Beginner’s Pluck: Cork County Council writer in residence Leeanne O’Donnell

With the distraction of small children, it took Leeanne 10 years to complete her debut

Leeanne O'Donnell's 'Sparks of Bright Matter', which is set in 18th century London and rural Ireland, is a mix of the historical and metaphysical.

As a child and teenager, Leeanne would read anything.

“As a teen I adored JD Sallinger and Dickins, and I read Anna Karenina before a school trip to Russia.”