Article: Elena Moya from Reuters

Q: After reading in your books all about the weight of Catholicism in society, now of all places I meet you in a church.
A: (She laughs). This was the religion of the Conquistadors, whereas in Ireland this was the religion of the people and the oppressors were protestants, this was a big difference.
But I am very much against institutionalised religion, I think most religious institutions have mechanisms for the oppression of women and I don't understand why women are religious, at all. Institutions are run by men and populated by women, I don't understand why those women are there, and I never did, even as a child.

Q: The Gathering portrays the life of an Irish Catholic family. Is it semi-autobiographical?
A: The Gathering is not autobiographical, I made it up. There is an autobiographical voice, but it's not mine. It's like when we admire an actress, we know it's not her story she's telling, but we admire her. I do bring a lot of myself to my work, but it's not really about me.
Although we haven't lived anybody else's life, so we have ourselves to draw on, but imagination plays a part too. Writers are haunted by the ghosts of themselves.

Q: Writing, is it more inspiration or transpiration?
A: I don't really believe in inspiration at all, this idea of something coming from the outside doesn't work for me. The zen of writing is that to write a book you sit and write a book. When you are writing, you can't see yourself, there's no mirror in the words. When I am writing I am thinking of the words, the words are pulling you along, you're inspired by the work. Inspiration is in the stuff that I've already put there and figuring it out is more a problem to me than an inspiration.

Q: How long did it take you to write The Gathering?
A: Two and a half years. Even if I think this is going to be really fast, or really slow, it's always two and a half years.

Q: Do you plot all the details before starting?
A: I write in the dark. You only need to see as far as the headlights. I only need to have a vague idea where the end will be, but I don't know how I will get there.

A book is a problem, and it takes a while to realize what the problem is and then you fix it. I don't proceed A-B-C in an orderly fashion. It works more like poems, by layering things. If a reader likes to be very much in control of a book they will find my book frustrating, they will feel it slips out of their control all the time. The reason I do this is because I want to get to the people's brains, which are usually hard to get to with an A-B-C type of story. If people are unsettled by the work, that tickles some part of their consciousness that doesn't normally get tickled. I want to get into those unused spaces in our heads.

Q: What are you working on now?
A: I have a book of short stories coming out, but since October...with the continuous mail, there may have been two or three days when it's been possible to sit and write fiction and you just need more creative space than that.
Also my life has changed and it takes time for me know what that is.

Q: In which ways has the Booker changed your life?
A: In Britain and Ireland it's a big deal, not so much in America or Europe. You never know how a book affects your life, It takes two or three years to know. In Dublin, in the Autumn, I would not be able to walk down the street without being congratulated, which is amazing.

Q: Do you like it?
A: Absolutely.

Q: What about privacy?
A: It's not a problem in Ireland because people are nice. People are not antagonistic or aggressive. Sometimes people want something and if you don't supply it then they get cross. But in Ireland people don't give you a hard time, it's quite natural and easy. I should get out more, actually. Plus everybody knows everybody in Ireland, anyway.

Q: Is writing a personal safety net?
A: It's not a safety net, not an alternative reality, but it's something you have, it's a possession. If I wasn't writing a book I would be worried. What keeps you awake at night? Worries? Paranoia? What might wake me up at night is my book.

Q: How do you start a book?
A: You start with an emotion and you fill it with ideas.

Q: When did you decide to become a writer?
A: It was assumed I'd become a writer. The idea is that if you're Irish and of a particular kind: sensible, headstrong then you become a writer.

Now my life has turned the way I dreamt it. I am exceptionally fortunate. The challenge now is how do I proceed?

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