February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
What is your latest book about?
My latest book is a novel set against the backdrop of the building of the Empire State Building. “Empire Rising” involves a wide cast of characters, some real and some fictional, including Irish immigrants, Tammany Hall politicians, gangsters, ironworkers, and an artist named Grace Masterson who falls in love with Michael Briody, a riveter on the building who is also an IRA man on the run.
What is your writing routine? Are there ideal conditions?
I have an office where I write. I go in everyday and treat it very much like a job.
What advice to you have for aspiring writers?
Live first. Too many writers today have nothing to write about. Also, if you want to succeed I think writing must be something you need to do.
Name three books that are memorable in terms of your reading pleasure?
“The Friends of Eddie Coyle” by George V. Higgins. “The Wanderers” by Richard Price. “The Pope of Greenwich Village” by Vincent Patrick. These are three books with characters that I related to. These books made me think I could be a writer.
What book are you currently reading?
“War Trash” by Ha Jin.
Is there a book you wish you had written?
“The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
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Name a book that you were pleasantly surprised by?
“Dancer” by Colum McCann. The author did so many things I usually don’t like in fiction, but he made it all work. It’s a brilliant accomplishment.
If you could meet one author, living or dead, who would it be?
John Steinbeck
What book changed your life?
Every book I read changes my life. That’s the joy of reading.
What is your favorite spot in Ireland?
Helen’s Pub on the pier at Kilmackalogue, Beara Peninsula, Kerry.
You’re Irish if . . .
This is the new world. You’re Irish if you want to be.