Books: West Cork author’s trilogy set in the world of religious sect

It was always written in stone that one day Claire O’Connor would realise her dream and fulfil her ambition to become a published author.

“As a kid, I always had a pen in my hand, was always writing away in my copy books,” says Claire, who lives with her partner in a most idyllic location for creative people, Eyeries in West Cork.

She is in the process of self-publishing a thriller trilogy about sects and closed religions, called Over The Wall.

“I enjoy writing short fiction and poetry as well as novels,” says Claire, originally from Arklow, who has contributed short fiction to various anthologies.

Apart from her impressive writing skills, she has travelled extensively, and worked in many areas, including as a civil servant in a local council library in the UK.

“I lived in Spain and the UK for over 20 years,” says Claire, who works in the local pharmacy, all the while living the dream, writing and imagining.

“We came back here to Beara at the end of covid.

“I have family connections here and we are currently renovating an old cottage in Castletownbere.”

The history of the cottage, which might have been originally d with Lord Puxley’s Castle and farmlands, could make for a future best-seller?

“It’s been decades since anyone lived there,” says Claire.

“We’ve had visitors who have told us about the family who lived there and we’re gathering information. We’ll finally be in the house this year.”

Claire’s main interest is not in local history though.

“No, it’s not!” says Claire, laughing. “I tell my mother that I have always had a morbid interest in cults and religions!

“As a teenager, I soaked up every documentary and biography that I could find on sects and closed religions, even before Netflix or YouTube came on stream.”

Why the fascination with this complex and curious subject?

“I’ve always been interested in the type of personality or character that starts them,” says Claire. “And how they draw people in.

“Another aspect that interests me is life after the cult, that point where people let go. We might assume that life gets easier then, but it takes a lot of work to fit into a new society.”

In 2019, Claire achieved a Bachelor of Arts degree, including Creative Writing, with a view to following and realising her dream of becoming a published author.

“I followed my dream,” says Claire, who wrote the trilogy while recovering from serious back surgery.

“That is the path I took. It was a whirlwind that lasted four years.”

How does she indulge herself in doing what she does best after two serious back surgeries and being compromised mobile-wise for four years?

“I invested in a standing desk,” says Claire. “It is electric so that I can adjust to whatever position suits me while I’m writing.

“And now I can enjoy walking my dog on the nearby strand every morning.”

Claire writes with great imagination and imagery. She describes the role of women in a cult situation, who are there to bear children, care for the young, tend to the farm and do the cooking.

The main character is Keziah and the story reflects an Amish lifestyle.

Claire is fan of Margaret Attwood’s writing.

“I am a big Attwood fan. I read The Handmaid’s Tale when I had completed book two of my trilogy. I’m hoping part three is completed next year.”

“Over The Wall explores indoctrination and how people adjust to a way of living in a cult or closed religion.”

Is Claire religious?

“I was convent-educated, but I wasn’t religious,” she says. “I think my mum was more religious than my dad.

“I was always questioning, why this? Why that? I would say I was an atheist, but not an angry atheist.”

Claire set up a Facebook group for ‘indie authors’ in 2023.

“It has 200 , and it is going from strength to strength,” she says. “It is a warm community and offers budding writers accessibility to information and s.”

Claire never wasted any of her precious time realising her dream.

“I never considered spending years querying or looking for agents,” she says.

“I just wanted to write and get my work out. That’s the best thing about self-publishing, just getting on with it, in full control of your own creation with no middle-man!”

She was in good company.

“Roddy Doyle self-published and so did Margaret Attwood.”

Claire’s main character, Keziah, eventually endeavours to escape the clutches of the cult.

The author paints a word picture of the scene.

"The refection of the moonlight guided Keziah towards the lake. Once she arrived at the start of the incline towards it, she built up speed.

“As she ran through the conifer patch, she tripped over a stump skinning her shin. She let her body roll in order to keep moving, but the robe caught on the thorny bush. She forcefully ripped it away and kept running. Her chest began to hurt, and her heart thumped in her ears.

“She’s already ran over two kilometres, from the fulcrum, as fast as possible. She raced down the bank into the lake pushing against the water, wading from side to side. The shock of the cold caught her breath. The sudden gush in her ears silenced everything else around her.”

Without any spoilers, suffice to say Kesiah returns to the cult in a different guise with a view to exposing it.

The story gathers momentum and reaches an exciting and surprising climax, holding the reader under a magnetic spell.

Over The Wall, a riveting read about a fascinating subject, is available on Amazon and in Polly’s Bookshop Castletownbere.

Claire will be in the Grand Parade tomorrow, Saturday, for Cork World Book Fest, where her books are on sale.

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