Maria and I are both published by the leading independent fiction publisher Bloodhound Books. On signing my contract, I was encouraged to interact with other Bloodhound Books authors through a private Facebook group. This was where Maria and I met and we’ve taken this connection to a new level through this interview. I’m sure you’ll find Maria’s writing journey inspiring and her debut novel a sinister yet fascinating story. Here’s the blurb for The Devil’s Own.
A set of century-old diaries found in an attic draws an Irish couple into a tale of murder and madness, in this absorbing new suspense.
After forty years in the Irish army, Brian is looking forward to retiring and spending time with his wife—though he worries about adjusting to civilian life. While clearing the attic before they move house, he makes a discovery: three journals dating back to the early twentieth century.
One was written by Arthur, an ex-Connaught Ranger; another by Arthur’s wife, Edith, a colonel’s daughter; and the third by Henry, a British soldier and Arthur’s best friend.
Brian and his wife are soon engrossed in reading the diaries and following the intertwined stories of these three people from the past. But it soon becomes chillingly clear that these diaries contain more than the daily adventures of ordinary lives. Because one of the three is a killer . . .
Thank you, Maria, for joining me on The Writer is a Lonely Hunter and agreeing to answer the questions that struck me while reading your impressive debut novel.
What steps brought you to write The Devil’s Own?
The gem of the idea for this book has been lying dormant in the back of my mind since I first saw the Curragh Camp, way back in 1978. I was working, waitressing with my mother at a dinner dance in one of the messes. My career as a waitress was very short-lived! During a break over a cup of tea, we got talking to the army chef about the building we were in, the history of the camp and the general consensus on the night – if only walls could talk.
Little did I know I would end up living in the camp, albeit for a short time around 1993. The Curragh is filled with history, going back to the days of British rule. My husband was born in the Curragh, grew up there. At one stage it had a vibrant community, completely self-contained. I was fascinated by the stories I heard from his family and our friends about the people who lived in the camp. I didn’t write them down at the time. It would take another forty years for that first spark of an idea to come to fruition.
How did you build your cast of characters?
Initially I started with two characters, Brian the modern-day soldier and Arthur from the past. As I got to know these two central characters, the story expanded to include those with the most influence on them, their wives Jean and Edith.
How much research was involved in writing The Devil’s Own?
A lot. I started with searching the national census of 1911. From that I found out what units were based in the Curragh Camp in 1911 and where they were born. From there I went into the local library, where I spoke to James Durney, local historian, and author. He gave me access to invaluable information including books no longer in print with some great first-hand accounts of the mutiny in India. A family friend Comtd (Retired) Kevin McDonald gave me a tour of the military museum in Renmore Barracks, the original home of the Connaught Rangers. Damien Quinn, local historian, gave me access to his thesis on the Connaught Rangers. People are generous with their time, and I appreciate it. My research took a lot of time and effort, but I believe it was worth it.
Part of the reason I love historical fiction is that I love history, but I know a lot of people don’t. With historical fiction you bind together fact and fiction to come up with a story that, hopefully more people will read and learn about the past, not the facts and figures, but the social history, the stories, the characters, the ordinary people who lived through extraordinary times.
The Devil’s Own is a work of fiction but…the historical facts are correct. The Connaught Rangers served all over the British Empire from 1881 to 1922. They earned the nickname, The Devils Own due to their reputation as fierce fighters. The majority of them were recruited from the west of Ireland. Many of them couldn’t even speak the King’s English.
Arthur’s postings are based on those of the 2nd battalion of the Connaught Rangers. After the first world war they were posted to India, away from Ireland and the war for independence against the British.
In July 1920 they mutinied over the treatment of their loved ones by British forces back in Ireland. Seventy-six rangers were convicted of treason and sent to Dagshai prison. One of them, Private James Daly, was shot by firing squad, the last British soldier ever to be executed for mutiny. And he was an Irishman.
After the mutiny in India the Rangers were posted back to England and disbanded in June 1922, along with five other Irish regiments. Many of those seasoned soldiers went home to Ireland and joined the newly formed Irish National Army.
One hundred years ago in 1923 my grandfather signed up with the Irish National Army. Ernie McMullen was born in Belfast, the youngest of a large family. In 1914 his older brother, James, joined the Royal Irish Rifles and was shipped to France. He lost a leg in the Battle of the Somme.
In the aftermath of partition, Belfast descended into extreme sectarian violence which claimed many lives, including my great grandfather, Charlie Mac. In Feb 1922 he was shot by the B Specials and died three days later in the Royal Victoria Hospital. His headstone reads ‘murdered for his faith’.
In January 1923 my grandfather, Ernie McMullen 1st, along with a sizeable contingent of IRA headed across the border and joined the new army under Michael Collins. After the war was over, many stayed in the ‘Free State’, Ernie went back to Belfast in October 1923 and settled into civilian life. Fifty-three years later, his son Ernie the second, my father, moved south with his family (including me) to escape the continuing violence in the north. Our uncle John called us ‘free staters’.
In The Devil’s Own, the house where Arthur, the Connaught Ranger, lived in 1923, is the same house where Brian, the Irish soldier, lived in 2020.
These characters are fictional. The house is not, it’s real and it’s still standing, in the Curragh Camp.
If only walls could talk.
Which scene from your novel did you enjoy writing most and why is it your favourite?
Edith’s chapter which introduces Edith’s experiences on first arriving in Ireland. I liked Edith’s character. As a young woman she was feisty, slightly bored with her life in India and ready to fall for the charms of a young corporal. Edith defied her parents to marry Arthur, challenged what was expected of her. Her life changed completely when Arthur’s unit was shipped to Ireland. For the first time in her life, she had no servants to handle daily chores, such as cooking, cleaning, and laundry. She handled everything life threw at her with stoicism, making new friends and learning skills she never anticipated needing to know.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in bringing The Devil’s Own to readers?
This question is hard to answer. The biggest challenge any author faces is finding a publisher. When Bloodhound Books offered me the publishing contract, I was ecstatic. I enjoyed researching The Devil’s Own, loved writing it, agonised over it, buried it in a drawer, resurrected it and started again many times. I am happy with the final result yet on the eve of publication I worried yet again, that it wasn’t good enough, that I wasn’t good enough.
The Devil’s Own is about a serial killer. I found the journal entries written by Henry the hardest to write and I avoided editing them. Once they were written, they were done. Having said that The Devil’s Own is not only about the serial killer, but also about the lives of soldiers and their families, the challenges faced by those who lived years ago compared to present day.
My husband was a soldier for twenty-one years. He was born in the Curragh Camp. We lived in the military camp for a short time early in our marriage. I have a brother who served for twenty-one years, friends and family members who served in the military.
I had invaluable support with my research from some very knowledgeable people that I greatly admire. Initially I used more historical fact than was needed for a fictional story. My editor pointed it out and advised cutting some large chapters. I followed her advice and I think the book is stronger because of it. At the end of the day, I am a fiction writer not an historian.
What’s next for you, Maria?
I signed a two-book deal with Bloodhound Books. The second book, Tangled Webs is due for release in September. It tells the story of two war widows, Jane Best and Agnes Williams, who move to Belfast in 1882 and set up a boarding house for young women. Forty years later their way of life is threatened by a former soldier who remembers them from their time in British Natal. He blackmails them so they resort to murder to keep their secret safe.
I have finished a second draft of my next novel. Lucky Lizzie is set in Cork and Florida. In 1917 the Americans joined World War 1. In May of that year the Americans landed in Queenstown (now Cobh) and left again in 1919 taking with them their war brides. Lizzie is one of those war brides who leaves the Ireland she knows behind her to build a new life in Florida.
Wow! Your forthcoming books sound so interesting, Maria. And what a journey you’ve been on.
Here’s a bit more information about Maria taken from her Bloodhound Books bio:
Originally from Belfast, Maria McDonald lives in Kildare, with her husband Gerry. After raising four children to adulthood, they are having great fun with their grandchildren.
Maria is an avid reader who loves to write but only indulged in her passion for writing fiction after retirement. Since then, her short stories and articles have been published in Woman’s Way and Ireland’s Own, as well as numerous anthologies; Intermissions, Grattan Street Press Melbourne; Same page anthology, University College Cork; Fragments of Time, Amber Publishers. Maria is a founder member of Ink Tank Writing Group, based in Newbridge library and contributed to their anthologies, Timeless in Kildare and Let Me Tell You Something.
Here is a purchase link where you can read the many five star reviews of The Devil’s Own and buy a copy. If you’d like to connect with Maria, find her social media links below:
Website: www.mariamacwriter.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mariamacwriter
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/mariamacwriter/
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/mariamacwriter/
Do you have a period of history which you find fascinating?
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