Two Alone in Dublin
by Lucy Carey
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BLURB:
Surrounded by one million people in Dublin city, two women feel very alone. One a university student from a small town in the Irish countryside, the other an adventurous spirit from a city in Brazil, they've both been searching for the other among the irritations and noise of everyday life...
Excerpt:
The big leather armchair was as comfortable as it had looked, Susie noted, as she allowed the soft padding to mould to her weary frame. The café was warm too, a balm to the heavy rain beginning to dash against the windows. The torrent of the raindrops, together with the hissing of coffee machines and the rumble of a dishwasher beat a rhythm in Susie’s ears. She leaned on the arm of the chair to better tune into the sounds and as she did, she heard quietly in the background someone humming. She strained to place the tune but it was not one she recognised. The humming was soft and sweet but Susie thought she caught a sadness in it, a faint but distinct longing. She scanned the room to find the source and her gaze settled on a short woman wiping down tables.
Susie moved the hand she was leaning on to hide her eyes, splaying her fingers to peek out and watch unobserved. The woman was foreign, Susie thought. Latina maybe. Her skin was dark and smooth—not freshly tanned, but a world away from Susie’s own pale skin. As the woman moved to another table, the curve of her hips moved too under a pencil skirt, her ample breasts heaving slightly as she swiped the cloth from edge to edge of the table.
Susie closed her eyes to listen to her humming a little while until her coffee came...
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Lucy Carey, Lesbian and Bisexual Romance and Erotic-Fiction Writer
I am a 30-year-old bisexual author who writes the kind of fiction I think other LGBTQ women want to read.
As someone born and raised in Ireland, let me assure you: our country is beautiful…and so are its women.
I aim to introduce you to the best of both—the stunning scenery of the Emerald Isle and its funny, complex, gorgeous, lesbian and bisexual women. I hope you enjoy it.
Author Interview
Did you do any kind of research to determine the details of your characters’ lives / lifestyles?
While I was familiar with Dublin, Ireland, having lived there previously, I was less certain about Brazil, which is where one of my characters, Mariana, comes from. I knew a bit about Brazil, but a lot of it was about the more affluent parts. Mariana is not from one of the richer parts of Brazil; she’s from one of the less well-known areas.
It was important to me that I showed her journey and motivations for leaving Brazil as accurately as possible. There is a small but growing population of Brazilian immigrants in Ireland and I wanted to depict their struggles and challenges correctly.
Who inspires you?
Anyone who is living life on their own terms and isn’t afraid of deviating from the norm to be who they are. I take inspiration from anyone who dares to be different, knowing that they might take criticism or insult from people who don’t understand them.
Those in history who have fought to make things better—civil rights leaders and suffragettes, for example—make me think about how I live my own life often. If I can change the world a fraction as much as somebody like Rosa Parks or (Irish senator) David Norris has, I’ll be happy.
Do you have strange writing habits?
I like to think I’m pretty easygoing—I’m sure everyone does, though!—so I think my writing routine is pretty low key. I write best on my couch, with a cup of tea, and daytime TV on in the background. The daytime TV is essential some days to get my brain ticking over. Is that a bit strange? It is, isn’t it?
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in a small fishing town on the coast of Ireland. It’s a pretty place, but not a whole lot happens there. It wasn’t exactly a haven for LGBT people; despite going to an all-girls school there, I know no one from school who identifies as gay or bisexual. That’s partly why I set my first novella in Dublin, as there’s more of an established LGBT scene there. The idea of meeting a potential girlfriend there was, to me, more realistic.
Did any real-life political incidents or maneuvering make it into the book?
There are traces of the political history of both Ireland and Brazil in the book, particularly when it comes to how women and sexuality was treated in Ireland in the past, but it’s largely in the background of the book. I didn’t want to make the politics of gender and sexuality in any way the focus of the book, but I felt I couldn’t not touch on it in any way either.
How did you get into writing?
Since I was very young, I’ve wanted to be a writer. As a bullied kid from an unhappy home, writing was both an outlet for me and a way to attempt to connect to others, like me, in a meaningful way. My characters said the things I couldn’t say; had the experiences I didn’t think I could have.
That’s still the way I write and it’s something that comes out in this current book. This isn’t a book that’s heavy on external issues on the character; the focus is more strongly on the emotional lives of the characters.
Having been, at times, lonely and desperate for contact in a city like Dublin, it was fun and gratifying to bring together two women who both feel like they have no one in the world who understands them.
What do you consider your best accomplishment?
Completing and publishing this book is fairly high up there in terms of accomplishments! It has been my dream since I was very young to be a published author. I hope readers enjoy what I’ve written, but even if it bombs (which I really hope it doesn’t!), I’ll be proud of myself for getting it finished and putting it out there.
What is your favorite quote?
That’s a tough one! I have a few favourites, but I think the overall is,
“I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done,”
which I’ve read is a quote from Lucille Ball. (I’m not certain that it is but it sounds like something she would say. She always seemed to be like a smart and astute lady.)
I’ve tried to live my life with that in mind. If you try and you fail, isn’t that better than being tormented than “what if”s?
What sacrifices have you had to make to be a writer?
The biggest sacrifice was knowing that I might never earn a lot of money from my passion. I’ve taken low-paying, thankless jobs to ensure I had the time and freedom to write. Still, the older I get—and having had some experience of working “proper” jobs—the less of a sacrifice I think it is to give up a lot of money to write. I would rather be poor and sharing my writing with others than rich and miserable in a boring corporate job.
What’s the worst job you’ve had?
I’ve had a variety! I’ve worked in retail jobs, as waiting staff (which, thankfully for everyone, I no longer do!), as a dishwasher, and as a freelancer taking on any role to make ends meet. Some of the most soul-destroying were the ones where you had to be spoken to as if you were stupid while maintaining a pleasant smile. Even to this day, where I no longer have to work those kinds of jobs, I appreciate how hard the people who do them work. I still judge the people I am with by how they treat people in the service industry, as I think your attitude to the person checking out your groceries or bringing you your drinks says a lot about your character.
In the book, I’ve given my two characters, Susie and Mariana, jobs like those—Susie’s a barmaid and Mariana’s a barista—as I discovered you form strong bonds with other retail and service industry employees.
THE AUTHOR WILL BE GIVING AWAY:Lucy will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn host.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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