The title for my first Historical saga, called 'A Woman Undefeated' arrived after I realised how tough my character had to become. It's the story of Maggie, a sixteen years old girl, who lived with her family near Killala in County Mayo ...
I felt that I couldn't leave the ending of 'A Woman Undefeated' up in the air.
Her father, Patrick Mayo, had been a cottier - a peasant farmer - who rented a piece of land from the local landlord. The home was a turf-roofed, windowless cabin and the family lived off the potatoes that were widely grown.
"When the blight hit the area in the 1840s many people decided to leave their homeland and seek a better life!"
By this time Maggie had got work with the Filbey's who were another family of local farmers, her father had sadly died, her brother Bernie had run away to sea, and she was left to care for her dying mother and her three-year-old sister, Molly.
My story begins with a plea to Maggie from a local boy called Jack, who was the son of the local landlord's ghillie, a trusted servant and attendant. His family had decided to leave the stricken land and sail across the sea to England.
Jack was determined that Maggie would go too, but hadn't reckoned with her loyalty to her loved ones and how they would suffer if she left them behind. When Maggie heard that the Filbey's too were leaving and were preparing to sail to the other side of the world, her resolve began to weaken, especially when her mother died and the parish priest became involved.
"With the promise that her sister Molly would be well looked after, Maggie left her homeland as an unwilling bride!"
The story continues in a village called Neston on the Wirral, where Maggie found life difficult trying to fit in. She was looked upon with suspicion by the wives of the coal miners and quarrymen, who were convinced that the arrival of the Irish would take away their husband's jobs. Her onerous relationship with Jack didn't help matters.
Life improved for Maggie when she met Miss Rosemary, the local dressmaker. A spinster, who had led a sheltered life, she was sympathetic to Maggie's plight and decided to become her benefactor. This is where Maggie's rags-to-riches destiny began.
It is important to realise that my journey as an author was not an easy one, because the technology that is around today wasn't there for me. Now, if you want to do some research you can just log on to Google, but I had to visit Ireland, the place of my ancestor's birth to feel the story.
I walked the paths I believed Maggie walked, I visited the local graveyard, ambled down the streets of nearby Ballina and tried to imagine the atmosphere of that time. Again, I felt that her spirit was walking beside me and it made me wonder if I could have coped with Maggie's life.
"It was around that time I had started on my sequel, 'Dreams Can Come True'!"
I felt that I couldn't leave the ending of 'A Woman Undefeated' up in the air. I think I had put myself into her shoes and wanted to continue on her upward path to riches, especially as upon further research, I had discovered that at one time, my grandfather had been a wealthy man.
I had got the writing bug by then and a series of books began whirling around in my brain.
I was born on the Wirral in Merseyside. I've always had a vivid imagination and could talk the hind leg off a donkey since I was two years old. My best selling books A Woman Undefeated and Dreams Can Come True are based on the amazing lives of my Irish ancestors.
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