Interview With Carlene O’Connor, Irish Village Mysteries

Irish eyes are, indeed, smiling this month — no better time to interview the author of the popular Irish Village Mysteries, Carlene O’Connor. Pick up any of her positively stellar mysteries and take an armchair trip to beautiful and enchanting Ireland.  Every landscape, setting and even the folklore are so vividly described, that you’ll think you’ve jumped into the Star Trek transporter room and got yourself transported to merry old Ireland! The characters are so authentic and real that you’ll be following in their shadows every step of the way. It’s a series NOT to be missed! And here’s how it it all began:

Carlene, what was your inspiration to write a cozy mystery with the setting in Ireland?

My editor called one day after I’d been writing Women’s Fiction for ten years, and asked if I would be interested in writing a murder mystery series set in England. I had only ever been to London for a week. I said, “I wouldn’t know the first thing about setting a book in England.” Then I paused and said, “But I could set it in Ireland.” I had dated a ton of Irishmen, and one long term Irish man that I was with had introduced me to his home town of Kilmallock, County Limerick which I had absolutely fallen in love with. I had also spent a month in Ireland at that time and, as a New Yorker, most of my friends were Irish. I must admit, I spent a lot of my weekends in Irish pubs. My great grandmother emigrated to America from Ireland and my DNA test results were 74% Irish so it’s also in the blood.

When was your first book in your Irish Village Mystery series published and what is the title?

It was first published in 2016 and it is Murder in an Irish Village.

How did you come up with the main character (policewoman) Garda Siobhán O’Sullivan?

She’s a little bit me, a little bit my mother, and as I wrote, she developed and became her own person. The writing process can be mysterious.

So far there are 8 books available in this series. Is there one in particular that was your personal favorite, and if so, why?

I always laugh at this question simply because it becomes impossible to choose. The first is always special because it’s the first, and otherwise, I’m usually most attached to the one I’m working on whenever this question is asked. Murder in an Irish Cottage was my first starred review from Publisher’s Weekly so that was exciting. I also love Murder at an Irish Christmas – it was just a lot of fun to write.

I understand you divide your time between New York and Ireland. What are the things you enjoy the most when you go back to Ireland?

That’s changed a bit since I moved to Chicago and, of course, the pandemic. But I do intend to go back when I can — although life in the US has become complicated due to some personal matters. I may not get back as soon as I wish, however, I honestly just love seeing the sights wherever I am, and hanging out in pubs. I enjoy listening to trad music and most of all, chatting with the locals. I have friends in Ireland, too, and I love hanging out with them. I do hope to one day spend a lot more time there, perhaps even a year or so, if I can pull it off. And a future dream is to have a cottage there.

I heard there’s another book in your Irish Village Mystery series on the horizon. Can you give the readers a “hint” as to the plot?

Murder on an Irish Farm was just released — February 2022. It involves falconry, an abandoned dairy farm with a slurry pit, and wedding bells! Murder in an Irish Bakery will be out in February of 2023, and will involve a televised bake-off with the best bakers in Ireland and will be set in an old flour mill.

I love Christmas anthologies. In 2019 The Christmas Cocoa Murder featured one of your stories as well as stories by Maddie Day and Alex Erickson (still available at retailers). Do you have another anthology coming out later this year?

Christmas Scarf Murder anthology will come out in September of 2022 with Maddie Day and Peggy Ehrhart. My installment involves an ugly scarf, residents at a local elder care home, and a Christmas tractor parade. Unfortunately, one particular young lad is not so lucky when the scarf becomes entangled in a tractor wheel. But as you’ve probably guessed, it was anything but an accident!

Anything else you would like to share with out readers?

I’m thrilled that the Irish Village Mysteries are going strong and will keep coming. I also have a Halloween novella coming out in 2023 featuring my Home to Ireland characters, and I’m very excited about a new darker mystery series soon to be released. It is set in Dingle, County Kerry and features a veterinarian. The first is called No Strangers Here and it will be released in October of 2022. I must admit, I believe it’s my best work to date and I’m super excited about it.

It’s great to see that nothing has slowed down Carlene O’Connor. A special thank you to Ms. O’Connor for taking the time out of her busy schedule for this interview. Her Irish Village Mystery series is published by Kensington Publishing.

Read a full review of her Murder in an Irish Cottage and other mystery reviews on this site under the “books/mystery” category.

Authors and publishers can contact me at:  ann@wonderwomensixty.com