Daragh Fleming interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

A little introduction:

My name is Daragh Fleming. I’m a 28 year-old writer from Cork, Ireland. I write essays, short fiction and poetry.

When did your love of books begin?

It’s hard to say. As a child I was always reading. Always. I remember lining up at midnight for the release of new Harry Potter books. I remember staying up late with a torch under my covers to read. Books have always been important to me. So the lover never really began, it always just sort of there.

When did you start to have the wish to become an author?

I remember my mother told me when I was 11 that I’d be a writer. Which I didn’t take seriously at all. And then years passed, and suddenly I was 23 and I was writing all these daft short stories and things just began to happen. I got published before I really understood what it meant for my life. There was never a decision to become an author in a sense, life just steered me in that direction.

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

In a word – unexpected. There’s a lot of rejection. And that can be hard to deal with, hard to not taking personally. I think the authors who do well aren’t necessarily the most talented – they’re the most persistent. Once you can get over the hurt of being rejected over and over again, it just becomes a game of patience and numbers. Once I realised that, things became a lot less daunting.

What would you say to those wanting to become an author?

Expect rejection often. It’s part of the journey. Don’t stop because you feel hurt. That’s your ego being in control, and we don’t want that.

Tell us about your book/books:

The most recent book is Lonely Boy. It’s a collection of essays about my own experience with mental health struggles. I wrote it because normalising the conversation around mental health is important, because accepting our flaws is essential. The hope is that reading Lonely Boy will spark conversations, and will encourage people to go on their own inward journey to learn about who they are.

I also have poetry chapbooks, and collections of short stories for those who want something a little different.

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

The support. It’s an incredibly supportive and encouraging community. And I personally believe that encouragement, given at the right time without hesitation, can make all the difference in someone pushing forward rather than calling it a day.

If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?

Thanks. Sincerely. Genuinely. Absolutely. Books don’t become books without people to read them, and so without my readers, there are no books at all.

Where can people connect with you?

I’m on Twitter and Instagram at @daraghfleming and tiktok at @thoughtstoobig. I also have an award-winning mental health blog called Thoughts Too Big (thoughtstoobig.ie) which is also an Instagram.