Beginner’s Pluck: Jenny Ireland
Jenny Ireland, author. Photograph Moya Nolan
Jenny comes from a family of readers, but as a child she preferred TV.
“There were some books that I loved, but I didn’t write, and I hadn’t a clue what I wanted to do.” After university, Jenny worked for two years as a para legal, but then quit because, suffering with anxiety, she realised the life wasn’t for her.
“I got married, had children, and after the second one, Rory, was born, I suffered from sleep deprivation, and started writing.”
She kept going and completed four, (unpublished,) middle grade novels (for eight- to 12-year-olds). “I bombarded an agent — and I just kept going and going,” she says.
Meanwhile, at 23, Jenny was diagnosed with arthritis. And in 2019, she contracted a virus which led to encephalitis, an infection of the brain.
“I had two surgeries, and a spell in ICU,” she says. “My recovery was brutal. I was on a lot of steroids and put on a stone in a month. I had terrible acne too and hated that I minded how I looked.”
This near-death experience cemented Jenny’s ambition to write. And in 2020, gaining a mentorship through, Penguin Write Now, Jenny wrote a draft of her debut. She then gained a two-book deal.
1986/ Sidcup, Kent, but moved to Belfast as a baby.
Belfast Royal Academy. University of Liverpool: Law and French.
Green Island, Co Antrim.
Husband, Chris, children Lyla, 10 and Rory 9. Border collie, Casey.
Fulltime writer.
“I’d be a doctor. Half my family are medics and I watch too much .”
Patrick Ness; David Almond; Maeve Binchy; Sally Rooney; Sarah Crossan.
Second Book: “It’s another teenage romance.”
“Be open to inspiration from movies, music and people watching.”
Twitter: @idreamofNarnia
Living with Arthritis, using crutches, Juliet withdraws from her friends, preferring to play online chess. As ‘PrettyBasic’ she forms an online relationship with ‘Alonelypawn’. Back at school, a new boy, Ronan, arouses interest. But is he arrogant, or has he his own demons? And does the cynical Juliet deserve a love story?
A gorgeous, heartwarming YA book, showing the importance of empathy.
