It’s not a surprise that we love Dervla McTiernan here at Riverbend Books. We were excited to catch up with her recently when she came to sign copies of her new book, The Murder Rule.
1. Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I am such a plotter it is not even funny. I am like colour-coded spreadsheets level of plotting. Yup. Has to be done.
2. As you’re writing, who do you have in mind as your ideal reader?
Oh man, that is such a tricky one. I don’t ever have an ideal reader. I write the story that I would like to read! It’s so selfish. But I do, I write the story that I would like to read. So, myself.
3. That makes sense. Isn’t that what they say? If you’re looking for a specific kind of book to read but you can’t find it, you should write it yourself?
They say that. I’ve heard screenwriters talking about that about movies, you write the movie that you want to see in the world so it kind of makes sense to me.
4. Do you have a favourite writing place?
Home. Home with a cup of tea and a warm room.
5. What element of your writing brings out the grammar police in your editor?
Repeated words I would say. It’s not a grammar thing so much as I tend to repeat words. Or there’s always something like with The Ruin it was ‘looking.’ Everyone was looking at each other constantly. So I had to cull all of that and I was over that by the time The Scholar came along but then I had something else, some other repeated little thing like a phrase or a word that you’re suddenly fascinated by that you’re just using to death. So that is probably what happens more than any grammatical thing.
6. Are you reading anything at the moment?
Oh! What did I just read? I read Jane Casey’s new book, again, on the plane back for an event and it was brilliant and I wish I could tell you the title, to tell you! But it’s really really good, and I thoroughly enjoyed it and very very clever and sharp. (We looked this up after the interview and Dervla is talking about The Killing Kind.)
The Murder Rule
by Dervla McTiernan
First Rule: Make them like you. Second Rule: Make them need you. Third Rule: Make them pay.
They think I'm a young, idealistic law student, that I'm passionate about reforming a corrupt and brutal system. They think I'm working hard to impress them. They think I'm here to save an innocent man on death row. They're wrong. I'm going to bury him.
