Nancy Monaghan

Interviewed by Catherine Tudor

CT: Tell us about your Celtic heritage, and how it inspires you to write. What do you hope to teach children?

NM: I take great pride in my Irish heritage. I also believe that I owe a great debt to my emigrant Irish ancestors who endured incredible hardships to create a better life for their descendants. My g-g-granda, Hugh Monaghan, was forced to leave his beloved Donegal during An Gorta Mor, the Great Starvation, in Ireland. Until his dying day, he yearned for his home in Pettigo. In writing these books, I've tried to honor the memory of Hugh and all the other courageous emigrants who sacrificed to provide us with a better life than they had.

When I was teaching fourth grade in Maine, I had a very difficult time trying to find books for young adults with a Celtic theme (and still do, I might add). Having been inspired and enthused about the Celtic culture for most of my life, I was determined to create a series of books that would introduce children and young adults to the beauty, mysticism and history of the Celtic people.

Each book encourages respect for all cultures and people. While "The Spirit Stone" has an evil Druid as the protagonist, the heroine of the book is a kind and gentle Druidess. The characters of my books are strong, capable young adults who triumph over great adversity. Hopefully, providing a positive role model in a setting where justice prevails will give encouragement and comfort to others.

CT: You drew from your own experiences to write The Adoption Legacy. What does it mean to be a reunited adoptee?

NM: In The Adoption Legacy, an adoptee searches for her heritage and finds her legacy reflected in the turbulent historical struggle between Ireland and England. The only information Annie Randall possesses about her biological parents is that they lived in London, England when Annie was born. When Annie's father is transferred to London, she embarks on a search for her heritage. With assistance from the spirit of her great-grandmother, Annie becomes immersed in the historically tragic relationship between Ireland and England. She learns that 'the Troubles' have haunted her family for many generations. Annie learns that she comes from a long line of courageous and determined women who guide her toward her ultimate goal.

This book is a spiritual and historical journey exploring not only the often hidden emotions of the adoption triangle, but also the high price paid by generations living in a religiously intolerant environment.

Writing this book was a catharsis for me and the experiences Annie has are my own growing up as an adoptee. As a reunited adoptee, myself, I wanted to write a book that would assure adopted children that their feelings are valid and shared by many others. It's also an excellent book for birthparents and adoptive parents to help them to understand the feelings their child may experience. When I was growing up, I thought I was the only adopted child in the world. I want adopted children and young adults to know that it's natural to wonder about your heritage and not to feel guilty about it.

I reunited with my biological family in 1975. Having grown up as an only child, I was stunned to find that I had ten brothers and sisters. Meeting my biological mother was one of the most moving and wonderful experiences of my life. We found that, of all her children, I was the most like her (which could provide a very good argument for nature vs. nurture). We had fifteen years together before she passed away in 1990. She was a lovely woman and I miss her very much. My adopted parents will always be my real parents, but the human heart has a great capacity for love and it need not be reserved for only one set of parents. I had the unique experience of having my adopted parents meet my biological parents: "Mom, this is Mom.." They got along very well and I truly felt blessed in having two such wonderful sets of parents. After reading the manuscript of The Adoption Legacy, my adopted parents told me they never knew I felt that way and, for the first time, they could truly understand my need to know. It bonded us together even more closely than before.

CT: You are originally from the Bronx, and you now reside in Florida. Have these two locations influenced your writing in any way?

NM: I've called many places home. At the present time, I live in Seminole, Florida and teach school in St. Petersburg. Actually, I was born in Maine, grew up in New York and returned to live in Maine as an adult after I found my biological family. I met my husband, Bruce, in Maine and we had our two sons, Michael and Sean, there. I've also traveled extensively in Europe. All of these places have influenced my writing, but above all, the Celtic memory and theme remains with me and runs deeply within my books.

CT: Kathleen McGowan, Editor-in-Chief of Irish News and Entertainment, said in her review, "Young fans of the J.K Rowling's Harry Potter series and R.L. Stine's Goosebumps books are certain to enjoy these stories. While reading The Druid Stone, I kept envisioning it as a television series." Do you plan to serialize any of your Celtic young adult books?

NM: Not in the sense of the Harry Potter books. Each of my books features a unique set of characters. However, the Celtic theme is consistent throughout. I have yet to write about some of the other Celtic cultures and plan to do so in the future. With millions of Irish-Americans and the Irish diaspora spread all over the world, there are many children and young adults who hunger for stories about their cultural history. The lure of the Celtic legends, mythology and folklore transcends cultural lines and appeals to people of all backgrounds. Of course, it was very flattering to be compared, favorably, with the Harry Potter and Goosebumps books--I was thrilled. I thanked Kathleen, after the interview, for writing such a wonderful comment. She said that it came from her pre-teen son who had read The Druid Stone and loved it comparing it to the other series of books. After she read The Druid Stone, Kathleen agreed with her son. And I agree with Kathleen, The Druid Stone would make a fabulous movie.

CT: How did you meet the artist, Cindy Matyi who designed the lovely cover for The Druid Stone?

NM: I have long been an admirer of Cindy's outstanding Celtic artwork. More than ten years ago, when I first set up my webpages, I asked permission to link to her site. In my opinion, she is a truly gifted artist. I contacted her to ask if she'd be willing to design the cover of The Druid Stone. After reading The Druid Stone manuscript, Cindy exemplified the spirit of generosity when she offered to do so free of charge. I am truly honored to have her artwork grace my bookcovers.

CT: The Adoption Legacy and The Haunted Cove are available in electronic format at your site. What do you hope to achieve by e-publishing these novels? Did you code them yourself, or did you work with an e-publisher?

NM: Since I've been receiving an outstanding response to The Druid Stone, I decided to make the other books available in electronic format to boost their visibility. I bought a copy of Editor Pro and formatted them myself. I have signed a non-exclusive contract with Bridgeworks Publishing and will have the e-books available on a few different e-book sites. I didn't want to sign an exclusive contract because I wanted flexibility in marketing the books. I think e-books are the new wave and will offer yet another option to traditional publishing. As I'm sure you know, Stephen King has published his new book exclusively in e-book format.

CT: I love the idea of your offering autographed books for sale at your site. Describe how that works. Do you foresee authors spending less time touring now that the Web is available as a marketing tool?

NM: I'm offering the books autographed and personalized because that's an option I'd love to have when I purchase books. When people go to my website, they have the choice of purchasing The Druid Stone with or without the personalization and every advance order I've received so far has requested personalization. There is a form that's filled out with the personalization request which is then automatically forwarded to me. I buy the books from the publisher, personalize them and ship them out myself. I've had many different personalization requests: some for birthdays, anniversaries, St. Patrick's Day and from other Monaghans. It's wonderful because it provides an opportunity for me to 'know' my readers. I personally e-mail each of them upon receipt of their order and ask them to let me know how they felt about the book after they've finished reading it. Feedback is wonderful and helps me plan my future books.

As for booksignings and touring, I think authors will still want to tour because nothing can take the place of meeting your readers face-to-face, but the Internet offers unparalled opportunities to reach vast audiences from all over the world. The internet provides an invaluable source for writers of all genres. The World Wide Web offers incredible resources for new and established authors and allows us to create a presence that can be accessed by people all over the world.

I'm hoping to arrange some booksignings at Celtic festivals on the East Coast during the summer when I'm not teaching. I also plan to have booksignings at several local bookstores in the Tampa Bay area.

CT: I am astounded by how many Web rings you manage. Describe some of your rings, and who can submit to them. Why do you create Web rings?

NM: Web rings are a great way for sites with similar content to band together and provide traffic for each other. At the present time, I've created the "Irish Women of the Web Ring" for women of Celtic ancestry (not just Irish) who have created websites, the "Irish-American Webring," the "Irish Authors on the Net Ring," the "Celtic Mysteries Ring" for websites that present and educate about Celtic mythology, legends and folklore, "The Irish Men of the Web Ring" (a few of them requested equal time with the women) and "The Donegal Web Ring" for websites that offer resources and information about the beautiful county Donegal.

CT: Do you ever conduct research on the Web?

NM: Absolutely--since all of my books are geographically and historically accurate, it takes a great deal of research to create each book. I'm a regular at the local library in St. Petersburg and I also use a great deal of online reference sources, maps and historical documents. The LISTBOT I created, IrishAmerican@onelist.com is a great source of information as we have quite a crew of native Irish, Irish-Americans and people of Irish ancestry from around the globe. There's always a great debate of some sort going on and most of us have a great interest in the mythology, folklore and legends of the Celtic cultures. I still find that people are my best source of information.

CT: You've traveled extensively throughout Europe. Where have you gone? What have you learned from visiting the locales you write about?

NM: I've traveled to every country in Western Europe; I've visited Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Italy and Holland many times. Traveling is an experience I would recommend to anyone. It truly broadens your outlook and allows you to see that people are people, with the same wants and needs, no matter where you go. I've met so many terrific people in my travels and they've all enriched my life.

I draw from my own experiences in the Celtic countries for my books. I hope that the profound effect their beauty had on me is somehow transferred to my readers.

CT: Can you think of an Irish blessing you'd like to bestow on your fellow authors this week?

About the Author:

• Visit Nancy Monaghan's Celtic Fiction Web site.

Order Nancy's books from Amazon.com:

• The Druid Stone Hardcover.
• The Druid Stone Paperback.