It gives me great pleasure to welcome Trish Moran onto the website today. Trish is the author of sci-fi, fatasy and paranormal fiction for young adults.
Alex: Tell me a bit about yourself.
Trish: I was born in Dublin, Ireland and my family moved to a small town in the Midlands in England when I was very young.
My first teaching job was in London and I enjoyed living there for about five years before I headed off to Greece to work in a British school. That was great fun! Then I lived in Australia for three years. Australia is lovely, but so far from home! I was glad to go back to Greece and my old job.
Finally, I moved back to the UK to be near my family and that’s where I am now. It feels like a complete circle!
Alex: How would you describe your writing, and are there particular themes that you like to explore?
Trish: I write mainly for teenagers and young adults. Most of my novels deal with the struggles many young people have as teenagers – not being a child and yet not having the rights of an adult. Social media makes these struggles even more difficult these days. I write stories with positive or at least, hopeful, outcomes. I think reading should buoy you up!
Alex: Are you a writer that plans a detailed synopsis or do you set out with a vague idea and let the story unfold as you write?
Trish: Usually, I get an idea and jot down an outline of the story. When I actually start writing, it changes every few chapters and I am constantly going back to edit the previous events and characters to fit in with my latest ideas! The finished product is very different to my first notes!
Alex: Tell me a bit about yourself.
Trish: I was born in Dublin, Ireland and my family moved to a small town in the Midlands in England when I was very young.
My first teaching job was in London and I enjoyed living there for about five years before I headed off to Greece to work in a British school. That was great fun! Then I lived in Australia for three years. Australia is lovely, but so far from home! I was glad to go back to Greece and my old job.
Finally, I moved back to the UK to be near my family and that’s where I am now. It feels like a complete circle!
Alex: How would you describe your writing, and are there particular themes that you like to explore?
Trish: I write mainly for teenagers and young adults. Most of my novels deal with the struggles many young people have as teenagers – not being a child and yet not having the rights of an adult. Social media makes these struggles even more difficult these days. I write stories with positive or at least, hopeful, outcomes. I think reading should buoy you up!
Alex: Are you a writer that plans a detailed synopsis or do you set out with a vague idea and let the story unfold as you write?
Trish: Usually, I get an idea and jot down an outline of the story. When I actually start writing, it changes every few chapters and I am constantly going back to edit the previous events and characters to fit in with my latest ideas! The finished product is very different to my first notes!
Alex: Tell us about your latest novel.
Trish: Sage, book one of the Enchanted Series was published in March 2021. I first got the idea when I was visiting an old castle with friends. I overhead a young child asking her mother, ‘Where do all the dragons and the wizards live now, mummy?’ Sage is sixteen when she discovers she has magical powers and that she is one of the Gifted community in The Valley where she lives with her grandparents. With two close friends, who are also Gifted, she learns to develop and control her powers. Things get serious when Nefarus, a Daemon, appears. He is determined to take control of both Earth world and the alternative magical world, Aurum. The three friends venture into Aurum to seek the help of Merlin, the only one powerful enough to stop Nefarus.
Alex: What was the first book you read?
Trish: The first book that I read by myself that made an impact on me was The Slimtails, about a family of mice who had a weevil as a pet. It was the first book I borrowed from the library. I was five years old and didn’t have my own library ticket as I had to get my parents to sign a form, but my brother lent me one of his tickets so I could borrow this book. I was hooked on reading from that day! I still love going to the library.
Alex: How much research do you do and what does it usually entail?
Trish: It depends on the story. I use Google a lot for articles, facts and images for details in my stories. For the Clones trilogy, I read newspaper and magazine articles about cloning around the world. Often, people I know will share cloning news with me even now. I do find it fascinating and quite scary! If I’m struggling to picture a place clearly, I look at images, usually Google again, to inspire me. I also take photos of places that I think I can use.
Trish: Sage, book one of the Enchanted Series was published in March 2021. I first got the idea when I was visiting an old castle with friends. I overhead a young child asking her mother, ‘Where do all the dragons and the wizards live now, mummy?’ Sage is sixteen when she discovers she has magical powers and that she is one of the Gifted community in The Valley where she lives with her grandparents. With two close friends, who are also Gifted, she learns to develop and control her powers. Things get serious when Nefarus, a Daemon, appears. He is determined to take control of both Earth world and the alternative magical world, Aurum. The three friends venture into Aurum to seek the help of Merlin, the only one powerful enough to stop Nefarus.
Alex: What was the first book you read?
Trish: The first book that I read by myself that made an impact on me was The Slimtails, about a family of mice who had a weevil as a pet. It was the first book I borrowed from the library. I was five years old and didn’t have my own library ticket as I had to get my parents to sign a form, but my brother lent me one of his tickets so I could borrow this book. I was hooked on reading from that day! I still love going to the library.
Alex: How much research do you do and what does it usually entail?
Trish: It depends on the story. I use Google a lot for articles, facts and images for details in my stories. For the Clones trilogy, I read newspaper and magazine articles about cloning around the world. Often, people I know will share cloning news with me even now. I do find it fascinating and quite scary! If I’m struggling to picture a place clearly, I look at images, usually Google again, to inspire me. I also take photos of places that I think I can use.
Alex: Do you ever base your characters on people you have encountered in real life?
Trish: I often identify a character as being someone I know, even when they are not completely like them. I use different characteristics from different people I know or have met in many of my characters. I think, what would so-and-so do in this situation? How would they react? I don’t think anyone would recognise themselves in my books.
Alex: Which was the last book you read that blew you away?
Trish: The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist. A very dark book set in Sweden in the future where single and childless women over fifty and men over sixty are sent to live out their remaining years. During this time, they are used for medical and psychological experiments to benefit the other useful members of society. I hope it doesn’t ever come to this!
Alex: How do you market your books?
Marketing is so much harder than writing! I use social media to try to connect with readers and I have a blog where I interview readers and writers.
I prefer actual writers' events where I can meet other authors and readers. I’ve taken part in school workshops, which I enjoyed, though I was nervous at first going into secondary schools as I used to teach at primary level but they were fun. Meeting up with reading groups in a cosy café and chatting about books and writing is a great way to while away an hour or two! Lockdown put all these events on hold, but hopefully, they’ll be organised again before too long.
Alex: What are your interests aside from writing? And what do you do to unwind?
Trish: I love reading. Since our last house move, I’ve been trying to cut down on buying books, so I use my kindle and borrow books from the library more these days. We still have quite a few books in the house though!
I enjoy going for walks. We found quite a few new ones over the past year or so. I take a lot of photos on our walks.
The gym is another place where I go to unwind. I don’t really work up too much of a sweat; more of a glow!
Alex: Trish. It's lovely having you on the website. Thank you so much for popping over.
Trish: Thank you, Alex. It's very nice to be invited.
Trish: I often identify a character as being someone I know, even when they are not completely like them. I use different characteristics from different people I know or have met in many of my characters. I think, what would so-and-so do in this situation? How would they react? I don’t think anyone would recognise themselves in my books.
Alex: Which was the last book you read that blew you away?
Trish: The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist. A very dark book set in Sweden in the future where single and childless women over fifty and men over sixty are sent to live out their remaining years. During this time, they are used for medical and psychological experiments to benefit the other useful members of society. I hope it doesn’t ever come to this!
Alex: How do you market your books?
Marketing is so much harder than writing! I use social media to try to connect with readers and I have a blog where I interview readers and writers.
I prefer actual writers' events where I can meet other authors and readers. I’ve taken part in school workshops, which I enjoyed, though I was nervous at first going into secondary schools as I used to teach at primary level but they were fun. Meeting up with reading groups in a cosy café and chatting about books and writing is a great way to while away an hour or two! Lockdown put all these events on hold, but hopefully, they’ll be organised again before too long.
Alex: What are your interests aside from writing? And what do you do to unwind?
Trish: I love reading. Since our last house move, I’ve been trying to cut down on buying books, so I use my kindle and borrow books from the library more these days. We still have quite a few books in the house though!
I enjoy going for walks. We found quite a few new ones over the past year or so. I take a lot of photos on our walks.
The gym is another place where I go to unwind. I don’t really work up too much of a sweat; more of a glow!
Alex: Trish. It's lovely having you on the website. Thank you so much for popping over.
Trish: Thank you, Alex. It's very nice to be invited.
