Amanda Brobyn was a bank manager. Regional manager for all the business and commercial sectors for a very large bank in Northern Ireland, she gave it all up for her writing.
"I was doing a Masters on script writing — working three full days, and travelling 60 miles to college on the other days. I did my assignments and research in the evenings and at weekends, but when it came to my dissertation I had to make a choice. 2010 was hard. But I graduated that year, and got a three book deal."
Amanda is also an actress. She had roles in the films, Fifty Dead Men Walking and Be More Ethnic.
"And I was the face of Northern Ireland’s largest anti-sectarian campaign, Just one Step.
Who is Amanda?
Date of birth: May 26, 1971. Place: Liverpool. Education: St Hilda’s Church of England school, then Edgehill College. Masters at the University of Ulster. Home: Northern Ireland. Family: Husband Stephen and children, Josh, 5, and Harriet, 3. The Day Job: Writer and mother. Hobbies: Doing things with my children, and reading. Favourite Writers: Cecelia Ahern. "I find her books mesmerising. She’s so young, yet so insightful." Second Novel: The Curry Club. It’s a denser book. I originally wrote it as a TV series, so I had the characters and plot already. I’ve nearly finished it. Top Writing Tip: Be disciplined. Postpone the hoovering. Don’t let your epitaph be that you kept an immaculate house. Web: www.amandabrobyn.com
The Debut
Crystal Balls. Poolbeg. €9.99.
Tina Harding goes to a psychic fair, and is warned she must trust her decisions. She feels she’s found her life’s Satnav. But the more she follows it, the crazier life gets.
"It’s a comedy, but it has a serious message. Cars come with Satnavs, people don’t. Never try to cheat the natural course of life. I’ve always been fascinated by clairvoyants. I had my first reading at 24, and I found myself trying to live by it. I was so silly. I came back to the real world but the fascination remained."
The Verdict
Funny and moves at a furious pace.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Saturday, April 30, 2011
