I love the fact that I can write about characters, situations and emotional experiences that connect with people all over the world.

I'd written creative fiction as a young child, only because I wanted to. I later went to art school and wound up working in publishing and journalism. Only after 9/11, in late 2001, did I start writing fiction, probably as a way to interpret a fracturing world.

With hindsight, I could say that I wish I'd done literature or creative writing at college, gotten onto this path sooner. But my experiences made me the writer that I am, so I wouldn't change a thing.

The most important thing for a writer is to be read and Smashwords made that happen for me.

Smashwords is wonderful because it works for authors. Being able to get my books into the Apple Books and Barnes and Noble stores has been key to my sales success.

George Orwell is my number one and my aim is to someday write a dystopian thriller to rival Nineteen Eighty-Four. Orwell's essays are well worth a read as most of his topics - fascism, imperialism - are still so relevant. I enjoy reading Norman Mailer, David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas), George RR Martin and Philip K Dick. Ernest Hemingway also impresses me and I must give a big shout out to EH Gombrich, whose The Story of Art is the most amazing journey through art.

I grew up in Limerick, a small town in the west of Ireland, best known for Angela's Ashes, Richard Harris, rugby and The Cranberries. Limerick influenced my writing directly in giving me the location for my Dagger Award-nominated crime thriller, Pure Mad. Limerick has a rich and crazy history, from Viking invasion to a siege by Oliver Cromwell's army, when English commander Henry Ireton took the city by cruel and duplicitous means and then died of bubonic plague. Nice!

Limerick has enjoyed rugby success with Munster and Thomond Park. With a buzzing nightlife, and the enormous River Shannon cutting through it, Limerick is highly recommended for a brief visit. Tell them I sent you.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Limerick_(1650%E2%80%9351)

Without readers, there's no point writing. So my readers mean everything to me.

Aerophobia, a thriller about fear of flying.

The belief that we get one shot at life and it's for a limited time only.

I love being at the beach or in the forest. Handily, Dublin is surrounded by both. I also enjoy meeting friends for dinner, reading, art galleries and travel.