Mullingar author draws on 'worst fears' in debut novel

Yet another name has been added to the growing list of published Mullingar authors, and that is Lorraine Murphy whose debut novel Into the Woods has been released on Amazon.

Into the Woods is a nail biting read that centres on the story of a lost child and a broken marriage.

Time is of the essence when profoundly deaf, eight-year-old Scarlett disappears in the woods on the shores of Lough Owel. Is she lost, or has she been taken?

Mum Karen knows that within hours the batteries on Scarlett’s hearing aids will run out, leaving her daughter even more isolated and vulnerable.

As the search for Scarlett intensifies, shocking secrets are revealed, and Karen realises her daughter is in grave danger.

Lorraine, who is the incoming president of Mullingar Toastmasters, is a self-professed goal getter, and says one of her bucketlist items before turning 50 in September was to pen a thriller.

“I’ve always been at something is how I would say it. I don’t know if I would could call it writing. I joined a group here in Mullingar called Inklings six years ago, and I think that had a huge impact on me because it keeps you writing regularly.

“But I’ve always been at it, writing, in some shape or form.”

Lorraine says she draws inspiration from her own worst fears.

“The idea came from my own family. I have a daughter who is profoundly deaf and has cochlear implants. You just take all your worries and you twist them into a story, like 'What if?' this actually happened.

“There’s a lot of technology that comes with her implants that would make interesting reading if certain situations occurred, and I just thought, let’s try and write this and see what happens.”

Rather than scaring her by seeing her thoughts on paper, Lorraine says it’s “therapeutic”.

“You’re like the puppet master. You get to play out your worst fears and then you get to tie them up the way you want to."

Married to a Castlepollard man, the Swords native has called Mullingar home for over 20 years, and has even based her book here.

“I do visit the shores of Lough Owel, and have been known to take a dip off the shores of Lough Owel. We also sometimes take the kayaks out there.”

Not only does she find the scenery inspirational, but the people too.

“I think it’s such fertile ground for the arts. You are just surrounded by the arts and music scene, all the writing and poetry groups, it’s such an encouraging place to be.

“And while you’re surrounded by encouragement, you’re also surrounded by people who are doing it. Like, you’d pass by Patricia Gibney on the street. There’s nothing like seeing it done to know that it’s possible.

“The likes of Liz Nugent and Stephen King are my inspiration, but actually Bressie’s book, Me and My Mate Jeffrey, I found that an incredible piece of work.

“I just loved how honest he was. He was describing situations that you could totally relate to, because I’d be kind of quite an anxious person but I’d also be quite confident. So to see somebody be so confident and so anxious was just incredible, I couldn’t put it down. “

Writing process

Lorraine first began writing during lockdown.

“Hangry was actually the first book that I wrote, but it’s still on my laptop. I didn’t get any takers on that so that’s still looking for a home.

“I was halfway through my second book when this opportunity came up. So Into the Woods is actually my third book.

“I won a place on a writer’s workshop with a Dublin publisher called Inkubator Books. They are for the ebook market mainly, so I got the contract from a pitch, and they worked through the pitch with me down through every scene and every act.

“So by the time I went to write it, it was pretty straightforward, all the thinking had been done upfront. All the plot had been worked out with them through many Zoom workshops, so they’re very collaborative. It was all planned."

Finally hearing herself called an “author”, Lorraine says she “can’t quite believe it”.

“It’s mad, it’s a bit crazy, but it’s great. I’m just enjoying every minute of it.”

Lorraine is already halfway through her next book, another thriller, which focuses on DNA test results that open up a can of worms for the protagonist.

“I just like the excitement of a thriller. Even when I’m watching telly or Netflix, I always watch thrillers.”

And she’s of the opinion that nothing’s impossible.

“I’m a highly driven person, very goal orientated,” says Lorraine, who was involved in the Happy New Ear campaign that changed government policy back in 2013.

“The campaign was to give kids two implants instead of one, and we managed to change that within a year.

“I have a deaf child and you can’t tell her something’s impossible.”

Into the Woods is available on pre-order now on Amazon, before it goes live on August 21. Lorraine will also have a local launch in the Annebrook House Hotel on October 1.

For more check out Inkubatorbooks.com or Lorraineamurphy.com