From the Booking Desk:

From the moment I read her debut novel, The Ruin, I knew that Dervla McTiernan and I could be friends. While I have yet to have the pleasure of meeting her in person, we stay connected via social media and will find ourselves at the same crime fiction convention one of these days. I have gone on to review her follow-ups: The Scholar and The Sisters. And I am anxiously awaiting the third book in her series. In the meantime, I thought Dervla was the perfect candidate for the Composite Sketch profile series. Let’s learn a bit more about the talented author.

Name: Dervla McTiernan
Location: Perth, Western Australia

This person from my personal life is such an inspiration:

My mother, who worked sixty hours a week and still managed to raise her seven children with love. Her work ethic and her open heart are a constant inspiration, but her self-drive is a warning too – no-one is harder on themselves than my mum. I try very hard to follow her example in terms of hard work and love for my family and friends, but be a bit kinder to myself that she has been. 

One of the people I admire most in the crime fiction community is:

Val McDermid. She’s a writer who has consistently given back to the writing community over her entire career. She seems to have boundless energy and appetite for writing and creativity generally. Don Winslow, another writer who reaches out to help other writers and who writes with such commitment and consummate skill. JK Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith. Man, I love those books!  I love her commitment to extraordinary characters and good, old-fashioned storytelling.  And Attica Locke – I’ve only just discovered her books, I think she’s wonderful, and I’m thrilled to have a backlist to explore.

STALKER ALERT! If this fictional character were real, they would likely need to get a restraining order against me:

I’m struggling with this one! I think I’m content for my favourite characters to stay between the pages. The ones I admire most would probably intimidate me terribly in real life! If I had to choose, I think I’d say Robin Ellacott from the Robert Galbraith books. I think she would make a fabulous best friend, because she’s so fundamentally decent but also smart and self-sufficient and oh-so interesting. 

People are always surprised that I am a fan of this individual (singer, actor, or artist):

Lady Gaga. I wasn’t really, in the early stages of her career, but I’ve come to see how utterly committed she is to her art and I find it deeply inspirational. Ellen Pompeo, for her outspokenness and leadership. Ava DuVernay, because she is so very brilliant. When They See Us broke my heart in all the ways it was meant to. I don’t know if any of them are surprising, but there you go!

My personal catch phrase is (or should be):

Erm, probably – ‘I have a new theory,’ – announced to my long-suffering husband at distressingly regular intervals. Theories generally related to how I can squeeze more productivity out of my day (see answer to question one, above).

Find out more about Dervla here