Lucky 13 Interview With Peadar Ó Guilín

1 – Can you start by telling us a little about your latest book?

The Invasion came out in 2018. It’s the closing book in a YA horror duology about murderous fairies (the Sídhe). In The Invasion, The Sídhe have found a way into our world and they have brought with them an astonishing array of gruesome monsters. I’d love your readers to try it out, but it won’t make much sense to anybody who hasn’t read The Call first.

2 – Are you a plotter or a panster?

I am a pantser, which is both a curse and a misfortune. Since, I have no plan, I get stuck pretty much every day. But the good news is that my stories can take shocking turns that even I don’t see coming. It is by far the most enjoyable aspect of writing in this way. Nothing is safe. Nothing feels like it’s on rails with one fixed destination.

3 – Savoury or sweet?

Every food should have the confidence to be itself and who am I to knock one down or raise up another? I want it all.

4 – Three books to a desert Island. Go!

Anathem by Neal Stephenson

Blood Rites by Barbara Ehrenreich

I, Claudius by Robert Graves

Am I supposed to justify these choices? All of the above contain enough twisty concepts to distract me from the sharks and the all-coconut diet.

5 – Star Wars or Star Trek?

That’s an easy one: Battlestar Galactica.

6 – Music or silence when writing?

Silence.

I love music. It stimulates all of my emotions, one after the other, which is great. But if it’s playing during a writing session, it fools me into thinking my story is more powerful than it actually is. It’s better for a writer to face up to reality, to work and rework a piece until it sings by itself with no outside help.

7 – You’re a professional wrestler. What would your ring name be?

Pad the Impaler. My signature move might prove too violent, however.

8 – If you could live anywhere in the world, and take everything that you love with you, where would you choose?

My nostalgia always takes me back to Galway in the west of Ireland, so maybe I should just listen to it and move there. It’s got everything. Arts in abundance. Twisty streets. The sea. Connemara on your doorstep and enough rainwater to drown the whole world.

9 - Your favourite karaoke song?

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out by The Smiths -- mainly because I can reach all of the notes without my voice cracking.

10 – One piece of advice to an aspiring writer?

Rejection is bloody awful, but it’s the only way you get better.

So, just as the famous wrestler, Pad the Impaler, had to learn to shrug off daily body slams and head butts to delicate areas of his anatomy, so must we take our lumps, learning the right lesson from each one.

The right lesson, by the way, is never “you’re shite!” It’s usually closer to, “this is shite, but with the right tweaks -- which can all be learned -- it could be a masterpiece that will have future generations weeping in admiration.” Shrug off the pain. Study the craft. Get back in the ring.

11 – You win £1 million, but you must give half to charity. Which charity do you chose, and what do you do with the rest of the money?

We have terrible homeless problems here in Dublin. One of the very best charities helping out there is the Peter McVerry Trust. I’m also a fan of the Red Cross, of course. And Greenpeace too.

As for the other half of the money, well, like most writers, I still have a day job for paying the bills. Half a million would set me free to write two books a year instead of one. I can’t tell you how much I would love that!

12 – Horror films, yes or no? If yes, any favourites?

For somebody who writes a lot of horror, I rarely watch the movies.

However, a few of them over the years have succeeded in blowing my imagination wide open. My favourite was The Ring, or even Ringu. I think about the imagery in that on a regular basis, and the last thing I see, is always the ring...

13 - What are you currently working on?

I have only just completed a novel revolving around rising oceans, magic potions and foolish notions. I had a lot of fun with it, but now, my poor agent is going to have to explain it to bewildered publishers. I’m wishing her all the luck in the universe!