Featured Interview With Eileen O’Finlan
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, grew up in Holden, Massachusetts, and currently live in the central part of the state near Worcester. Both of my parents are from Vermont and many of my relatives live there. Vermont is a “home away from home” for me. Maybe someday it will be just plain “home.”
My mom who just turned 93 lives with me. We are joined by two cats who allow us to remain in the house with them at least as long as we serve their needs. Actually, they are very sweet and rather amusing. Smokey is a gorgeous Russian Blue and Autumn Amelia is an adorable calico Maine Coon. I’ve had at least one cat since I was six years old. I can’t imagine life without cats. As long as I have cats and books, I’m good!
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I don’t think I can pinpoint a specific age. Before I was able to read, I loved having books read to me and would ask for my favorite ones time and again. Thankfully, I come from a family of avid readers spanning the generations. Not only were my parents more than happy to read to me so were my grandparents. My maternal grandfather, in particular, had a passion for books. He died when I was only four years old, so I have only vague memories of him, but most include books as he was constantly reading. He read to me often and never minded reading the same book over and over again.
The first book that I really fell in love with was Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. To this day that remains my favorite book. I also devoured the whole Nancy Drew series when I was young. In junior high school I developed a fascination with the Salem Witch Hysteria and couldn’t get enough of books on that subject. At the same time, I had a wonderful literature teacher, Mrs. Heroian, who had a lending library in her classroom. I think I read almost every book she had. As long as all our work was completed during the week, she would spend the entire class time on Fridays reading to us. She was instrumental in continuing my passion for books and taking it to a new level.
As for writing, in a sense I’ve done it nearly all my life. Even before I put words on paper, I would make up stories in my head. Some were inspired by something as simple as a picture in a magazine. I also did a lot of day dreaming as a child. This got me into a little trouble now and then when it happened in school. I was supposed to be paying attention, but instead my mind was busy concocting stories.
English and literature classes in school often had writing assingments of short stories or essays. I loved those assingments. Whatever I wrote was almost always chosen by the teacher to read aloud. That was a huge affirmation of my writing. This is probably what convinced me that I should continue writing. I’ve been doing it ever since.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors cover a wide range of genres and time periods – Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Charlotte Bronte, Stephen King, Anne Rice, Jodi Picoult, Alice Hoffman, Robert Ludlum, Sue Monk Kidd, Martha Hall Kelley, and Eileen Charbonneau, to name a few.
Historical fiction is my favorite genre, but I also like paranormal, some horror, thrillers, memoirs, biographies, and historical non-fiction. I’ll read almost any genre as long as it’s a good story.
All of the authors listed above inspire me. Eileen Charbonneau has been the most important to me, though. We are both published by the same publishing company. Eileen did the editing for Kelegeen. She and I do author talks and book signings together. She’s an award winning novelist with a wealth of experience and knowledge and has been a fantastic mentor for me. She’s also one heck of a good writer. Her latest book, Seven Aprils, is the first in her American Civil War series. It’s fantastic!
Tell us a little about your latest book?
At the moment, I only have one book published. My debut novel is Kelegeen. It is set in Ireland during the Great Hunger (aka Potato Famine). The book came about because while I was working on my undergraduate degree in history, my Irish history professor gave me an assignment to write a diary as if I was a parish priest in Ireland during the time of the Great Hunger. I loved that assingment. When it was completed I realized I had the outline of a novel. After several years , a lot of hard work, and many rewrites it became what is now Kelegeen.
The title comes from name of the fictional town in which the story is set. My original title was “The Hungerdance”, but that was back when I first started writing it, long before the Hunger Games came on the scene. To avoid confusion, I decided to change the title. Though there are very definite main characters (Meg O’Connor, Rory Quinn, Father Brian O’Malley, and Dr. Martin Parker), the story delves into the lives and hardships of all the people of Kelegeen including how they pulled together trying to help one another survive. So naming the book for the town seemed appropriate.
Here is the blurb for the book:
Ireland 1846
Meg O’Connor, daughter of poor Irish cottiers, eagerly anticipates her wedding to Rory Quinn. Her dreams of marriage and family vanish along with Ireland’s potato crop when Kelegeen’s inhabitants awaken one morning to find their sole source of food destroyed by blight.
At first Meg and Rory are able to use their skills, hers of sewing and his of wood carving, to provide for themselves and their families. But tragedy and a costly mistake end those means of survival forcing them into more dangerous ventures.
As An Gorta Mór, the Great Hunger, continues to churn through Ireland ravaging the country’s peasantry with no let up in sight, Meg is compelled to make the most difficult decision of her life. What she chooses could be the salvation of the O’Connor and Quinn families or it could separate her forever from all she knows and loves.
I am currently working on the sequel to Kelegeen which will be titled Erin’s Children. It will follow some of the characters from Kelegeen who came to America to escape the Great Hunger. Erin’s Children is set in Worcester, Massachusetts. I’m having a blast researching the history of my city during the 1850s for this book.
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I’m looking forward to reading ” Erin’s Children”. I can hardly wait to see what happens to Meg – although after reading “Kelegeen”, I’m sure that Meg makes things happen!