Danielle McLaughlin tests positive for literary ability

From the concept of dinosaurs on other planets to a skull found in a forest, no idea is wasted by Cork author Danielle McLaughlin, says Collette Sheridan

DANIELLE McLaughlin came to writing relatively late in life. The former solicitor, 46, who lives in Donoughmore, Co Cork with her husband and three children, became ill in 2009 and gave up work. Although she had dabbled at writing in previous years, nothing came of it.

Before signing up for a writers’ workshop which was a revelation to her, McLaughlin says: “I had this idea that one was either a writer or one wasn’t. A writer was this mystical being and you had to find out whether or not you were one. It seemed to be like allergy testing. And who would you get to administer the test?”