This month we got to chat to the fantastic Irish children’s author, Eve McDonnell.
TPP: Why did you want to tell Brewster’s story?
EM: I found a teeny paragraph about a young chimney sweep who made a HUGE difference to the lives of all children – and I had to share his forgotten story!
TPP: What made you decide to move the setting from Cambridge in England to Birr Castle in Co. Offaly?
EM: Brewster is a genius at mathematics, and I wondered where he had found the knowledge he needed to predict a meteor storm. I pictured him on the roof of a large house, but it needed to be a place swamped in science. Birr Castle is in the centre of Ireland and was once like the centre of the universe because it had the world’s largest telescope. It was a marvel of its day – the perfect place to set The Last Boy!
TPP: How much research was involved in writing The Last Boy?
EM: Bucket-loads! I researched everything from chimney sweeps, child labour and Victorian times to meteor storms, comets and crystal balls. I love research!
TPP: How long have you been writing?
EM: From the age of eight I wrote in my diary every night – I included little stories about my day (I also stuck in treasures, sweet wrappers, horoscopes, and even hair and nail clippings – ugh!). I suppose you could call that world-building.
TPP: Why did you want to become a writer?
EM: Because it is the best job in the world!
TPP: Can you remember the first book you ever read and loved?
EM: Yes, and it’s an odd one! The first book I recall reading and loving was a huge, brown, leatherbound copy of the dictionary! It was so heavy that even opening it felt like something special, and I was fascinated to think that there were so many words in there that I had yet to discover – a bit like finding a hidden cupboard in a sweetshop that’s stuffed with peculiar sweets that you’ve never seen before. I spent hours upon hours reading it and testing myself to see if I could guess the meaning of peculiar words!
TPP: Who are your favourite authors?
EM: There are so many to mention! Ireland is known as the land of storytellers, and we are living up to that name with so many incredible Irish children’s writers like Pádraig Kenny, Helena Duggan, Patricia Forde and Sinéad O’Hart who all write world-class stories. Further afield, favourites include Louis Sachar, David Almond, Emma Carroll and Lesley Parr. Oh, and then there’s Sam Thompson too – his Wolfstongue Saga is phenomenal!
TPP: What would you be if you weren’t an author?
EM: I would be a full time professional Wonderlarker (see the next question!).
TPP: Aside from reading and writing, do you have any hobbies?
EM: I love to go Wonderlarking – it’s a bit like treasure hunting, but instead of searching for silver and gold, I am searching for wonder in the world around us. All my stories come from my escapades out Wonderlarking: I once found a stone with a hole in it (a ‘hagstone’). I had heard that if you look through such a hagstone, you might see another world, but rather than see elsewhere, I wondered if I might see another time – ‘elsetime’ (this word should be in the dictionary, don’t you think?). It inspired my first book of the same name, Elsetime. Likewise, I found a delicate leaf skeleton one day and I wondered if all those tiny golden threads that made up its form might actually be a map to a mysterious underground world. It inspired me to write The Chestnut Roaster, a story set in the 200 miles of tunnels hidden deep beneath Paris. For my latest book, The Last Boy, rather than search for wonder down low, I looked up – and guess what I saw? A shooting star! Of course, I made a wish, but I wondered if it would be possible to predict a storm of stars so that I could cast my wish on not one but millions of stars. Brewster in The Last Boy does exactly that!
TPP: What is your favourite part about being an author?
EM: There are so many brilliant things about being an author – it truly is the best job in the world – but my favourite part is visiting schools, libraries and festivals, where I can chat about creativity and stories with young readers and writers!
TPP: What is your favourite book of all time?
EM: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum. I have read it countless times and still have my copy that was gifted to me over 40 years ago. It has stunning illustrations by W. W. Denslow. If I close my eyes, I can still see them!
TPP: What is your number one tip for aspiring writers?
EM: Read! Read! Read!
