I've been reading your posts for a while now and find you an exceptional writer with a unique voice. You're thoroughly engaging and have a way with adding a personal quality to history. Can you comment on where you learned to write and about your educational background?

David Lawlor Yet again you bombard me with undeserved compliments. Thanks so much, Claire, for taking the time to read some of my posts and to comment. Your encouragement is a great support. I only wish I could reciprocate to the same extent.

I always enjoyed writing school essays as a teenager. That was my favourite element of my English class. However, other than those fortnightly forays into story-telling, I didn't do any other writing. After leaving school, I did a degree in English and History in University College Dublin, followed by a graduate diploma in journalism.

I'm a production journalist - editing and designing news pages, so, despite being a journalist for 25 years, I haven't written that many newspaper articles (maybe 30 or 40).

I wrote my first novel about 10 years ago. It's a story about the Choctaw indians and the aid they gave to the Irish during the famine.I had always been impressed by the Choctaws generosity and felt compelled to write that story. I though that once I had, then it would be out of my system. The opposite happened. I am hooked on writing novels. If I had the money, I would retire and write my books all day long. Unfortunately, that's not possible, so I squeeze in some writing on my commute to work and on the way home. From time to time, I'll squeeze in a blog post, too.

I didn't take a writing course. I do think though that as we age, we lose the fear of criticism in our writing. I'm fascinated by history and wonder how I would have coped in various eras. History is made by people. That is such an obvious statement, but what tends to be overlooked in studying history, I think, is the humanity of those history makers. I try to get across a small sense of that humanity when I write my posts.

You're a great writer, Claire . . .very spiritual and attuned to those around you. I enjoy your posts. Your writing is precise and evocative, filled with a deep love of your subject. Thanks for giving me such great support. If I can be of any assistance to you in the future, just ask. I will do my very best to help. Take care. - David

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