Michelle Dunne: Cobh author on how army life has helped her crime writing
Michelle Dunne, author of The Invisible, in her hometown of Cobh, for the launch of the programme the Spike Island literary festival. Picture: David Keane
When Michelle Dunne joined the army straight from school, she was unsure what path her life would take. Now, as she forges a career as a crime writer, she finds her life experience invaluable. The native of Cobh, Co Cork, says that taking a less than conventional route to writing has stood her in good stead when portraying the darker side of life.
“To this day, I am in awe of any 18-year-old who knows what they want to do with their life. When I was that age, going to college was an alien thing for me because my life was lived outdoors — I loved sport and it was always go go go. It was the lifestyle of the army that really drew me in. It was to give me something to focus on at that time. College wasn’t going to happen and I wanted something that was going to give me experience I wasn’t going to get anywhere else and it certainly did that.”
Dunne, 44, spent five years in the army, serving as an infantry soldier, then UN peacekeeper in the Middle East, becoming an instructor on her return to Ireland. Her family was supportive of her career choice. It helped that her brother was in the Navy, although it led to some worry for her parents when they were both serving abroad for a brief period.
“The panic for them set in when my brother was in Lebanon for six months and then I went out before he came home, so we met each other out there for a week. For a full year, they had one of us out there. I would credit the Lebanon as completely influencing my life and all the work I do in my writing. It opened my eyes so much to how other people live. I went out there a naive girl and I came home an adult.”
Dunne’s latest book, The Invisible, follows on from her first crime novel, While Nobody is Watching, which both feature former soldier Lindsey Ryan. In The Invisible, which is set in Cobh, Ryan comes to the aid of Lena, a Syrian refugee, and is drawn into the dark underworld of human trafficking and prostitution. It is a story that was inspired by Dunne’s own time in Lebanon and also the experience of her former colleagues working at the forefront of the migrant crisis.
“I started writing that book when the Syrian migrant crisis was at its height. I have friends in the navy who patrol the Mediterranean and the stories they came back with were horrific, which is where Lena came out of.”
Dunne says she sees resonances in the current situation in Ukraine. “They are just coming from a different country, they are all trying to escape hell and they are putting their lives on the line. They become so vulnerable. It is the same in Ukraine, how many children have gone missing since this started? So many people will never again turn up. The book is called The Invisible because that is what those people are. They’re gone, where are they? In some cases, nobody is looking for them because they have no family left.”
Dunne lives with her husband and four-year-old daughter in Cobh. While her local knowledge gives The Invisible an added authenticity, she says it could be set in any town in Ireland.
“Human trafficking is happening right under our noses. I have painted a very dark picture of Cobh — I absolutely love Cobh and it is nothing like that — but the point is it could be going on right next door to us, absolutely anywhere, and it is,” she says.
Dunne also leans on her army training when it comes to dealing with the dark subject matter in her writing.
“You have to compartmentalise. It does bring it home when you have a child yourself, you tend to relate everything to your own home life and imagine what if this happened to them.”
In real life, things are looking bright for Dunne, as While Nobody is Watching, the first book in the Lindsey Ryan series, has been optioned for television.
“There is a whole new chapter opening up, which is very exciting. I am having meetings with producers who are involved and it is so exciting to talk about my character, I never thought I would be in that situation,” she says.
She is also looking forward to taking Lindsey Ryan to pastures new in her writing. “She is one of those characters I can return to and possibly go international. I have kept it local up to now but she has huge potential and I love her so much. I’m definitely not done with Lindsey Ryan yet.”
- The Invisible, by Michelle Dunne, published by Bad Ink Press, is out now. Dunne is one of the authors taking part in the Spike Island Literary Festival, September 2-4
