Very sad to hear about Maeve Binchy, may she rest in peace.
Shocked to hear of Maeve Binchy's death. Thanks for all the brilliant hours of reading pleasure. 📖
MAEVE BINCHY left writers a secret: http://t.co/B5YhL3lF (Video)
İrlandalı yazar Maeve Binchy hayatını kaybettihttp://t.co/nlg2vNsi
Décès de l’écrivaine irlandaise Maeve Binchy: L’écrivaine irlandaiseMaeve Binchy, connue... http://t.co/PagUJISL
Read many Maeve Binchy books when I used to do the commute to London. A brilliant storyteller whose books are always in my mums holiday
Best-selling Irish author Maeve Binchy, has died after a short illness, aged 72. More than 40-million of her books sold worldwide.
Famous Irish author Maeve Binchy died peacefully today, aged 72. But for the authors of the world she has left a gift: The secrets of her writing.
Binchy’s fiction was greatly loved, mostly for her amusing observations of village life in Ireland. She sold over 40 million copies of her books, writing her first novel, ‘Light A Penny Candle
’ when aged 43.
’ when aged 43.
However, like many great authors her writing career started almost by accident…… I wrote marvellous long rambling letters home from my trips, editing out the bits they didn’t need to know, bits about falling in love with highly unsuitable foreigners. In fact my parents were so impressed with these eager letters from abroad they got them typed and sent them to a newspaper, and that’s how I became a writer.”Maeve Binchy
Quote from Maeve Binchy website
Her Books Quickly Became More Popular Than Dickens
Binchy’s fame grew rapidly after the success of her first book, and in 1995 her novel ‘Circle of Friends
’ was adapted for the screen, and made into a movie starring Chris O’Donnell and Minnie Driver.
’ was adapted for the screen, and made into a movie starring Chris O’Donnell and Minnie Driver.
In 2000, she was ranked third in the World Book Day poll of favourite authors – ahead of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens.
Binchy announced her retirement in 2000, but kept writing. Her final novel ‘Minding Frankie
’ was published in 2010, and she received a lifetime achievement award from the Irish Book Awards.
’ was published in 2010, and she received a lifetime achievement award from the Irish Book Awards.Her Writing Secrets Revealed In A BBC Interview:
In a 2001 interview with the BBC, Binchy revealed that one of her greatest secrets was to write the way she spoke in real life.
“You’re much more believable if you talk in your own voice,” she said. “I don’t say I was proceeding down a thoroughfare, I say I walked down the road. I don’t say I passed a hallowed institute of learning, I say I passed a school.”
Here’s a clip from that insightful and entertaining BBC interview, where she discusses this point, and gives a number of other excellent tips for writers:
(3 min video)
What Can We Learn From This Great Writer’s Life?
Today I’m reminded not only of the power of great character stories, but also how swiftly time passes.
Truth is, if we look carefully back down the years, we can see many of those precious in-between hours we waste – hours that we never get back.
So today I’m going to celebrate the life of Maeve Binchy in a way I’m sure she’d have approved of. I shall summon the muse, and write some good words for my own ‘too long in the works’ book.
Have you read any of Maeve Binchy’s books? Did listening to her speak inspire you to write? Do leave a comment.
Article written by Jonathan Gunson
Author / CEO Bestseller Labs
