When I'm in the library my brain says ‘we’re writing’
A new psychological thriller set in Mullingar and written by local author Lorraine Murphy threads a fine line between fiction and reality.
‘He Loves Me Not’ follows a divorced single mother, a former member of a “sinister religious cult” called The Messengers, who is now re-entering the dating world years after leaving the cult.
The story is based on a real religious cult in Ireland and the challenges one individual faced when leaving that world behind for new beginnings.
This is Lorraine’s third novel, following her highly rated ‘Into The Woods’ (2022), also set in Mullingar, and ‘Be Careful What You Wish For’ (2023), which were published by Inkubator Books.
“It’s about a lady called Ruth who has decided to go dating again,” says Lorraine.
“This is four years after she left a cult and, obviously, it’s a psychological thriller, so it’s not a case of, ‘We all lived happily ever after’.”
Having released a book in each of the last three Augusts, Lorraine now has the process streamlined. “I start writing in September and have the first draft submitted just before January, so that four months is always my time for writing,” she says.
“I did the same thing this time. It never changes; I write for four hours each day, five days a week. I’d have a certain word count to get through every day, and it’s all very structured.”
The system worked yet again, and Lorraine’s latest release is her “favourite one” yet. With the first one, I was just terrified releasing it – really terrified,” she said.
“It’s pure terror putting yourself out there, but by the second one, I was kind of getting into the routine of it, and I feel like I’m getting the hang of it with this one.”
She credits one local establishment as being particularly helpful to her writing cycle this time around.
“The library in Mullingar is absolutely phenomenal,” she says. “Sometimes I get up and it’s just not working for me in the house. Whatever it is – there are dishes to be done or washing to be put on – and I’d go to the library.
“Once I walk inside the library door, my brain goes, ‘Right, we’re writing here’, and I throw on the earphones and get into it. It’s quite isolating, without interruption, but it’s good as well because you can have a chat, or someone might come up and ask you every now and then, ‘How’s it going?’.”
Lorraine hopes the new thriller will follow her last, ‘Be Careful What You Wish For’, into the emerging audiobook market. “The audiobook rights were sold for that; it’s in production at the moment and will be on Audible,” she says. It was fantastic to have Aoife McMahon doing the reading for it. She’s done the audiobooks for all of the top Irish writers. The likes of ‘Normal People’ by Sally Rooney – she’s done Maeve Binchy, Marian Keyes, and all these guys – and she’s very good. “Hopefully, we can sell the rights to this third one as well.”
Basing the book in Mullingar was a huge help to Lorraine’s writing process. “I like to get into the action, and if I can get into the action without a ‘world build’, then that’s a great help,” she says. “The first book was set around Mullingar, and the second was set around Malahide and Swords, places I know really well from growing up there.
“I just love to get straight in. I get impatient, so whereas some people like to build a world, like in 1850s France, I just want to get moving.”
Lorraine says fellow Mullingar author Patricia Gibney has been a great source of inspiration. “I first met her doing a panel discussion on writing in Mullingar library a while back, and she’s always been so supportive of me,” she says.
“I’ve met her a few times since, and her books are just fantastic.
“Patricia is going to officially launch my new book in the library on October 3, and people can come down if they want.”
‘He Loves Me Not’ is on sale now in digital or hard copy format from Amazon, and locally from Just Books.
For those interested in putting pen to paper and writing a novel of their own, Lorraine plans to hold writing classes in Mullingar in the near future.