ONE GOOD REASON REACHES NO 2 IN EASONS STEPHENS GREEN

Delighted to see ONE GOOD REASON reached Number 2 in Easons St Stephen’s Green

The Long Gaze Back

The Long Gaze Back is One City One Book for Dublin 2018. My story ‘As Seen from Space’ is included.

The Boy Between published in Germany

The Boy Between has been published in Germany (July 2017) by Bastei Lübbe under the title Das Geheimnis Jenes Sommers (The Secret of That Summer)

Irish Examiner Review of The Boy Between

http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsfilmtv/books/book-reviewthe-boy-between-361029.html

Following a debut is always a difficult thing. Read my piece in The Irish Times

How do you know you’re getting it right?

How do you know if you’re getting it right? read my piece on www.writing.ie

The Boy Between signing tour

On August 7, the day after publication, I did a tour of Dublin’s bookshops to sign copies of The Boy Between. My guide/chauffeur for the day was the lovely Ruth from Hachette Ireland  Sales. Our starting point was Eason’s O’Connell St, finishing in Eason’s Dundrum, by way of even more branches of Easons along with a couple of Dubrays and Hodges Figgis. Here I am with Joe in Easons Nassau street. The Boy Between is an Easons Book of the Month and a Recommended Read in Dubray.

The Boy Between

It’s two years to the day since the publication of The Story Of Before so it seems like a good time to reveal the cover of my second novel – The Boy Between – which will be published this coming August. Hope it meets with approval!

In Praise of Creative Writing Masters. The Irish Times, 28 Feb 2015

Mary Morrissey’s article about Creative Writing Masters in The Irish Times Feb 28, 2015 mentions no less than three of us who graduated from the UCD MA in 2009 – Colin Barrett, Jamie O’Connell and myself. Also, graduates of TCD’s MPhil Andrew Fox and Sara Baume who, along with Colin and myself, are represented by Lucy Luck of Aitken Alexander Associates. A very nice club to be in!

Word for Word by Mary Morrissey. Irish Times Feb 28, 2015

‘Moving and memorable’ The Story of Before review from Melbourne Libraries

Review from The Casey-Cardinia Library Corporation, Melbourne, Australia

The Story of Before
Reading Rewards – reviews – Tue, 04/11/2014 – 08:30
The Story of Before by Susan Stairs

From the cover: On New Year’s Eve, eleven-year-old Ruth and her brother and sister sit at a bedroom window, watching the garden of their new Dublin home being covered in a thick blanket of snow. Ruth declares that a bad thing will happen in the coming year – she’s sure of it. But she cannot see the outline of that thing – she cannot know that it will change their lives utterly, that the
shape of their future will be carved into two parts: the before and the after. Or that it will break her heart and break her family. This is Ruth’s story. It is the story of before.

This debut novel was a great find! Beautifully written, it evoked many memories of childhood, particularly fighting with siblings (!). Set in the 1970s, the family has moved into a new housing estate, one the children freely roam during a long, hot summer. Told through eleven-year-old Ruth’s eyes, the arrival of baby brother Kevin is the turning point for her, along with trying to fit into the already closely formed friendship groups on the new estate.

You can’t help but pick up on the underpinning tension which increases as the family’s lives begin to unravel at Hillcourt Rise. Knowing there is worse to come keeps the pages turning, though this is far from being an action-packed novel. It is a slow progression that offers much to the reader – laughter, suspense, and heartbreaking sorrow. An intelligent read and not one to rush through, The Story of Before is a moving and memorable first offering from this author.
Deb.