Interview with Fiona Cassidy

Interview With Fiona Cassidy
Q: Why did you want to start writing?
I’ve always been a passionate reader so for me it was a natural progression to want to write my own novel. My parents were both primary school teachers and fostered a love of literature in me from an early age. I had ambitions to become a newspaper journalist and had actually been offered a place to complete a journalism degree at one of the most prestigious universities in Edinburgh, Scotland but unfortunately wasn’t in a position to accept it as I got pregnant with my son Colm when I was eighteen. The ambition never went away, however, and continued to bubble under the surface whilst I raised my family and held down a full-time job. I think the catalyst for me was when I read a book about adoption several years ago. It annoyed me as to my mind the author had no idea about what they were talking about regarding the feelings and emotions experienced when embarking on a search for birth roots as I had done myself so I decided to write my own fictional story about it (with no research required) and it’s now being published in August!
Q: You received a three book publishing deal in April 2009. How did you celebrate the fabulous news?
I celebrated with friends and family but to be honest was so completely shell shocked at the beginning that I could hardly absorb it fully! Getting a publishing deal for me was a dream come true and although we all have dreams and aspirations we never really expect them to come to fruition! I am in the very privileged position of having an extremely supportive partner, Philip, who always shared the dream with me and continues to do so in whatever I do! He took me away for a lovely (child free) weekend to Dublin several weeks after I secured my deal and it was pure bliss!
Q: Your first novel, Anyone for Seconds? is all about broken families. What can we expect from your second novel, Anyone For Me?
Anyone for Seconds? is a humorous look at modern family life and explores the trials and tribulations of single parenthood and step-families. As a step-mother to Philip’s children I am able to write confidently about the subject although I do have to stress that the horrendous teenage step-daughter in the storyline wasn’t based on any of our daughters!! Anyone for Me? is the story of Ruby Ross (who is one of the main characters in Anyone for Seconds?) and how she goes on an adventure when she embarks upon a mission to trace her birth mother. The book is of a comedic nature but deals with some serious topics. I like books that make me laugh out loud but provide solid storylines about every day issues which is what I try to achieve with my writing! As with Anyone for Seconds? (which reached no. 6 in the Irish Fiction book chart) readers can expect more laughs and appearances from characters they got to know in the first book along with lots of thrills and suspense!
Q: You’ve said you write want you know, and you’ve lived the life as a single parent. What do you think was the hardest part for you in being a single mom?
I think it’s hard to watch your children growing up and feeling somehow different from others who’ve come from the typical ‘nuclear’ family where both parents are together and involved in their children’s lives. In my own personal circumstances my husband and I separated when I was four months pregnant with my daughter Úna and I found the experience of going to ante-natal appointments and scans alone and having no doting father in the labour ward very difficult to deal with. It’s also very hard to admit that you’ve obviously made a mistake. I was very young when I got pregnant and married and had to return to my parent’s house after I gave birth which I found very hard after living away from home for several years. Thankfully, however, I wasn’t on my own for very long. My partner Philip and I have been together now for ten years and he has been the best father my children could ever have wished for! We’ve since had a daughter of our own, Áine, and it’s wonderful to be bringing her up together in a stable and happy environment and knowing that she won’t have to deal with issues that the older children have had to deal with.
Q: What do you think you would be doing if you weren’t writing?
As I love working with the public and am very outgoing and sociable I suspect I would be doing something within marketing or public relations. I already have a scant working background in this area but recently gave up my job as I want to concentrate more on my books! I couldn’t picture myself doing anything else other than writing, however, and would love to make a full-time career out of it. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen!
Q: What character would you say you are most like from Sex in the City?
I don’t think I can pigeon hole myself into being one particular character. I can see myself being a combination of Carrie with her creative writing side and witty observations on life whilst displaying similar traits to feisty Miranda with her constant juggling between work and life as a single mother. As for Philip he’d probably like me to be more like Samantha!
Q: Any guilty pleasures you can share with us?
I don’t have much time to indulge in many pleasures but I have to say I love getting away with Philip on our own. He has taken me several times to a spa hotel in Westport, Co. Mayo who provide reflexology and Indian head massage as part of their weekend package! Obviously this doesn’t happen very often as we have commitments to our children and also as finances simply wouldn’t allow it but it is something I really enjoy and think that every couple need! As for me on my own I just adore eating chocolate, having bubble baths and reading when I can! In fact I’ve been known to do all three at once!
Q: If you could trade lives with one other person- anyone!- for one day, who would it be and why?
I’d love to be in government for a day! I’d relax taxing laws, give better benefits to single parents and couples with young children and put a large dent in third world debt! I’d also make myself chief executive of a worldwide publishing conglomerate and give a new author from Northern Ireland called Fiona Cassidy the opportunity to make all nationalities laugh!
Q: What is your best advice for aspiring writers?
I would advise anyone who is interested in writing to go along to creative writing classes and surround themselves with people who have similar ambitions as you can learn from each other and pick up writing tips! There are also plenty of online forums and websites that would provide support and advice in this area! I would advocate reading as much as possible and ask them to familiarize themselves with publisher’s guidelines if they wish to submit manuscripts for consideration! It’s also useful to have an agent but not essential as I got my publishing deal first and had to choose an agent afterwards as I had three offering to represent me at one stage! An agent is a Godsend when it comes to negotiating contracts and understanding what way the market works. They also give invaluable editorial support! Above all I would advise people not to give up on their dreams. If writing is something you really want to do I would continue. It’s all too easy to get disillusioned as I myself was on many occasions but it’s about picking yourself up, dusting yourself off and tackling every rejection with a steely determination to succeed the next time!
Q: Where would be your dream vacation?
I’d love to take the whole family away on a holiday perhaps to Disneyland or to Australia as we have relatives there who we haven’t seen in a number of years! However any holiday with the family where everyone is happy and relaxed would be a dream for me!