Interview With Carmel Harrington
After having the chance to read and review Beyond Grace's Rainbow (Carmel's debut novel) I was so excited to have the chance to chat to her about the book and whether we can expect any more tear jerkers from her in the future!
1. Beyond Grace's Rainbow is amazing. Where did the initial idea for the book stem from?
Thank you Laura, that's so lovely to hear! I've always been fascinated with rainbows, ever since I watched The Wizard of Oz as a child. It was and remains one of my favorite childrens movies ever. So I think whatever book I wrote, rainbows would have found their way into the story somehow. Graces story however started following a chat with my best friend Annie, who is adopted. She was struggling with the fact that she didn't know her biological families medical history. It sparked the idea in my head of a heroine with a life threatening illness, that needed the help of an unknown family member. Would that biological family help? The story developed from that and kind of took on a life of its own.
2. BGR is an emotional roller-coaster, did you find yourself becoming emotional during the writing process?
It was incredibly emotional for me Laura. I cried a lot when I wrote it and certainly the day I finished it. When I initially wrote the first draft, I had yet to have my own family. So when I did the rewrites in 2012 and got it ready to publish, my own situation had changed and all of a sudden the possibility of Jack, Graces young son, being left without any parents took on a whole new meaning. I struggled a lot and worried for him and Grace enormously.
If I'm honest, I still get emotional if I go back read certain chapters.
3. Did you have to carry out a lot of research into leukemia to write some scenes of this novel?
I did do a lot of research Laura, because I wanted to be respectful to anyone who might read and who may have had cancer, or indeed had themselves watched a loved one battle chemo or bone marrow transplants. I did however have firsthand experience unfortunately with cancer, as my grandmother had died from it and we were very close.
4. Have you based any of the characters on people you know?
No all fiction, although a lot of friends who know me very well feel that there is a lot of me in Grace and I think that's fair. Some quirks of Gerry's are mine - like for e.g. I love movie quotes!
5. Do you have a strict writing routine?
I write every day, it may not be on my current WIP but I do write something Laura. But when I get really into a WIP, I have found that I have no need to be strict on myself, because I just can't help but keep going until the story concludes.
6. If you could give aspiring authors one piece of advice, what would it be?
Laura, first and foremost you must believe in yourself. Believe that you can be a published author, that you are good enough. Then, quite simply write. Don't stop till you have completed your WIP whether that's a short story, novella or novel. Just write.
And if you find writing quite solitary and it most certainly can be, I cannot recommend enough the benefits of joining a writing group.
7. Can we expect any more novels from you soon?
I've completed my second novel and that is with Harper Impulse right now, with a publish date of mid December I believe. I'm working on a sequel to Beyond Graces Rainbow right now, which is hugely enjoyable catching up with old friends.
Quick Fire:
What is your....
favourite colour?
Green
favourite song?
O mio caro babbino by Puccini or Somewhere Over The Rainbow
favourite book?
Impossible to name just one!
favourite word?
Love
favourite food?
Risotto
favourite season?
Winter
favourite tv show?
Downton Abbey
favourite author?
Again impossible to name one!
favourite animal?
Horse
favourite day of the week?
Saturday
HUGE thank you to Carmel for taking the time to answer these questions. I hope you enjoyed finding out a bit more about her!
1. Beyond Grace's Rainbow is amazing. Where did the initial idea for the book stem from?
Thank you Laura, that's so lovely to hear! I've always been fascinated with rainbows, ever since I watched The Wizard of Oz as a child. It was and remains one of my favorite childrens movies ever. So I think whatever book I wrote, rainbows would have found their way into the story somehow. Graces story however started following a chat with my best friend Annie, who is adopted. She was struggling with the fact that she didn't know her biological families medical history. It sparked the idea in my head of a heroine with a life threatening illness, that needed the help of an unknown family member. Would that biological family help? The story developed from that and kind of took on a life of its own.
2. BGR is an emotional roller-coaster, did you find yourself becoming emotional during the writing process?
It was incredibly emotional for me Laura. I cried a lot when I wrote it and certainly the day I finished it. When I initially wrote the first draft, I had yet to have my own family. So when I did the rewrites in 2012 and got it ready to publish, my own situation had changed and all of a sudden the possibility of Jack, Graces young son, being left without any parents took on a whole new meaning. I struggled a lot and worried for him and Grace enormously.
If I'm honest, I still get emotional if I go back read certain chapters.
3. Did you have to carry out a lot of research into leukemia to write some scenes of this novel?
I did do a lot of research Laura, because I wanted to be respectful to anyone who might read and who may have had cancer, or indeed had themselves watched a loved one battle chemo or bone marrow transplants. I did however have firsthand experience unfortunately with cancer, as my grandmother had died from it and we were very close.
4. Have you based any of the characters on people you know?
No all fiction, although a lot of friends who know me very well feel that there is a lot of me in Grace and I think that's fair. Some quirks of Gerry's are mine - like for e.g. I love movie quotes!
5. Do you have a strict writing routine?
I write every day, it may not be on my current WIP but I do write something Laura. But when I get really into a WIP, I have found that I have no need to be strict on myself, because I just can't help but keep going until the story concludes.
6. If you could give aspiring authors one piece of advice, what would it be?
Laura, first and foremost you must believe in yourself. Believe that you can be a published author, that you are good enough. Then, quite simply write. Don't stop till you have completed your WIP whether that's a short story, novella or novel. Just write.
And if you find writing quite solitary and it most certainly can be, I cannot recommend enough the benefits of joining a writing group.
7. Can we expect any more novels from you soon?
I've completed my second novel and that is with Harper Impulse right now, with a publish date of mid December I believe. I'm working on a sequel to Beyond Graces Rainbow right now, which is hugely enjoyable catching up with old friends.
Quick Fire:
What is your....
favourite colour?
Green
favourite song?
O mio caro babbino by Puccini or Somewhere Over The Rainbow
favourite book?
Impossible to name just one!
favourite word?
Love
favourite food?
Risotto
favourite season?
Winter
favourite tv show?
Downton Abbey
favourite author?
Again impossible to name one!
favourite animal?
Horse
favourite day of the week?
Saturday
HUGE thank you to Carmel for taking the time to answer these questions. I hope you enjoyed finding out a bit more about her!