I’d like to welcome Louise Phillips to my blog, her second book ,The Doll’s House, is now out and it is a gripping crime novel. I asked Louise about her writing deadlines, writing spot, her next book and she shares her inspiration about the second book with us. The Doll’s House is published by Hachette Ireland, release date: 1st August 2013. It’s part of the 3 for 2 offer in Easons so get buying!
About Louise Phillips
Born in Dublin, Louise Phillips returned to writing in 2006, after raising her family. That year, she was selected by Dermot Bolger as an emerging talent. Her work has been published as part of many anthologies, including County Lines from New Island, and various literary journals. In 2009, she won the Jonathan Swift Award for her short story Last Kiss, and in 2011 she was a winner in the Irish Writers’ Centre Lonely Voice platform. She has also been short-listed for the Molly Keane Memorial Award, Bridport UK, and long-listed twice for the RTE Guide/Penguin Short Story Competition. Her bestselling debut novel, Red Ribbons, was shortlisted for Best Irish Crime Novel of the Year (2012) in the Irish Book Awards. The Doll’s House is her second novel.
THE DOLL’S HOUSE has been described by crime writer,Niamh O’ Connor, as ‘chilling, mesmerising. Gets under your skin and stays with you,’ and by Myles Mc Weeney of the Irish Independent, as, ‘A gripping, suspenseful story, peopled with well-drawn characters…’
Interview
How do you meet your writing deadlines?
Deadlines are the worst and best things for a writer, but by and large they are a necessary part of the writing process. I’ve learned that I like to meet deadlines. Because of that, long before they are even looming, I’m thinking about them. One of the principle things that stop most people writing is not necessarily a lack of discipline, but fear. We all have high expectations of ourselves and will do almost anything to avoid not living up to those expectations when it comes to putting words on the page. We mow the grass, clean the house, or watch mindless television. In a way the deadline cuts out your choice of avoidance. You simply have to sit and write, and by doing so, words are created. They may not be as wonderful as you would want them to be to begin with, but they will get better!
Tell me about your writing spot.
I have an attic room in which I do most of my writing, but I do tend to move about. If I write my first draft in one place, I will edit in another. Sometimes if I’m digging deep into a character, I will find a spot in the house, and stay there until the voice is fully formulised. By and large, it’s important to have a place to call your own, whether that’s a small corner of your bedroom or at the kitchen table when everyone else in the house has gone to bed. I think having your own space is vital for a writer. It says, this is where I write, and that’s an important statement.
Can you tell us anything about your next book?
For my second novel THE DOLL’S HOUSE, an overheard conversation about hypnosis was the initial hook in creating the story, one which is based on the practice of mental regression and the dangerous possibilities it opened up. Myles Mc Weeney of the Irish Independent talking about The Doll’s House, said, the past and present collided with deadly effectwith a sequel that betters my debut – a gripping, suspenseful story peopled with well-drawn characters.
I think I will always strive to create something new and exciting in each of my novels. I’ve already started novel 3 and you could describe it as a femme fatale story, a psychological thriller with a turn on your head twist as the novel develops.
INSPIRATION
‘We all think we remember things as they happened, but we don’t. The mind takes shortcuts. Instead of returning to our actual memory, it returns to our last recall of it, and as time passes, more pieces of the original memory slip away and extra layers are added, until it has the potential to be completely obscured,’ says Louise Phillips, author of The Doll’s House.
An overheard conversation about hypnosis led Louise Phillips to base her second novel on the practise of mental regression and the horrifying possibilities it opened up for her narrative. ‘What I loved about the story that developed for The Doll’s House was the idea that through hypnosis you had the ability to return to your past, where a pure memory exists… but your subconscious mind can erect barriers if it needs to protect you.’
As a writer, Louise was intrigued by how hypnosis works and even attempted regression herself. “I foolishly thought it would be plain sailing. Unfortunately, my conscious mind had other ideas, and to an extent I became a victim of the level of research I had done. Sometimes, it’s not a good thing to know too much. After three attempts, I shelved the idea but recently had my first session with a new hypnotist recommended by Keith Barry, so watch this space!”
People say that the truth can set you free… But what if the truth is not something you want to hear?
Book Trailer – The Doll’s House
Book Trailer – The Doll’s House
Blurb of The Doll’s House
PEOPLE SAY THAT THE TRUTH CAN SET YOU FREE.
BUT WHAT IF THE TRUTH IS NOT SOMETHING YOU WANT TO HEAR?
Thirty-five years ago Adrian Hamilton drowned. At the time his death was reported as a tragic accident but the exact circumstances remained a mystery.
Now his daughter Clodagh, trying to come to terms with her past, visits a hypnotherapist who unleashes disturbing childhood memories of her father’s death. And as Clodagh delves deeper into her subconscious, memories of another tragedy come to light – the death of her baby sister.
Meanwhile criminal psychologist Dr Kate Pearson is called in to help in the investigation of a murder after a body is found in a Dublin canal. When Kate digs beneath the surface of the killing, she discovers a sinister connection to the Hamilton family.
What terrible events took place in the Hamilton house all those years ago? And what connect them to the recent murder?
Time is running out for Clodagh and Kate.
And the killer has already chosen his next victim…
Connect with Louise
Michelle Moloney King 