts? I would just be so thrilled to see it made into a movie that I would leave the acting decisions to the movie experts!!

What are your favourite movies and/or TV programmes?
The only soap I watch is Coronation Street which I’ve watched since I was a child. Apart from that, I love series like Morse and Frost and period dramas like Pride and Prejudice. I also love Friends and Cold Feet. I like all the light lifestyle programmes like Location, Location, Location and Living the Dream and some of the reality programmes like Wifeswap. For comedy I enjoy The Royle Family, Phoenix Nights and The Office.

What do you do to relax?
Read, swim, go to the cinema, out to restaurants, watch TV and take art lessons. I also attend our local Toastmaster Meetings every second Thursday and on alternate Thursdays I attend my writing group which I helped set up 14 years ago. I also set up the local Book Circle and we meet in each other’s houses every month. Last April we had a breakfast meeting in my house and it was broadcast live on The Marion Finnucane show in RTE Radio!

What is your idea of the perfect holiday?
Not a beach holiday as I can’t take too much sun and I get bored just lying around. Somewhere with nice enough weather to sit outside and read and chat and have a swim, have barbecues, visit art galleries and museums and lots of shopping!

Are you planning to come to New Zealand in the near future? Have you been here before?
I have never been to New Zealand and I would absolutely love to visit it. Especially after seeing the magnificent scenery in the The Lord of the Rings. It was absolutely breathtaking!

Hopefully, my publishers will suggest that I should do a promotion tour in New Zealand in the near future!

Top Of Page