If you want to vote for my little baby, just go into www.irishbookawards.ie, click on ‘Vote’, then scroll down to The Specsavers Irish Children’s Book of the Year – Snr (it’s the second children’s category). Click on And For Your Information. Then leave your details below. Just email will do.

Or the direct link is on the Butterfly Novels Facebook page.

Ah gwan, just do it . }I{

Denise }I{

Dontcha just love this guy? Dontcha?

You can read her review on her website.

I am posting the Q&A I did for her……

Denise was lovely enough to answer a few questions about me. Welcome to Catherine, Caffeinated, Denise!

This is your first book for teenagers; until now, you’ve written for adults. How is the process different? Which do you prefer?

For me, there isn’t a huge difference in the process. When I’m writing, the books tend to ‘come’ to me as dialogue. That’s how I ended up writing for teens. A voice came into my head. It was the voice of Alex Newman, a very angry, sarcastic yet vulnerable sixteen-year-old, who was letting her dad have it. It blew me away – especially Alex’s vulnerability in the face of the fury. I hadn’t planned to write for teens but I couldn’t ignore the voice. So I wrote it down to see where it would take me. It kept coming. I kept writing. And here I am…with a series of teen novels, The Butterfly Novels.

There are certain similarities between my adult and YA books eg the writing is pared down, fast paced and dialogue-driven. The books are reality-based and issues-led with a blend of honesty and subtle humour. That’s not a plan. Just the way it usually works out.

You ask if I prefer writing for adults or teens. In a way, I feel I’m writing for both. Many adults have read And By The Way and loved it because it made them feel sixteen again. I do actually prefer writing stories about teenagers though. I think life is at its most intense during that period in our lives. Everything seems so important – friendships, love, the environment, the future. Life is just more passionate.

One reason I love writing YA books is Young Adults themselves. I have NEVER before received the reaction I’m getting from teenagers to this, my first YA book. It is incredible. I’m getting texts, emails, Facebook notices, tweets. I spoke to some students from Sion Hill school, the other day and was blown away by their enthusiasm. I love young people. In all my adults books, key roles have gone to children and teenagers. People used to say to me that I should write for teenagers. Because, as writers, we are so sensitive to comment – at least I am – I used to think – ‘what are they trying to tell me?’ Turns out they were predicting the future.

You clearly know a lot about modern teenage life – there wasn’t one false note in the whole book! Have you spies reporting back to you or are you secretly a 16-year-old?

It’s funny but when I was with the girls from Sion Hill, I read from an article I’d written for the Irish Daily Mail about my own (sad!) teenage life. In addition to my somber warning – along the lines of, ‘let that be a lesson to you against shyness’ – I told the girls that writing about teenagers is like my second chance to do it right. When I sit down at my computer, I am sixteen again. And that, let me tell you, is a good feeling. Ever since I became a mum I’ve tried to see things from my children’s point of view, to just understand where they’re coming from. It has become a habit. They are now teenagers and I really hope I understand their world.

Did you have anyone in mind when you created the character of “The Rockstar”? Because I couldn’t help but think about Bono wearing wedge-heeled shoes and dark shades all the time….

I’m smiling because I wanted to originally call the book ‘My Dad Wears Wedges.’

I had finished the first draft of And By The Way and was editing it at an artists’ retreat. One evening we were all reading from our work. I read from an early chapter. Afterwards, an argument broke out as to who the rock star was – Bono or Bob Geldof. I think it’s natural for people to compare him to existing Irish rockstars and we really don’t have that many of that vintage. To me, The Rockstar, is his own man – a down-to-earth, regular, guy struggling to be a good dad in the face of major loss. He’s no way near as perfect and together as Bono!!

Catherine can also be found on twitter……