Annette publishes second book

Annette Dunlea has recently published her second novel Always and Forever, which follows her first book The Honey Trap. She has also had short stories and book reviews published in local newspapers.

Annette has been a bookseller, teacher and a library cataloguer but gave up her job when her mother became ill after having two strokes. She took up writing as a hobby to escape the pain of watching her mother suffer. ‘I bought a laptop that week and blew the dust off my old notebook on top of my wardrobe which held my secret notes for my book. I began to type literally one word at a time and I haven’t stopped yet. It’s infectous. It really is a way of life for me now.’

‘Always and Forever is a story about a farmer’s daughter who dates the lad next door and wins The Rose of Tralee Beauty Queen Prize. They marry and have a family. Then Katie discovers a lump on her breast and she goes through a period of denial until her breast cancer is confirmed. She is dying, so she sets about organising her funeral and writing a survival DVD for her husband to help him raise her kids.’

The book is about a subject close to Annette’s heart. ‘I watched my aunt die of cancer and she organised her own funeral. She remained the strong one in the marriage right to the end. My book is about the ordinary unsung heroes of everyday life: parents, grandparents the people who never make the news or the papers but who live courageous lives devoting their lives to others.’

Annette is currently researching her third novel about a orphan. ‘The recent Ryan Report in Ireland of clerical sex abuse appalled me and I want to give these women a voice. I believe this story must be told so we never forget and the actions are not repeated.’