Maggie's Story

by Sheila O'Flanagan

new unused minor shelf wear only

60 pages, Perfect Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

As you can see, a Dubliner all my life. My parents owned a grocery shop in the Iveagh Markets, in the Liberties area of the city and I guess city blood runs through my veins.

As a child I enjoyed reading and telling stories and everyone thought that I end up in a job which had something to do with books and literature. But though I applied for a job in the library all of the job offers I got were in commerce.

I turned down lots of them before my mother accepted one for me (I was on holiday at the time). It was in the Central Bank of Ireland and that’s how my career in financial services began.

I started out in administration and then moved jobs until finally I was working as a dealer in a commercial bank. Eventually I was promoted to Chief Dealer (the first female CD in the country). I traded lots of different things – foreign exchange, swaps, options, bonds…all of the kind of things you read about in the papers and that sound very technical and difficult. Of course once you’re doing it, it’s not half as technical as it sounds.

But I still loved reading and writing (which I did in my spare time) and I desperately wanted to write my own book. I guess I never quite got over the fact that I was never offered the library job! In my thirties I decided that it was now or never and I sat down, stuck Chapter 1 on a page, and started. I wrote the whole thing before sending it off.

I was offered a publishing deal (with no advance) by an Irish company but only if I wrote a different book! So back to the drawing board, I started again. It was another two years before it was published. It wasn’t until I’d written a few books and was offered a contract (this time with an advance!) from another publisher that I felt able to give up my trading job and write full time. So, even though it took a long time, I eventually realised my dream of being a full-time writer.

And now I also write a business column for the Irish Times.

When I’m writing a book I want to do three things:

* Tell a good story
* Make the reader feel like they know the characters
* Make each book better than the last

I don’t write for any particular audience but I suppose I must have people like me in mind – people who have busy lives and who like to escape into someone else’s for a while.

I love writing books. I hope you enjoy reading them.

Reviews

[Book_Worm_Jim.83 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another "Open Doors Series" read and another book I loved reading and absolutely could not put down. For those that are not aware, the ODS is a series of books (Currently 6 series) with six books in each series. All the books are written by Irish Authors and vary approximately between 70 - 100 pages in length.

I've read books within all the series (I think) and am working my way towards reading them all. I love that the series introduces me to new authors I may not have considered reading of it were not for the ODS.

Maggy works tirelessly for her family, she is a housewife, she cooks, cleans and slaves away all day for the sake of her family. Maggie is forty-three and feels the spark from her marriage has fizzled out. Her only independence is a part time job that her husband does not see the point in having. Maggie is seeking romance, but will she rekindle the spark with her husband or find a new spart elsewhere.

Her children are entitled, and Maggie loves her children but wants some excitement in her life. She meets a budding author and find release from her humdrum day in a book that shows her romance and adventure. Her family notice a change in Maggie and Maggie wants things to change but will they change for the better or for worse.

I loved how Maggie's struggles were written and Maggie comes across as a very strong and independent female character. I liked the ending, and this has renewed my interest in this author as I read "Better Together" back in June 2020 and really could not get into the book and didn't like it. Having said that this read has meant that I will now look to reading more titles by O'Flanagan.

[Hannie]

Uitgave voor mensen die moeite hebben met lezen

[Nataliec7 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this little book. It was simple to read and understand and it fits the purpose of why I was written.

[Alison Hurt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story which i read in about half an hour

[Lynne - The Book Squirrel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another quick read, and very much like how I felt my life was too, only mine turned out very different!

[Kellie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Middle-aged woman, married with children, has a mid-life crisis. Not anything I can relate to (even though I'm the same age) and not very exciting to read about.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a mess...holy cow this was good, if soppy...it brought up some unhappiness, which is why I can't give it a full five stars. But oh wow this was good...

[CC · Rating 3 out of 5]

short story. nice read.