Be Prepared to be Captivated — and Shocked — by this Satisfyingly Rich Tale Set in Mid-1800s Ireland

For fans of historical fiction, here's a recommendation: Maria Tureaud's gothic novel "This House Will Feed." It's set during Ireland's Great Hunger, also known by its Irish name, An Gorta Mór. 

The author was born and raised in a part of Ireland that was devastated by the Great Hunger during the mid-1800s, yet she barely learned anything about the area's tragic history when she was growing up. She says it wasn't taught in school. Then she left Ireland to spend her junior year in college as an exchange student in the United States. She signed up for an Irish history class, expecting it to be an easy A. Instead, her eyes were opened to the atrocities that were committed during that terrible time. 

In this episode, Tureaud talks about why she didn't really want to tackle the subject of the Great Hunger yet felt compelled to write about it. She also discusses why she chose to make it a gothic story; how she developed her main character, Maggie O'Shaughnessy, and how the process affected Tureaud's personal life. Other topics include the urge to someday move back to her home country, as well as her own path to becoming published with some advice for others wanting the same. 

"This House Will Feed" came out at the end of January 2026. Tureaud's next Irish gothic historical novel, "Beneath It Sleeps," will be published in January of 2027. Also, before she entered the realm of adult books, she wrote a middle-grade paranormal novel titled "The Last Hope in Hopetown," which was published in 2022.

You'll hear about all this and much more (for example, the difference between masculine rage and feminine rage, revenge vs. vengeance). Please join us for an illuminating — and fun — conversation.

This is such a good book. Hope you're inspired to read it. 

Also, if you like the thumbnail for this episode, please let me know. The artwork behind the book cover is by my brother-in-law, Bob Jones, a prolific creator in his own right. 

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in major podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.

Transcript

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Hello, this is Kate Jones

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here with Maria Tureaud,

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the author of the newly released

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gothic novel

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"This House

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Will Feed."

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It's set during Ireland's famine,

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now remembered as the Great Hunger

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and also by its Irish name, An Gorta 

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Mór.

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Welcome, Maria.

Maria:

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Thank you so much for having me, Kate.

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I am delighted to be here. 

Kate:

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It's lovely to see you.

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I have to tell you

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that I had not read

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a gothic novel

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since probably my teens.

Maria:

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Oh, wow. 

Kate:

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When I came across

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a library copy

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of "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley

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Jackson.

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And I liked the book

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a lot. But somewhere

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along the line,

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I became a real chicken

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about anything having to do with horror. Movies,

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books, whatever.

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Which brings me to my first encounter with

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your book.

Maria:

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Oh, wow.

Kate:

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Yes.

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The back cover gave me pause.

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On the back cover, in big letters, it

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reads

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"The taste of my brother's flesh

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still haunts me...

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Dot

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dot

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dot."

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That was enough to make me wonder whether

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I even wanted to start the book, much

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less get all the way through it. And

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I have to tell you, I am so

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glad I did.

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From the very first chapter, I was hooked

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on the story. And there were times that

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I had to take a pause, and I

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did not read it at night. 

Maria:

Yep. 

Kate:

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Because I'm still a bit of a chicken.

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It's a wonderful,

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wonderful book.

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And you are a great storyteller.

Maria:

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Thank you. Thank you so much.

Kate:

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And one of the many things I love

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about "This House Will Feed."

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Yes,

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there's abundant

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cruelty

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and selfishness

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and cowardness

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in it.

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Mhmm. And, and this is what's important,

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there's also a life-saving amount

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of kindness,

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self sacrifice

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Yeah. And courage.

Maria:

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Mhmm. Yes.

Kate:

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Plus, there's a great payoff for the reader.

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So anyway, I really liked

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your author's note too.

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In it, you said you didn't want to

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write about the Great Hunger but felt compelled

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to do it.

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Why is that?

Maria:

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Very simply put, we don't learn about it

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in school. We don't talk about it as

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a people, as a culture, and there are

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many scars on the land

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to remind us that it did happen. But

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as a child, whenever you ask, you know,

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you're curious about these things. Like, why does

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the field look like that? There are ridges,

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particularly where I'm from on the West Coast,

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which was absolutely ravaged by the Great Hunger,

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there are random ridges in fields on the

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sides of hills. And I remember asking my

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grandfather,

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"What are those?" Because it made no sense

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to me, right? And now I'm saying that,

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like most of these fields and hills I'm

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talking about, they're mostly for grazing these days.

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They're not exactly for crops.

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And, I remember

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I was about eight or nine, maybe 10

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years old when I asked my grandfather,

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who was an avid farmer,

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that was his entire livelihood,

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and a very, very tall man, and I'm

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a very tall woman, but at the time,

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I wasn't so tall. And he brought himself

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down to my level, and he said, "You

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know the way your knees are full of

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scars

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because you fell?

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And I said, "Yes."

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And, he said, "Well, those tell the story

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of your life." And he said, "Those ridges

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tell the story of our country." But that's

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all he ever said about it. A couple

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of other

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telltales, I suppose, would have been, I

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wouldn't say we're a morbid people, but we

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definitely,

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we're a little darker. Even though we're viewed

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as very Catholic,

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I've noticed that from moving to the States

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in particular, there seems to be a lot

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of our folklore is mixed into our Catholicism.

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So for us, it's very important on a

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Sunday after you go to Mass that you

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go visit

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everyone who's gone.

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So we go from cemetery to cemetery to

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cemetery. We bring flowers, you know, we do

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our bits at the graves and tell everyone

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how our week was doing. So it wasn't

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unusual to find me in a graveyard on

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a Sunday afternoon.

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And in every single graveyard, every cemetery in

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the country, there are unmarked

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what I can only describe as pits. I

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mean, they're obviously filled in, but they look

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like,

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I don't know, they're 10 feet by 10

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feet, a little

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depressed down a little bit. Nothing on top

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of them, nothing to mark them. And

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I don't remember how old I was when

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I first became aware of what they were,

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because they're so prevalent and so obvious. It

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must have come up in conversation

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from a very young age, but that's where

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they threw the bodies. That's where they dumped

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the bodies. Those are the famine pits.

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So from a very young age, I was

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aware of something absolutely atrocious that had happened,

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but we'd never really learned about it in

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school. So from that perspective,

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I didn't want to write about it because

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there was a huge weight on my chest

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and on my shoulders that I would have

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to do it right. I would have to

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make sure that it was extremely respectful.

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To say that an entire

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country dissociates an event,

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it puts a lot of pressure

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on you. However, I did also feel compelled

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to write about it because I didn't truly

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learn about it until

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I was an exchange student

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in my junior year of university, and I

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wound up in a very small college in

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Kentucky.

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And I took what I thought would be

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an easy A of a class, Irish history,

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and the professor there had an entire module

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on the Great Hunger. And that's where I

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learned the truth of it, that it wasn't

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a famine.

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It's the reason we call it the Great

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Hunger, not the famine, because there was plenty

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of food in the country and it was

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withheld from us. So I learned

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really the ins and outs of what

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it really was

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during my time there. And later on, when

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I eventually moved to the United States and

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I met a lot of

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people who would identify with Irish heritage,

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I realized that most people have no idea

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about the culture they identify with, the people

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they identify with, and the history they identify

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with.

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So from that perspective, I thought

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it might be a nice idea for anyone

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who wanted to learn a little bit, anyone

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who was genuinely interested.

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Doesn't have to be people of Irish heritage,

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but I thought if I can present this

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history in an accessible

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way that'll make it slightly entertaining

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as opposed to reading a dry textbook,

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that would be really, really nice for people

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to be able to connect with where they

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come from, because I would imagine the majority

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of people who identify

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with Irish heritage in this country, the vast

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majority of their ancestors would have come over

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during this time period, 1845

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to 1852,

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because that's when the mass displacement

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started to happen.

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So I thought, well, little bit of education

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for people who want it, little bit of

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entertainment. But it was, it was difficult to

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wrap my head around the thought of trying

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to make it entertaining. It's very much a

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double-edged sword, but gothic seemed to be

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the best medium for that.

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Not only does where I come from lend

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itself to that atmosphere, you know, I'm from

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County Clare, the Burren, the Cliffs Of Moher,

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all of that very dreary bleak but beautiful

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landscape.

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But it also seemed the right medium in

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order to be able to tell this story

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because, you know, gothic horror is definitely based

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in reality. There's always an element of

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grounding to a gothic,

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and the atrocities of man kind of went

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hand in hand with that way of storytelling.

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So that's why.

Kate:

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It's an incredible story starting with your grandfather.

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I love what he said about the scars

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and that we carry them with us. So

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your book has rich characters.

Maria:

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Yes.

Kate:

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Two questions:

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How did they

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develop

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as you wrote, and did you find them

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guiding

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you along the way?

Maria:

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Well, first, we'll start off with, of course,

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because you start with your main character, so

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Maggie O'Shaughnessy.

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When you first sit down to write a

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book, you obviously think a lot about well,

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I think more about my characters than I

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do about the plot.

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I'm very much a character-driven person,

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whether I'm reading a book or I'm watching

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a television show or a film,

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I'm always looking at the characters themselves, and

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I always try to put myself in their

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shoes. So we've heard of method acting. I

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try to be a method writer where I

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completely immerse myself. I had to become Maggie

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in order to write her, because I

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can't, I can't write characters unless I do that.

Kate:

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That's interesting. Does that confuse your family?

Maria:

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It can. It can a lot of times,

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you know, and in particular, the writing of

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this book sent me to a very dark

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place that I'm still digging myself out of.

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But the payoff in the end of it

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for me always is worth it. And I

00:09:07.235 --> 00:09:09.395
went deeper into Maggie than I've probably ever

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gone into another character

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only from the standpoint of, you know, you

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have to put on her mantle and say,

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okay,

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these are the circumstances that I find myself

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in here now for the first chapter.

00:09:20.770 --> 00:09:23.010
What am I feeling? How am I doing

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if I am in her shoes? So it

00:09:25.250 --> 00:09:27.090
took a little while to get into

00:09:27.090 --> 00:09:29.250
that character and to kind of really understand

00:09:29.250 --> 00:09:30.550
it. And

00:09:31.170 --> 00:09:31.670
so

00:09:32.665 --> 00:09:35.325
from what started as trying to portray

00:09:35.705 --> 00:09:36.605
this atrocity

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through entertainment

00:09:38.185 --> 00:09:39.085
kind of became

00:09:39.945 --> 00:09:41.085
grief. It became

00:09:41.465 --> 00:09:45.145
Maggie is probably completely grief-stricken, but it's

00:09:45.145 --> 00:09:47.050
not just grief. I then had to put

00:09:47.050 --> 00:09:49.690
myself completely into her shoes and how I

00:09:49.690 --> 00:09:52.890
would be in that moment, how we Irish

00:09:52.890 --> 00:09:55.370
people as a culture, as a people would

00:09:55.370 --> 00:09:57.710
have probably dealt with this during that time.

00:09:58.755 --> 00:10:00.695
And I found myself

00:10:01.395 --> 00:10:04.675
becoming cold. Like, the first chapter with Maggie,

00:10:04.675 --> 00:10:05.975
she's completely dissociated.

00:10:06.755 --> 00:10:08.215
She's completely separate.

00:10:08.915 --> 00:10:12.035
Instead of grief, she's almost feeling guilt. It's

00:10:12.035 --> 00:10:13.970
survival guilt that she's feeling.

00:10:14.270 --> 00:10:15.870
And the only way for her to keep

00:10:15.870 --> 00:10:18.590
going, to stay the reaper another day, is

00:10:18.590 --> 00:10:20.370
to completely bury that down

00:10:20.750 --> 00:10:22.210
and try and push forward.

00:10:22.750 --> 00:10:25.170
As the story developed, as her character developed,

00:10:25.345 --> 00:10:26.725
I was then confronting

00:10:27.265 --> 00:10:30.145
a lot of generational trauma because I had

00:10:30.145 --> 00:10:31.765
to put myself in her shoes

00:10:32.385 --> 00:10:33.605
as an Irish person,

00:10:33.985 --> 00:10:35.745
as somebody who grew up in Ireland, you

00:10:35.745 --> 00:10:37.185
know, and only moved to the States as

00:10:37.185 --> 00:10:37.845
an adult.

00:10:38.145 --> 00:10:39.445
There are a lot of things

00:10:40.470 --> 00:10:41.210
and situations

00:10:41.590 --> 00:10:43.050
from when I was younger

00:10:43.670 --> 00:10:45.750
that I never really dealt with. Like, we're

00:10:45.750 --> 00:10:48.070
not allowed to grieve. You know, you're given

00:10:48.070 --> 00:10:48.730
three days,

00:10:49.190 --> 00:10:51.350
three-day big funeral, right? And we're just

00:10:51.350 --> 00:10:53.030
supposed to get on with it after that.

00:10:53.030 --> 00:10:55.015
And they're been times in my life where I

00:10:55.015 --> 00:10:57.015
wasn't allowed to grieve for things, so I

00:10:57.015 --> 00:10:59.755
found myself working through that through Maggie

00:11:00.215 --> 00:11:01.195
and kind

00:11:02.215 --> 00:11:04.695
of swallowing it down and having to get

00:11:04.695 --> 00:11:06.855
on with things and to push through and

00:11:06.855 --> 00:11:07.355
then

00:11:08.140 --> 00:11:09.520
giving her the opportunity

00:11:09.820 --> 00:11:11.920
to kind of work her way through that,

00:11:12.540 --> 00:11:14.620
through the plot, through what happens when she

00:11:14.620 --> 00:11:16.480
finally gets to the Burren to Lady Catherine's

00:11:16.540 --> 00:11:17.760
manor. And

00:11:18.220 --> 00:11:19.995
there are parts of her where that rage

00:11:20.075 --> 00:11:22.635
she feels, the anger that she feels, it

00:11:22.635 --> 00:11:23.615
was very much,

00:11:24.555 --> 00:11:25.695
it came from myself.

00:11:26.155 --> 00:11:27.935
I felt the same way that I

00:11:29.035 --> 00:11:31.595
wasn't allowed to remember. I wasn't allowed to

00:11:31.595 --> 00:11:33.755
grieve. And, you know, that's kind of

00:11:33.755 --> 00:11:36.580
part of Maggie's entire character is that she

00:11:36.580 --> 00:11:38.980
has pushed down the memories so far that

00:11:38.980 --> 00:11:41.220
she has blocked them out completely and has

00:11:41.220 --> 00:11:44.600
dissociated herself. She knows something terrible had happened.

00:11:44.820 --> 00:11:46.515
She knows the gist of it, but there

00:11:46.515 --> 00:11:48.195
are things that she can't remember because they're

00:11:48.195 --> 00:11:50.355
too traumatic for her to remember, if that makes sense.

Kate:

00:11:50.355 --> 00:11:53.255
Absolutely makes sense. And

00:11:53.795 --> 00:11:56.455
Lady Catherine really did her a favor

00:11:56.675 --> 00:11:58.855
because of the spooky circumstances.

Maria:

00:11:59.715 --> 00:12:00.215
Absolutely.

Kate:

00:12:00.755 --> 00:12:02.600
And she had no choice.

00:12:02.900 --> 00:12:05.140
She had to get through it. She did.

00:12:05.140 --> 00:12:08.500
It's just amazing how it all comes

00:12:08.500 --> 00:12:11.400
out, and layer after layer gets peeled.

Maria:

00:12:11.940 --> 00:12:14.660
Yes. Absolutely. And Lady Catherine herself, you know,

00:12:14.660 --> 00:12:17.085
she is Maggie's mirror image. She is what

00:12:17.085 --> 00:12:20.685
Maggie had wished Maggie had become. They lived

00:12:20.685 --> 00:12:22.365
a very similar life up to a point

00:12:22.365 --> 00:12:24.525
and then branched off. One was successful, one

00:12:24.525 --> 00:12:26.365
was not. And one is now in a

00:12:26.365 --> 00:12:28.620
position of power and one is not. So

00:12:28.780 --> 00:12:30.620
from that point of view, especially with Irish

00:12:30.620 --> 00:12:33.340
storytelling, one single character is never a good

00:12:33.340 --> 00:12:35.500
character or a bad character. We're all what

00:12:35.500 --> 00:12:37.660
we need to be in the moment, in

00:12:37.660 --> 00:12:38.320
the situation

00:12:38.700 --> 00:12:41.545
that we're in, which I find that it's

00:12:41.545 --> 00:12:43.865
very human in that sense. So there's no

00:12:43.865 --> 00:12:47.065
real protagonist, no real antagonist. The only reason

00:12:47.065 --> 00:12:49.145
Maggie is our protagonist is because we are

00:12:49.145 --> 00:12:51.065
on this journey with her through her point

00:12:51.065 --> 00:12:52.905
of view. But if we had begun the

00:12:52.905 --> 00:12:55.305
story through Lady Catherine's point of view, the

00:12:55.305 --> 00:12:56.605
tables would have turned.

Kate:

00:12:57.360 --> 00:13:00.480
Lady Catherine's a fascinating character. 

Maria:

00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:00.980
She is very enigmatic.

Kate:

00:13:02.400 --> 00:13:03.380
Yes, indeed.

00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:04.820
So how,

00:13:05.280 --> 00:13:07.440
without giving anything away because I know you

00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:10.900
wouldn't, but how do you describe your story

00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:13.545
in a nutshell kind of thing? 

Maria:

00:13:13.685 --> 00:13:14.985
In a nutshell, it is

00:13:16.805 --> 00:13:19.545
the true horror is the horror of man.

00:13:21.365 --> 00:13:21.865
And

00:13:22.805 --> 00:13:23.305
sometimes

00:13:23.685 --> 00:13:24.745
the only way

00:13:25.620 --> 00:13:27.960
to deal with the horrors of man is

00:13:28.100 --> 00:13:30.520
through development of female rage.

Kate:

00:13:31.140 --> 00:13:31.800
Ah, interesting.

Maria:

00:13:32.340 --> 00:13:33.720
I think that's

00:13:34.180 --> 00:13:36.680
the heart, the very, very core of it

00:13:36.900 --> 00:13:38.900
in a nutshell. That could apply to any

00:13:38.900 --> 00:13:40.500
book. It could be any genre, but that

00:13:40.500 --> 00:13:41.615
is the horror.

Kate:

00:13:45.675 --> 00:13:49.035
And it's the horror of mankind, the real horror, mankind. 

Maria:

Absolutely. 

Kate:

00:13:49.035 --> 00:13:51.595
So it can be women or men. 

Maria:

Absolutely.

Kate:

00:13:51.915 --> 00:13:55.210
But it's through the feminine, the

00:13:55.510 --> 00:13:56.410
rage, which

00:13:56.870 --> 00:13:59.510
a man can have also. 

Maria:

Absolutely. Yeah.

Kate:

00:13:59.510 --> 00:14:00.570
So that's fascinating.

Maria:

00:14:00.950 --> 00:14:01.450
Yeah.

00:14:01.830 --> 00:14:04.090
I find it's when you think about masculine

00:14:04.230 --> 00:14:06.730
rage, I think it's the difference between revenge

00:14:06.870 --> 00:14:07.610
and vengeance.

00:14:08.435 --> 00:14:10.675
Revenge can be pleasurable. It's something you seek

00:14:10.675 --> 00:14:12.055
in the moment. It's reactionary,

00:14:12.435 --> 00:14:15.235
right? So I find masculine rage to be

00:14:15.235 --> 00:14:17.875
that reactionary revenge, right? So if 

00:14:17.875 --> 00:14:19.635
you're thinking about revenge, I think of it

00:14:19.635 --> 00:14:22.180
as a very masculine type of feeling. Whereas

00:14:22.180 --> 00:14:24.340
when we think about female rage, I don't

00:14:24.340 --> 00:14:26.660
know, there's something a little more, it's not

00:14:26.660 --> 00:14:29.800
as reactionary. It's planned. It's careful. It simmers,

00:14:30.100 --> 00:14:32.740
and it's vengeance as opposed to revenge. It's

00:14:32.740 --> 00:14:33.400
not reactionary.

00:14:33.905 --> 00:14:36.625
It is planned. It's methodical, and it is

00:14:36.625 --> 00:14:38.325
something that is going to have

00:14:38.865 --> 00:14:40.565
a long-lasting end result.

Kate:

00:14:41.025 --> 00:14:43.045
Yes. It builds up.

00:14:43.345 --> 00:14:45.745
Yes. And it's taking care of business. That's

00:14:45.745 --> 00:14:47.125
what I wanted to say.

00:14:47.600 --> 00:14:49.680
Yes. That jumped into my head when you

00:14:49.680 --> 00:14:51.920
were talking. I was like, yes, Maggie is

00:14:51.920 --> 00:14:54.080
taking care of business. It's her business to

00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:56.560
do. It's what she has to do. 

00:14:56.800 --> 00:14:58.800
Exactly. And that was true for Lady Catherine

00:14:58.800 --> 00:15:01.600
also. Yes. She had something to do. 

Maria:

00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:03.705
She did exactly what she needed to do. 

Kate:

00:15:03.705 --> 00:15:06.285
Oh, that's marvelous. That is just

00:15:06.825 --> 00:15:07.965
a great way to boil it down.

Maria:

00:15:08.345 --> 00:15:10.765
And it's not derogatory

00:15:10.825 --> 00:15:13.465
towards masculine or feminine. I have been guilty

00:15:13.465 --> 00:15:15.485
of masculine rage as well, that reactionary

00:15:15.945 --> 00:15:19.250
knee-jerk reaction almost. But that's what made

00:15:19.250 --> 00:15:21.650
men the great protectors that they were in

00:15:21.650 --> 00:15:23.810
primitive times because they were able to take

00:15:23.810 --> 00:15:24.950
care of it in the moment.

00:15:25.330 --> 00:15:27.270
The feminine aspect of it is

00:15:27.650 --> 00:15:28.630
slow, methodical,

00:15:29.745 --> 00:15:31.505
you know, it's not just you I'll hurt,

00:15:31.505 --> 00:15:33.685
it's every generation that comes after you.

Kate:

00:15:34.065 --> 00:15:36.145
Yes. And we both have it. 

00:15:36.145 --> 00:15:39.425
Yeah. We have both female male aspects

00:15:39.425 --> 00:15:41.665
within us. Exactly. That's what the whole thing

00:15:41.665 --> 00:15:44.000
against, I can go on a tirade about

00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:46.240
that. I know right. Pushing down women, you

00:15:46.240 --> 00:15:47.620
know, is so counterproductive

00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:50.740
because you know, whoever is doing it

Maria:

Absolutely. 

Kate:

00:15:50.800 --> 00:15:53.600
is also pushing down themselves because we're dual beings.

Maria:

00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:57.520
Exactly. Exactly. 

Kate:

Expressing ourselves one way or the other.

Maria:

00:15:57.520 --> 00:15:59.925
And we're all very complicated. Yes.

00:15:59.925 --> 00:16:02.745
Human. 

Kate:

Yes. I know. I know.

00:16:03.685 --> 00:16:05.785
Oh my goodness. What did you learn

00:16:06.165 --> 00:16:08.185
from writing "This House Will Feed?"

Maria:

00:16:08.805 --> 00:16:11.285
It's a historical gothic, so there was obviously

00:16:11.285 --> 00:16:13.190
research involved. I knew quite a bit going

00:16:13.190 --> 00:16:14.950
into it, but getting into the nitty gritty

00:16:14.950 --> 00:16:15.690
was difficult.

00:16:16.150 --> 00:16:17.050
As a writer,

00:16:18.390 --> 00:16:20.950
I learned that I had the ability to

00:16:20.950 --> 00:16:24.650
tackle the tough concepts, the tough subject matters.

00:16:25.190 --> 00:16:27.735
I had the ability to, I guess,

00:16:27.815 --> 00:16:29.655
dance on the edge of that knife of

00:16:29.655 --> 00:16:32.555
of entertainment versus education versus,

00:16:33.015 --> 00:16:33.515
respect

00:16:34.055 --> 00:16:36.375
for the subject matter. So I learned a

00:16:36.375 --> 00:16:39.035
lot. I certainly did learn a lot. Yeah.

Kate:

00:16:39.095 --> 00:16:41.575
Grown a lot too. 

Maria:

00:16:41.575 --> 00:16:43.540
Of course. Yeah. Because of that catharsis and being 

00:16:43.540 --> 00:16:44.120
able to work through my

00:16:44.500 --> 00:16:47.380
own generational trauma of grief, a generational trauma

00:16:47.380 --> 00:16:49.780
of a collective dissociation that we have as

00:16:49.780 --> 00:16:52.200
a society of, like, Irish people in general.

00:16:52.580 --> 00:16:55.080
Also, because I was able to channel myself

00:16:55.140 --> 00:16:57.140
into Maggie and kind of become Maggie, we

00:16:57.140 --> 00:16:57.960
kind of became

00:16:58.385 --> 00:16:58.885
one

00:16:59.265 --> 00:17:00.865
being. I was able to work through,

00:17:01.345 --> 00:17:03.045
some things in particular that

00:17:03.425 --> 00:17:06.145
had been sitting heavy on my own chest

00:17:06.145 --> 00:17:07.745
for many, many years that I did not

00:17:07.745 --> 00:17:09.345
have the tools to be able to work

00:17:09.345 --> 00:17:10.785
through. So I was able to grow as

00:17:10.785 --> 00:17:13.570
a writer, as a person, as somebody with

00:17:13.570 --> 00:17:16.210
an interest in history, as somebody that loves

00:17:16.210 --> 00:17:18.130
storytelling, I was able to grow on, on

00:17:18.130 --> 00:17:19.590
all levels, which was fantastic.

Kate:

00:17:20.290 --> 00:17:23.650
Oh, that's terrific. Yeah. What led you to

00:17:23.650 --> 00:17:24.630
become a writer?

Maria:

00:17:25.695 --> 00:17:27.775
You know, I'm not sure. When I think

00:17:27.775 --> 00:17:28.675
about it now,

00:17:29.215 --> 00:17:30.415
first of all, I feel I was

00:17:30.415 --> 00:17:32.575
very lucky to be born when I was

00:17:32.575 --> 00:17:34.975
born. It was an age before cell phones.

00:17:34.975 --> 00:17:37.935
It was an age before video, well, video

00:17:37.935 --> 00:17:40.015
games were around, but we certainly didn't have

00:17:40.015 --> 00:17:43.030
them. Even television wise. It's interesting. I am

00:17:43.030 --> 00:17:45.830
what many would consider an elder millennial. I

00:17:45.830 --> 00:17:47.450
was born in 1984.

00:17:47.670 --> 00:17:49.690
But when I moved to the United States,

00:17:49.750 --> 00:17:50.730
I definitely

00:17:51.670 --> 00:17:54.730
could identify more with Gen X,

00:17:55.110 --> 00:17:56.330
I guess, because

00:17:56.655 --> 00:17:58.035
we were behind

00:17:58.655 --> 00:17:59.155
technologically

00:18:00.255 --> 00:18:02.175
to the point of where I understood the

00:18:02.175 --> 00:18:04.495
latchkey kids. I understand, you know, because that's

00:18:04.495 --> 00:18:06.255
what we were. And, for example, we only

00:18:06.255 --> 00:18:08.975
had two television channels until the very late

00:18:08.975 --> 00:18:10.960
'90s. So I didn't grow up with cable

00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:12.000
or any of that. We had to make

00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:14.020
our own entertainment. 

Kate and Maria:

Deprived childhood.

00:18:14.800 --> 00:18:16.880
Well, I know. I'm joking. I know, right?

Maria:

00:18:16.880 --> 00:18:18.880
I know. I keep telling my son.

00:18:18.880 --> 00:18:20.320
I'm like, you know, I had none of

00:18:20.320 --> 00:18:22.560
this. So I'm very lucky because I am

00:18:22.560 --> 00:18:23.060
neurodivergent.

00:18:23.360 --> 00:18:25.085
So I'm sure if I had had video

00:18:25.085 --> 00:18:25.585
games,

00:18:25.885 --> 00:18:27.805
that's what I would have been doing. But

00:18:27.805 --> 00:18:29.885
because I didn't, the only thing I could

00:18:29.885 --> 00:18:33.265
hyperfocus on were books at that point, right?

00:18:33.805 --> 00:18:35.345
Because we only had one television

00:18:35.885 --> 00:18:38.045
and two choices for channels. So it was

00:18:38.045 --> 00:18:40.200
either sport or news for the most part,

00:18:40.360 --> 00:18:42.840
which I wasn't interested in. So it was

00:18:42.840 --> 00:18:45.480
books for me. Definitely books for me. We

00:18:45.480 --> 00:18:47.080
didn't exactly have a very good,

00:18:48.040 --> 00:18:51.640
children's selection of books either. Our children's books

00:18:51.640 --> 00:18:52.940
were very much the classics.

00:18:53.305 --> 00:18:55.545
I was reading Louisa May Alcott and, you

00:18:55.545 --> 00:18:57.885
know, Alice in Wonderland and all of those

00:18:57.945 --> 00:19:00.925
classics, Huck Finn. There came a point when

00:19:01.065 --> 00:19:03.225
I had read everything there almost was to

00:19:03.225 --> 00:19:05.705
read in the library and the selection we

00:19:05.705 --> 00:19:06.525
had in bookstores,

00:19:06.825 --> 00:19:09.220
so I moved on to adult literature very

00:19:09.220 --> 00:19:09.720
quickly

00:19:10.020 --> 00:19:12.040
and one of the safest quote unquote

00:19:12.580 --> 00:19:14.340
genres for, you know, a nine-year-old

00:19:14.340 --> 00:19:16.840
that's into the adult section is historical.

00:19:18.180 --> 00:19:19.700
So I was reading a lot of that.

00:19:19.700 --> 00:19:21.540
I did read my first Stephen King at

00:19:21.540 --> 00:19:24.615
the age of 10. Between historical and horror.

00:19:25.315 --> 00:19:27.475
I think the two of those, they melded

00:19:27.475 --> 00:19:29.075
for me at a very, very young and

00:19:29.075 --> 00:19:30.215
impressionable age.

00:19:30.515 --> 00:19:32.915
And I started dabbling when I was around

00:19:32.915 --> 00:19:35.310
15 with actually writing my own.

00:19:35.870 --> 00:19:37.870
So that's kind of when it started for

00:19:37.870 --> 00:19:39.470
me, but I didn't really begin to take

00:19:39.470 --> 00:19:41.310
it very seriously until I moved to the

00:19:41.310 --> 00:19:44.030
United States. There's something about being completely removed

00:19:44.030 --> 00:19:45.890
from everything and everybody

00:19:46.270 --> 00:19:48.770
you know and love. There's a great loneliness,

00:19:48.910 --> 00:19:50.850
especially when you move to a foreign country.

00:19:51.575 --> 00:19:53.015
Now I thought it would be different because

00:19:53.015 --> 00:19:54.475
I had spent some time for university

00:19:54.535 --> 00:19:55.035
here,

00:19:55.495 --> 00:19:57.335
but I moved to a different part of

00:19:57.335 --> 00:19:59.835
the country. I'm in New Jersey. My university

00:19:59.895 --> 00:20:02.775
days were Kentucky and Ohio. I knew nobody

00:20:02.775 --> 00:20:04.775
here. It's very difficult to make friends as

00:20:04.775 --> 00:20:06.795
an adult as opposed to a student.

00:20:07.250 --> 00:20:09.090
So I found the only thing I had

00:20:09.090 --> 00:20:11.170
to occupy my time was to get back

00:20:11.170 --> 00:20:12.950
into my fictional worlds

00:20:13.570 --> 00:20:15.330
and write, write, write. And it took me

00:20:15.330 --> 00:20:17.010
a very long time to kind of get

00:20:17.010 --> 00:20:17.510
settled

00:20:17.810 --> 00:20:20.515
as a writer. I was querying for 14

00:20:20.515 --> 00:20:22.755
years. I have thousands of rejections under my

00:20:22.755 --> 00:20:24.835
belt, and I just kept going. I kept

00:20:24.835 --> 00:20:27.555
going until I finally landed my agent in

00:20:27.555 --> 00:20:29.655
2020, and we went from there.

Kate:

00:20:30.035 --> 00:20:30.535
Wonderful.

00:20:30.915 --> 00:20:33.335
When did your middle grade paranormal

00:20:33.635 --> 00:20:36.130
novel come out? And that's "The Last Hope

00:20:36.130 --> 00:20:36.950
in Hopetown."

00:20:37.410 --> 00:20:39.490
So "The Last Hope in Hopetown" was released

00:20:39.490 --> 00:20:41.730
in October 2022. We were right in the

00:20:41.730 --> 00:20:44.850
middle of lockdown situations and all of the

00:20:44.850 --> 00:20:47.490
uncertainty in the publishing world. And it is

00:20:47.490 --> 00:20:49.030
the story of

00:20:49.575 --> 00:20:52.395
a human child who's been adopted by vampire

00:20:52.455 --> 00:20:52.955
parents.

00:20:53.335 --> 00:20:55.415
They live in a world where vampires are

00:20:55.415 --> 00:20:56.315
living alongside

00:20:56.775 --> 00:20:58.315
humans, but of course

00:20:58.695 --> 00:21:02.155
it's very much "Stranger Things" meets vampires

00:21:02.295 --> 00:21:04.730
in the sense that there's a government conspiracy

00:21:04.950 --> 00:21:07.610
at the heart of everything, and our protagonist,

00:21:07.670 --> 00:21:10.310
Sophie, needs to basically save her parents from

00:21:10.310 --> 00:21:12.470
the hands of the government. So that was

00:21:12.470 --> 00:21:14.870
my debut debut, not only my first children's

00:21:14.870 --> 00:21:16.905
book, but my first published book. It was

00:21:16.905 --> 00:21:18.905
a wonderful experience to be able to get

00:21:18.905 --> 00:21:19.485
out there.

Kate:

00:21:20.105 --> 00:21:22.985
That's great. So are you working on anything right now?

Maria:

00:21:22.985 --> 00:21:25.145
I am firmly in the adult

00:21:25.145 --> 00:21:27.545
world as of right now. My next book

00:21:27.545 --> 00:21:30.105
with Kensington releases this time next year. It's

00:21:30.105 --> 00:21:32.670
called "Beneath It Sleeps." Once again, Irish Gothic

00:21:32.670 --> 00:21:35.410
historical. I'm firmly in that place right now,

00:21:35.870 --> 00:21:38.630
and that one is set for release January

00:21:38.630 --> 00:21:39.550
2027.

Kate:

00:21:39.550 --> 00:21:42.050
Well, I'll be reading that one also. 

Maria:

Fantastic.

Kate:

00:21:43.150 --> 00:21:45.070
You mentioned you'd like to move back to

00:21:45.070 --> 00:21:47.010
Ireland someday. Yes.

00:21:47.525 --> 00:21:48.425
So why?

Maria:

00:21:49.365 --> 00:21:50.805
I didn't want to move to the United

00:21:50.805 --> 00:21:52.565
States. It's not something I'd ever planned to

00:21:52.565 --> 00:21:53.845
do. It's not that I didn't want to.

00:21:53.845 --> 00:21:55.845
I didn't come here kicking and screaming. But

00:21:55.845 --> 00:21:57.365
I grew up in an Ireland that was

00:21:57.365 --> 00:21:58.745
very different from

00:21:59.390 --> 00:22:01.950
any other generation's experience before me. I grew

00:22:01.950 --> 00:22:03.470
up in a time of the Celtic Tiger,

00:22:03.470 --> 00:22:04.850
where we were 

00:22:05.230 --> 00:22:07.790
on the forefront of the world's economic stage.

00:22:07.790 --> 00:22:09.150
There was no reason for me to leave

00:22:09.150 --> 00:22:11.150
the country. You know, there's the saying that

00:22:11.150 --> 00:22:13.250
Ireland's greatest export is its children.

00:22:13.755 --> 00:22:15.915
And that had been true for hundreds of

00:22:15.915 --> 00:22:16.415
years,

00:22:17.275 --> 00:22:20.175
that we've raised children to send them abroad.

00:22:20.555 --> 00:22:21.055
And,

00:22:21.435 --> 00:22:23.435
you know, one of the things that even

00:22:23.435 --> 00:22:25.275
the Irish government did in the early '90s

00:22:25.275 --> 00:22:27.660
was we made third-level education free. So

00:22:27.660 --> 00:22:29.260
what we were in essence doing, we were

00:22:29.260 --> 00:22:30.800
trying to make our greatest

00:22:31.340 --> 00:22:32.880
export, our children,

00:22:33.340 --> 00:22:34.320
be even more

00:22:35.260 --> 00:22:36.000
sought after

00:22:37.340 --> 00:22:37.840
internationally.

00:22:38.300 --> 00:22:40.860
So we have one of the most widely

00:22:40.860 --> 00:22:41.360
educated

00:22:42.075 --> 00:22:44.155
populations in the world. So we're educating our

00:22:44.155 --> 00:22:46.635
children, and we're sending them off into

00:22:46.635 --> 00:22:47.215
the world,

00:22:47.755 --> 00:22:49.435
because there was never anything for them at

00:22:49.435 --> 00:22:51.295
home. But when I was going through,

00:22:51.675 --> 00:22:53.275
there was no reason to leave the country,

00:22:53.275 --> 00:22:55.195
so I I didn't want to leave. I

00:22:55.195 --> 00:22:57.350
happened to meet a boy from New Jersey

00:22:58.050 --> 00:23:00.150
in university in Limerick, Ireland.

00:23:00.690 --> 00:23:02.530
And I had just been on my year

00:23:02.530 --> 00:23:04.850
abroad and I came back and I had

00:23:04.850 --> 00:23:06.550
actually gone to the States by myself.

00:23:07.490 --> 00:23:09.490
And when I got back, the university was

00:23:09.490 --> 00:23:11.665
like, oh, we have a, we have a

00:23:11.665 --> 00:23:13.605
solo traveler from the United States

00:23:14.225 --> 00:23:15.905
who's coming over to study for a year.

00:23:15.905 --> 00:23:16.645
Would you mind

00:23:16.945 --> 00:23:19.025
taking them under your wing because you were

00:23:19.025 --> 00:23:20.885
there alone last year, you know?

00:23:21.425 --> 00:23:23.770
And I said, sure. And it was my

00:23:23.770 --> 00:23:25.930
husband and the rest is history. So that's

00:23:25.930 --> 00:23:27.710
how I wound up in the United States.

00:23:27.930 --> 00:23:30.090
But when we made the decision to

00:23:30.090 --> 00:23:31.770
move to New Jersey, it was so that

00:23:31.770 --> 00:23:34.010
he could finish his degree in the United

00:23:34.010 --> 00:23:36.890
States. We had no intention of settling here

00:23:36.890 --> 00:23:38.030
on a full-time basis

00:23:38.365 --> 00:23:40.205
because he loves it there. He wanted to

00:23:40.205 --> 00:23:41.185
settle in Ireland.

00:23:41.565 --> 00:23:42.065
But

00:23:42.445 --> 00:23:45.665
between us moving here and him graduating,

00:23:45.965 --> 00:23:48.385
the global crash happened in 2008.

00:23:48.525 --> 00:23:50.605
So we wound up deciding to stay in

00:23:50.605 --> 00:23:53.725
the United States because the economic stability that

00:23:53.725 --> 00:23:55.510
I had grown up with in

00:23:55.510 --> 00:23:58.950
Ireland collapsed overnight. So once again, history repeats

00:23:58.950 --> 00:24:01.430
itself. So we wound up here and we

00:24:01.430 --> 00:24:03.270
were here for many years and we started

00:24:03.270 --> 00:24:05.430
to build a family. And, of course, the

00:24:05.430 --> 00:24:07.985
two of us always think about, could we

00:24:07.985 --> 00:24:09.745
move back? It's like we've been biding our

00:24:09.745 --> 00:24:12.065
time waiting for things to repair itself and,

00:24:12.065 --> 00:24:13.825
you know, very slowly but surely it has

00:24:13.825 --> 00:24:15.665
been. And maybe one day we'll wind up

00:24:15.665 --> 00:24:18.305
back home. Be nice. 

Kate:

00:24:18.305 --> 00:24:20.225
Oh, yes. And how old is your son? 

Maria:

00:24:20.225 --> 00:24:22.500
He is 12 years old now. I feel like he's over the

00:24:22.500 --> 00:24:24.680
age threshold now of where we could possibly

00:24:24.820 --> 00:24:26.820
just pick everything up and move back. I

00:24:26.820 --> 00:24:29.300
feel he'd be behind in school if we

00:24:29.300 --> 00:24:31.460
were to move there. And obviously this is

00:24:31.460 --> 00:24:33.380
his life. This is his home. So I

00:24:33.380 --> 00:24:34.900
wouldn't want to uproot him. So I think

00:24:34.900 --> 00:24:36.180
if we were ever going to

00:24:36.895 --> 00:24:38.675
consider that, it would probably be

00:24:39.055 --> 00:24:40.915
maybe retirement age at this point.

Kate:

00:24:42.575 --> 00:24:45.535
Sounds like it will happen sometimes, especially since

00:24:45.535 --> 00:24:48.335
you both want it. 

Maria:

00:24:48.335 --> 00:24:49.795
Oh, yeah. Absolutely. We'll see what happens in the future.

Kate:

00:24:50.175 --> 00:24:52.840
It's a great country. I love to visit.

00:24:52.840 --> 00:24:55.260
And I've encouraged my son, who's 34.

00:24:55.720 --> 00:24:58.700
"You know, look into Ireland, but be careful.

00:24:58.760 --> 00:24:59.580
Don't drive."

00:25:00.440 --> 00:25:03.000
Even walking in Dublin, you're so used to

00:25:03.000 --> 00:25:03.500
looking

00:25:03.880 --> 00:25:05.580
to the left or the right or whatever.

00:25:05.720 --> 00:25:08.005
You look the opposite. So I just follow

00:25:08.385 --> 00:25:10.085
exactly the walk signs

00:25:10.465 --> 00:25:12.945
Yeah. To go across the street. 

Maria:

00:25:12.945 --> 00:25:14.805
It's so funny and it's so interesting because

00:25:15.105 --> 00:25:16.245
I have been driving

00:25:16.705 --> 00:25:18.545
for much longer in the United States than

00:25:18.545 --> 00:25:21.120
I ever did in Ireland. When I'm driving,

00:25:21.660 --> 00:25:24.460
through back roads like in Pennsylvania, they remind

00:25:24.460 --> 00:25:27.420
me of the Irish main roads, but I

00:25:27.420 --> 00:25:29.740
drive very slowly in Pennsylvania on those back

00:25:29.740 --> 00:25:32.700
roads because I'm not used to driving that

00:25:32.700 --> 00:25:34.955
kind of road on the wrong

00:25:35.415 --> 00:25:37.035
side. But when I go home,

00:25:38.375 --> 00:25:40.375
it's like, I don't know, the NASCAR driver

00:25:40.375 --> 00:25:42.295
in me comes out. I'm like, you know,

00:25:42.295 --> 00:25:44.615
gearing and my husband's hanging on to the

00:25:44.615 --> 00:25:46.855
bar and, you know, I've no problem in

00:25:46.855 --> 00:25:48.890
the roads at home or very much even

00:25:48.890 --> 00:25:50.650
the rural roads in Pennsylvania, like the Irish

00:25:50.650 --> 00:25:52.330
roads are much smaller, and I'm like, I'm

00:25:52.330 --> 00:25:54.830
able to maneuver no problem. I guess 

00:25:54.970 --> 00:25:57.370
my depth perception, things are different because I

00:25:57.370 --> 00:25:59.530
was taught how to drive on those roads.

00:25:59.530 --> 00:26:02.005
So I know exactly within a hair's breadth

00:26:02.005 --> 00:26:03.925
of where I need to go. 

Kate:

Thank goodness someone does.

Maria:

00:26:03.925 --> 00:26:06.425
I know, right? I know.

00:26:06.725 --> 00:26:08.885
So, yeah, it's probably me speeding around that

00:26:08.885 --> 00:26:10.185
random curve in Ireland

00:26:10.565 --> 00:26:11.705
and going, "Tourists!"

00:26:12.405 --> 00:26:13.465
shaking my fist.

Kate:

00:26:14.165 --> 00:26:15.260
That funny.

00:26:15.720 --> 00:26:17.980
Anything else you'd like to talk about?

Maria:

00:26:18.280 --> 00:26:19.980
I do always like to

00:26:20.280 --> 00:26:20.780
discuss

00:26:21.080 --> 00:26:23.000
a little bit about the writing journey in

00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:25.260
general. And for anybody who's listening out there

00:26:25.320 --> 00:26:27.560
who is writing books or is in the

00:26:27.560 --> 00:26:29.720
query trenches or is trying to publish whatever

00:26:29.720 --> 00:26:32.385
your path to publication may be, I just

00:26:32.385 --> 00:26:34.705
want to end with, there's no easy way

00:26:34.705 --> 00:26:35.605
to get published.

00:26:36.145 --> 00:26:36.805
You know,

00:26:37.265 --> 00:26:39.685
I spent many years trying to be traditionally

00:26:39.745 --> 00:26:42.085
published only because I don't have the wherewithal,

00:26:42.625 --> 00:26:45.400
the smarts or the ingenuity to be self-

00:26:45.400 --> 00:26:47.640
or indie-published. I have great respect for

00:26:47.640 --> 00:26:49.080
those authors, but it is a lot of

00:26:49.080 --> 00:26:50.460
work that I personally

00:26:51.240 --> 00:26:53.400
could never wrap my head around. So there

00:26:53.400 --> 00:26:55.100
are very many paths to publication,

00:26:55.905 --> 00:26:58.145
and I don't want people out there to

00:26:58.145 --> 00:27:00.085
be trying to put all their eggs into

00:27:00.785 --> 00:27:01.525
a traditional

00:27:03.025 --> 00:27:03.525
pathway.

00:27:03.905 --> 00:27:06.005
Some genres do better in other

00:27:07.025 --> 00:27:08.325
forums, in other methods.

00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:10.240
So, yeah, don't put all your eggs in

00:27:10.240 --> 00:27:12.400
your basket, I guess, or eggs in one

00:27:12.400 --> 00:27:12.900
basket.

00:27:13.280 --> 00:27:16.000
Really research your market and go with the

00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:18.340
path that allows you to

00:27:18.640 --> 00:27:21.040
continue to hold on to that spark, that

00:27:21.040 --> 00:27:23.395
love that you started with because we do

00:27:23.395 --> 00:27:25.315
lose that along the way. It is a

00:27:25.315 --> 00:27:27.655
very difficult industry, very difficult business.

00:27:28.115 --> 00:27:30.435
And, I don't like to talk about

00:27:30.435 --> 00:27:32.055
perseverance because perseverance

00:27:33.075 --> 00:27:33.975
can be toxic

00:27:34.370 --> 00:27:36.370
to a lot of people. It becomes toxic

00:27:36.370 --> 00:27:36.870
positivity.

00:27:37.410 --> 00:27:39.350
Like, "you can do it. Just keep going."

00:27:39.650 --> 00:27:41.990
It's not constructive for many people.

00:27:42.370 --> 00:27:44.150
What I would say instead is

00:27:44.450 --> 00:27:46.545
do exactly what you need to do to

00:27:46.545 --> 00:27:48.305
preserve the spark that got you into it

00:27:48.305 --> 00:27:49.205
to begin with.

Kate:

00:27:49.905 --> 00:27:52.645
That's good. That's a great distinction.

Maria:

00:27:53.105 --> 00:27:54.865
Yep. Whatever that needs to be. If that

00:27:54.865 --> 00:27:56.945
means giving up on, you know, submitting to

00:27:56.945 --> 00:27:59.105
publishers through an agent, then that's what it

00:27:59.105 --> 00:28:01.920
is. Just be prepared. Make sure that you

00:28:01.920 --> 00:28:05.040
understand your market. Like, if you're writing something

00:28:05.040 --> 00:28:06.720
that would do very well in the indie-

00:28:06.720 --> 00:28:09.200
or self-publishing space, go for it. Don't

00:28:09.200 --> 00:28:10.800
be hanging around waiting for trad if you

00:28:10.800 --> 00:28:11.700
don't need to.

Kate:

00:28:12.665 --> 00:28:15.805
Good advice. Thank you. 

Maria:

Of course. Anytime.

Kate:

00:28:16.745 --> 00:28:19.805
Maria, thank you so much for your stories,

00:28:19.865 --> 00:28:22.285
your insights. It's been such a pleasure.

Maria:

00:28:22.745 --> 00:28:24.665
Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.

00:28:24.665 --> 00:28:27.500
Thanks for liking "This House Will Feed."

00:28:27.500 --> 00:28:30.540
Thanks for being interested, not only interested, but

00:28:30.540 --> 00:28:32.300
being entertained. I guess I did what I

00:28:32.300 --> 00:28:33.740
had set out to do. So thank you

00:28:33.740 --> 00:28:36.160
so much, Kate. Appreciate it. 

Kate and Maria:

And congratulations

00:28:36.860 --> 00:28:37.920
Thank you. For producing

00:28:38.380 --> 00:28:40.795
a really good work. Oh, thank you so

00:28:40.795 --> 00:28:42.975
much. Yeah. Really, really appreciate it.

Kate:

00:28:44.395 --> 00:28:46.735
This is Kate Jones with Everyday Creation.

00:28:47.195 --> 00:28:49.135
Thank you for joining us today.