Interview Trisha FitzGerald-Petri

by

Joanne Karen Joy

1. How long have you been writing? Is it a full-time career for you?

I've always wanted to write, but the desire to do some serious writing was born about ten years ago when a German student asked me to translate a short novel she'd written. The translation was for her own personal use and there were no demands upon me to create a literary work of art. I became, however, thoroughly engrossed in the project, vaingloriously nurturing the impression that my rendering was far better than her original work! My vanity knowing no bounds, I spent years typing up epic stories in my head, but with two small children, never managed to get them onto paper. Then, five years ago, I read a novel so badly written it left me feeling I could do better myself! Naively, I just sat down at my computer and started hammering away at the keys, only to revise my opinion on hour later. Writing really wasn't the piece of cake I'd hoped it might be. However, since then I’ve been battling on undauntedly, surrounded by mountains of dictionaries, my favourite thesaurus and cups of cold coffee. Of course, like most writers, I dream of making it a full-time career, but I also really enjoy my other two jobs--one teaching English in companies here in Germany, and the other as project assistant in international business.

2. Is there a 'favorite' genre in which you like to write? Why?

Yes. I think my personal genre is a mixture of adventure, suspense and light romance. And humor, lots of it. Perhaps because I’ve had my own share of emotional upheavals, I tend to write about women who find themselves at a crossroads in life. Without too much pathos and soul-searching, I seek to express the kind of inner conflicts most of us have experienced at one time or another in our lives. Isn’t there a saying ”laughter heals the soul”?

3. How did you come up with the idea for Casting Off?

Oh, that’s easy! I was born and grew up in Ireland. In other words, there’s salt water coursing through my veins! I’ve been sailing for as long as I can remember, so it was inevitable that one day I would write a nautical romp. It sounds dramatic, but I’ve often fantasised about what it would be like to cross the Atlantic alone. I really admire women like Ellen MacArthur who, at the age of 28, completed her round-the-world sailing tour in 71 days. Think of all the soul-searching you can do in 71 days!!

4. The phrase "sets sail" is intriguing, and can be used for many different time periods. When, and where, is the novel's setting?

Casting Off is set in modern day Ireland, though it could quite easily be the turn of the last century. Despite the sudden economic boom which has changed the face of The Emerald Isle, there are still unspoilt corners of the country where people live according to old traditions and values. Scullymór is a fictional fishing village somewhere on the south-west coast, a village still untouched by the influences of the so-called ”Celtic Tiger”.

5. The character of Meg sounds fascinating, perhaps surprising even herself by her actions. Do you enjoy writing about women who dare to travel a path other than the one on which they've been traveling? Why?

Yes, definitely. For men and women alike, I think there comes a time in everyone’s life when one should stop and sum up. I don’t mean we should all quit our jobs, get divorces, drop out and spend the rest of our lives communing with nature, but we are often so caught up in the rat race of every day life that we don’t even find a moment to think of ourselves, or to consider what we might be able to do differently. Daring to travel another path might be one of the above, but it could also be finding a new hobby, writing the novel you’ve always wanted to write, saving one evening a week for a night out with your friends, taking more time with your kids. A change is a change, be it big or small--and sometimes the smallest changes are the hardest to make.

6. You sound like an author who appreciates a sense of adventure. Are your readers going to be wishing they were Meg? Why do you suppose they might?

I don’t know if all readers are going to wish they were Meg, certainly many will count their lucky stars that they aren’t! Rather than being envious of Meg’s bravery (or is it foolhardiness?), I would like to think that many can relate to her. I freely admit there’s a touch of the old “rags to riches” cliché in Casting Off, but very much tongue-in-cheek. More importantly, Meg is not the stereotype heroine--sleek, composed and beautiful. It’s her ordinariness which makes her endearing--her slightly frumpy appearance, the threatening middle-age spread, her harebrained nature. I won’t risk dropping a hackneyed phrase like “beauty is only skin deep”, or “real beauty comes from within”, but who can deny that, in the end, genuine qualities always shine through. Nevertheless, girls, it’s never too late to start work on the packaging!

7. What's the one thing you hope your readers will take away with them, after finishing Casting Off?

Naturally, I hope readers will feel they’ve finished a novel well worth reading! It would be nice to think that Meg will remain for a while in thought and not disappear onto the bottom shelf of their minds. Above all, I might wish that readers will take with them a sense of adventure coupled with the awareness that setting off on a quest does not necessarily mean we can’t turn back.

8. How do you find your inspirations--your Writing Muse--if you suddenly realize that you're struggling, especially with a book like Casting Off?

I’ve spent hours staring at a blank page! When this happens I put it away and try to think of something else. Strangely enough, while endeavouring to create something wildly witty and exciting, one is inclined to forget that it is often the simple things in life which make a good story. I get the best ideas lying in bed at night, or driving around in my car. Whatever, I invariably have a brainwave in a situation where I can’t write it down! To be perfectly honest, my stories develop as they go along. I do have a basic framework before I start, but more often than not something quite unexpected develops. My novels are always a surprise for me, too!

9. What sorts of books are you planning for the future--are they in the same sort of adventurous genre as Casting Off?

After I’d finished writing Casting Off, a member of my family jokingly remarked that I was always writing books about frustrated women! It hadn’t really occurred to me at the time, yet in retrospect I realised there were, in fact, a lot of parallels to my first book “Making Tracks” (to be republished by Wings in October 2006)--a disgruntled heroine, a monotonous life, the desire to break out. Though both stories are completely different, I began to question my creativity and came to the conclusion--why not? Long before the invention of pen and paper people were telling stories about, for example, love. Are we getting bored with it? The question doesn’t require an answer. And women like Meg? I don’t think readers will ever be bored by them, either! Having said that, my third novel “Over The Wall” is definitely different and tells the story of the intertwining lives of two women who first meet at school. While full of humour, tears will be shed.

10. What do you enjoy doing when you're not writing--hobbies, sports, the kind of reading that you, as an author, especially enjoy?

Well, as already mentioned, sailing is my greatest hobby, that is, water sports in general. For years I was a windsurfing addict and though we still dust off the boards once or twice a year, at the ripe old age of 47, I’m quite happy to slow down a bit. Now, we do a lot of “Nordic Walking”, a sport which has really caught on in northern Europe, especially here in Germany, where we have miles of beautiful, unspoilt forest. As for books, the last three I read were all from Wings--Joan Hall Hovey’s “Nowhere to Hide”, Gini Wilson’s “Illusions” and Christine Janssens’s “Wild Nature”--all great novels. In general I enjoy the kind of books I write myself--suspense, adventure, contemporary mainstream fiction with a good spattering of romance, and above all, stories which get me thinking!