From daydreaming about bank heists to TV adaptations: Andrea Mara on her writing career

She left her job in finance to be a freelance writer. Today, Andrea Mara has eight books under her belt — and a TV adaptation with Sarah Snook and Dakota Fanning in the works, writes Deirdre McArdle

This week, Andrea Mara released her eighth novel, It Should Have Been You. Picture: Gareth Chaney

When she worked in financial services, Andrea Mara would often find herself daydreaming in conference calls.

She wasn’t daydreaming about lying in a hammock on a beach. Mara was more likely to be thinking about what would happen if masked gunmen entered her bank’s Luxembourg office while the video call was going on.