Where it all began

I lived in Northern Ireland from the age of 12 to 18. That was when I learned that I would be a writer. I was surrounded by issues I didn't understand (these were largely Catholic/Protestant issues, but also boys) and I knew writing was the key I needed to unlock the mysteries around me. The richness of idiom here seduced me into believing that writing can be hilarious, mischievous, inquisitive, creative, a verbal Swiss Army knife for the parry and thrust of my combative mind.

Of course, in the ensuing decades, my work as a writer largely didn't measure up to my adolescent dreams. I worked as a newspaper reporter for 12 years, dutifully covering school board meetings and zoning hearings, then as a financial writer for 18 years, making sense of stock and bond markets. At age 51, I've returned to my muse, Ulster's moss-covered glens, her rocky beaches, her tidy fields, her cheerful folk. And I'm most intrigued to see what happens next.