Jen Bray shares her literary inspirations, writing process, and the peace and purpose to be found in both reading and writing.
Three sisters, one missing woman, buried truths surface.
After one sister vanishes in coastal Waterford, Lucy is pulled into a frantic search that exposes links to a murder. To find Susannah, she must face her own shame and the family secrets their mother wants buried.
Jen Bray is Political Editor at The Sunday Times. Her 18-year journalism career includes work with the Irish Times, The Times, the Sunday Tribune and the Irish Daily Mail.
She speaks with us about her debut novel, The Lies Between Us.
Did you always want to be a writer? Tell us about your journey to becoming a published author.
I remember being a teenager and thinking there were two things I really wanted to be; a novelist and a journalist. Becoming a news journalist first seemed to make more financial sense, so that’s what I did, starting out with the College Tribune and Sunday Tribune when I was 18 and 19 respectively. I spent my 20s and 30s working my way up the ranks in journalism in different newspapers, and using my spare time to write fiction.
My first two attempts at writing a novel were awful – honestly! – and I have all the rejection slips to prove it. The third try, in my early 30s, got some positive feedback from agents but I wasn’t there yet. So I studied the craft and read as much as I could and wrote and rewrote The Lies Between Us, and this time I was in luck. I signed with an amazing agent, Florence Rees at AM Heath and a fantastic publisher, Patricia Deevy at Penguin Sandycove.
What inspired you to start writing?
Different moments and events have inspired me but the truth is that writing is a compulsion for me. I have kept a diary since I was 14, and I think in some ways writing is my way of understanding the world. People are my greatest inspiration: I love delving into the human condition, what makes us who we are, what makes us do what we do.
Tell us about your new book The Lies Between Us. Where did the idea come from?
The Lies Between Us is a mystery and a thriller about a family reunion of three sisters which somehow ends in murder. Susannah, a novelist, wants to reunite with her estranged sister Tara, a hotel manager, and spend time with her younger sister Lucy, an ex-garda. But an irate stranger turns up on the second night and soon, Susannah is missing. By morning, a body is found in a nearby cove, and Lucy finds herself drawn into a murder investigation which forces her to confront her own past but also some long-buried family secrets.
The idea for The Lies Between Us first flitted through my mind when I visited Dunmore East with my husband, in between Covid-19 lockdowns. I had an image in my mind of a family on holiday, back in the 80’s. I kept thinking about the ripple effect, how one encounter can have echoes down through generations and the idea was born.
What do you hope this book instils in the reader?
When the reader closes the final page, my greatest hope is that they felt transported to another time and place, that they almost tasted the salty coastal air, that they connected with these flawed characters who are motivated by traits we sometimes try to push down: desire, ambition, rage.
What did you learn when writing this book?
I learned how much I want to succeed as an author. Nothing has given me greater joy than writing this novel, and I’m proud of it. But I want to learn and grow and push myself now that I see what is possible. I’ve learned that just like one of my main characters, Susannah, I am fiercely ambitious. And just like the main character, Lucy, I have a good bit of work to do on building up my confidence.
Tell us about your writing process?
It’s absolute chaos! I don’t have a set schedule, or a word count aim, or a time of day or night that I write during. I literally just write whenever I can. Sometimes there might be something big going on politically, and that sucks up the majority of my day. In that case, I’ll write late at night. I write on my days off, in the evenings, on trains, planes, couches, cafes… wherever I can. If I had my way, I’d be in a seaside hut typing every single day.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
People! We are so complicated and messy and chaotic and flawed and I just love observing people. When I feel burned out, I go to the creative well: music, books, movies, TV series, magazines. I am also hugely inspired by location. The Lies Between Us was born in Dunmore East. My next book, I hope, will be set abroad. The location, to me, is as important as a character. It kind of is a character!
What are your top three favourite books of all time, and why?
My favourite book is After You’d Gone by Maggie O’Farrell, which deftly explores how choices can reverberate down through the years. Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister has to take second place: she’s a genius. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty definitely takes the third spot.
Who are some of your favourite authors, Irish or otherwise?
Maggie O’Farrell’s books are so ambitious in their scope and structure and she writes with pin-point precision about the human heart. In Ireland, we are so blessed with a huge pool of talented female crime writers: Jane Casey, Andrea Mara, Gill Perdue, Catherine Ryan Howard, Liz Nugent, Michelle McDonagh, Amy Jordan to name just a few… I am in awe of them all.
What are some upcoming book releases we should have on our radar?
I just finished Everything She Didn’t Say by Jane Casey and I could not put it down. It made a nine hour plane journey go by in the blink of an eye. It’s out in June. I also just finished All of Them Lied by Gill Perdue – also out in June – which has a fantastic hook and the plot is executed so well, too.
What book made you want to become a writer?
I remember reading Jeffery Deaver’s The Empty Chair as a teenager and thinking: how did he do that? How on earth? I knew from that book onwards that I wanted to become a crime writer.
What’s one book you would add to the school curriculum?
For older students, I would add Harry Barry’s Anxiety and Panic: How To Reshape Your Anxious Mind and Brain. We’re living in an age of huge technological advancements and we are more connected than ever. That comes with scary pitfalls, and I think it’s no surprise more and more younger people are struggling with anxiety. I read this during a difficult phase in my life and it was so, so helpful. Understanding why anxiety crops up is half the battle.
What’s the best book you’ve read so far this year?
Besides the two books I mentioned by Jane Casey and Gill Perdue, I fell head over heels in love with Heart, the Lover by Lily King.
What’s your favourite bookshop in Ireland?
I absolutely adore The Book Centre in Waterford. It has a wine bar overlooking the sprawling store, what more could a girl want! And it’s only 25 minutes from Dunmore East. Ideal.
What’s some advice you’ve got for other aspiring writers?
Write the book you want to read. You know that feeling when you walk into a book shop and you’re looking for something quite particular, with certain topics or themes or elements, but you just can’t find it. Why not write it? Also, if you’re struggling to find ideas, just keep asking yourself: what if?
Lastly, what do the acts of reading and writing mean to you?
Peace and purpose: that’s what reading and writing give me!
The Lies Between Us by Jen Bray (Sandycove, €15.99) is on sale now.
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