Beginner’s Pluck: Marie O’Connor's debut for fans of cosy crime

Legal secretary gave up twice but kept being drawn back to writing

Marie O'Connor: 'I wrote a novel, aged nine, in a copybook.'

A tomboy, who was always in the countryside, Marie wrote from a young age.

“I wrote a novel, aged nine, in a copybook,” she says. “And, as an adult, I wrote a lot of short stories, as a challenge to myself.”

Leaving college, Marie worked as a videotape editor for TV3, covering news, current affairs, and entertainment.

“And then, wanting a change, she worked as a window dresser for Marks and Spencer in Dublin’s Mary Street.

“I was living and working in Dublin for 10 years.”

In 2008, Marie returned to the West, and worked for Hickey Fabrics in Galway.

“It was a great job, but quite difficult. I wanted another change and became a legal secretary. I love law; it reminds me of working in the newsroom — there’s that same air of dignity. I’ve been in that job since.”

As a legal secretary she started writing again.

“I started with a children’s book, then began my debut. I gave up twice but kept being drawn back.”

Who is Marie O’Connor?

Date/place of birth: 1974 in Castlebar.

Education: Davit College, Castlebar; FÁS in Tralee, TV production; interior design, in Dublin as night course.

Home: Galway City.

Family: All in Mayo.

The day job: Legal secretary.

In another life: “I’d be a ‘Nose,’ and work for a perfumery in the south of France.”

Favourite writers: Sean O’Faolain; Alexander Solzhenitsyn; Marita Conlon McKenna; AJ Pearce; Frank O’Connor.

Second book: “It’s the second in the trilogy.”

Top tip: “Be honest with yourself. If you believe in yourself, go for it.”

Instagram: @marieoconnor7277

The debut

Whispers on Main Street; Poolbeg Press, €16.99/ Kindle, €3.49

It’s 1961 in rural Ballantur, and Nate Wheatley, in running a mobile grocery shop, is the main source of communication and gossip for the community. But when the local postman is found dead, soon after an altercation with Nate, the gossip focuses on him.

The town simmers with harmful whispers. And it falls to the new garda, Caitlin Kennedy, to seek out the truth.

“A travelling shop called to my mother twice a week, but talking to friends, I realised most people had never heard of them. That was my starting point.”

The verdict: A light and humorous tale for fans of cosy crime.