Are you a member of a book club? If so, do you meet virtually or in-person?

I attend a book club run by Pangur Bán Bookshop in conjunction with Craoibhín Ballina. We meet in-person once a month.

The book up for discussion last month was none other than Secrets in the Babby House written by me! I was absolutely thrilled when my book by chosen, a little bit nervous too. Will they like it? Will I be able for the criticism? Book club critiques aren’t necessarily constructive. These readers know what they like and they’re not shy about voicing their opinions.

If you’re not already familiar with Secrets in the Babby House, here’s the blurb:

Flossie Lynch is heartbroken when her only love, Frank Connolly, marries another. So when John O’Malley—the well-off catch of the parish—proposes to her, she resigns herself to a marriage of convenience, hoping to learn to love him.
For John, Flossie is mostly a respectable wife and caring mother to their son—and the perfect façade for his dark secret. But bloody Frank Connolly and his blackmailing wife are making things difficult for him.
Another victim of his jealous wife’s abusive behaviour, Frank stays in his loveless marriage for the sake of his two wee girls. He turns his childhood fort into a babby house to give them a refuge from their cruel mother. But for Frank, there is no refuge.
When Flossie rekindles her friendship with Frank, she tries desperately to save him from a life of misery and promises to always look out for his daughters. As the two star-crossed lovers near a second chance, tragedy strikes, forcing Flossie to make good on her promise—while attempting to protect her husband and son.
But as long as there’s a Connolly with a score to settle, there is no escape from the past and no promises for the future.

Set in a gossipy small town in Ireland at a time when marriage is for keeps and sexuality is repressed, Secrets in the Babby House is a family saga over three decades that starts in 1956. It is a story of love, deception, and stolen diaries filled with sins and secrets.

Book Club Discussion

The feedback from all those who had read the book was very positive. A sense of nostalgia was felt by many readers throughout the novel. The vivid descriptions of the town (Bailieborough), the woodlands, shops and pubs, the food, the clothes, and even the cars, brought them back in time with characters that felt truly authentic.

The Woods

Bailieborough is a small town in Ireland and one of its main features is the Castle Lake, which is located in the rustic woods. There was once a fabulous castle in these woods but it was destroyed in a fire in 1918 and later demolished in the 1940s. Very little of the castle remains today. The Castle Lake and woods feature heavily in the story.

The Town

It’s the 1950/60s and Bailieborough is a bustling little place where everyone knows everyone. It has 32 pubs and all of them have their regulars. There’s little to no empty buildings in the town and most shop owners live above their premises. People seldom travel to bigger towns and cities to do their shopping. They stay local.

The Shopping

The shopping experience is very much a social event. The shop keepers know their customers by name. There’s chat (and gossip) with the shop workers and fellow shoppers. There’s no rush. Local farmers deliver fresh produce to the shops; eggs, vegetables, and maybe poultry too. The groceries are brought home in a cardboard box, paper bags or reusable shopping bags and baskets. No plastic bags!

There’s several draperies/clothes shops. The word boutique is unheard of. Many shops display their wares outside on the footpaths. And of course there’s the most important of shops; sweetshops and trinket/stationary shops.

The Food

The characters are fond of the typical Irish summer salad of hard boiled eggs covered in dollops of salad cream sprinkled with chopped parsley, potato salad with peas mixed through, sliced ham and corned beef, cucumber, tomato wedges, and freshly baked brown bread or soda bread. They go for a good ole Irish stew, and lamb at Easter time. Trifle – sometimes laced with sherry – is a popular dessert.

The children get jelly and ice cream, and maybe fruit cocktail (on a good day) straight from a tin. They’re very fond of rhubarb Jam sandwiches and plain biscuits. Sweets aren’t plentiful. A penny bar or a Peggy’s Leg is the usual treat.

Men like their bottles of Guinness and whiskey. While some women drink Guinness too, a wee sherry is preferable for most. Alice is very fond of alcohol and wouldn’t be fussy when it comes to choosing a drink. The children and young adults drink diluted orange and red lemonade.

The Clothes

The main character Flossie, initially wears boring brown skirts and cream blouses, later adding more colour to her wardrobe with the help of her college friend, Sheila. The older Flossie typically prefers summer dresses and flowy skirts, with cardigans in pastel shades of pink, blue, and lilac. In winter she wears trousers, soft woollen jumpers, and boots.

The children wear simple dresses, ankle socks, and Mary Jane shoes. Sandals or barefoot in the summer, tights and warm coats during the colder months.

The men wear trousers and shirts mostly. They wear a full suit, including a tie, on Sundays.

In part three of the novel, the style changes a little with the teenagers wearing sequins and boob tubes to the disco. Some dress up in the style of their favourite band The Bay City Rollers.

The Cars

Two cars in particular are Frederick’s Ford Coupe Utility, George’s 1922 Baby Austin, and Josey’s Morris Minor.

The Dialogue

Readers found the writing easy to follow and they could easily distinguish one character from the other through the dialogue.

Questions for the Author

Are there any elements of yourself in the book?

I find elements of myself in every book. So, yes, I’m pretty certain that there’s little pieces of myself sprinkled throughout the novel. Maybe even more than I realise. All my characters are made up of tiny pieces of people I’ve met down through the years, and people I’ve seen on television, and people I’ve heard stories about.

Who was your favourite character to write about?

Creating the main character Flossie, was more enjoyable than creating any of the others. In the first draft of the novel she was a minor character, but there was something about her that intrigued me. I wanted to find out more about her and I felt that she had to be a bigger part of the story. By the end I felt she was a real person and I felt that many women (not just from the 50s era) would relate to her and the life that she had carved out for herself. They’d understand her reasons for living a lie and her fears of her shameful secrets being exposed.

How did you feel writing about Alice?

Alice is the villain in the story. The cruel mother with the bad reputation who drinks and smokes too much. When asked this question, it took me a minute to think about my answer. I hadn’t given it much thought before. Alice may be a fictional character, but I’ve met and heard about women like her, so in a sense, Alice is the truth.

I enjoyed the thinking process behind the creation of Alice. It’s not just a matter of creating a villain. It’s also about getting into her head and figuring out why she is the way she is. No one is born bad (according to Louise Hay). I didn’t enjoy making her do the things she did but she’s an important part of the plot and although I did cringe at some of her actions, it’s what she is and I wasn’t going to sugar coat her.

Did you find it hard to let your characters go and do you miss them?

The thing is, I haven’t let them go yet because I’m working on a sequel. So they’re all still very much alive in my mind. In the sequel, the main focus is on Nancy and Sister Catherine and Benny.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with my lovely reader buddies about my book and felt very honoured that Ray thought it worthy enough to choose it as the monthly read.

You can read a sample of Secrets in the Babby House below and purchase from Amazon. It might just be your cup of tea.