#BlogTour: The Women On The Bridge by Sheila O’Flanagan @sheilaoflanagan @headlinepg @RandomTTours #TheWomenOnTheBridge #SheilaOflanagan #RandomThingsTours

Book Synopsis:

Dublin. The 1920s. As war tears Ireland apart, two young people are caught up in events that will bring love, tragedy – and the hardest of choices.

In a country fighting for freedom, it’s hard to live a normal life. Winnie O’Leary supports the cause, but she doesn’t go looking for trouble. Then rebel Joseph Burke steps into her workplace. Winnie is furious with him about a broken window. She’s not interested in romance. But love comes when you least expect it.

Joseph’s family shelter fugitives and smuggle weapons. Joseph would never ask Winnie to join the fight; but his mother and sisters demand commitment. Will Winnie choose Joseph, and put her own loved ones in deadly danger? Or wait for a time of peace that may never come?

Ireland’s tumultuous independence struggle is the backdrop for an unforgettable story of courage and heartbreak, in which heroes are made of ordinary people. Inspired by the story of Sheila O’Flanagan’s grandmother, The Woman on the Bridge is the unmissable, compulsive new novel from a bestselling author.

My Review:

The Woman On The Bridge is a beautiful written, compelling and emotional read that will stay with me.

Firstly the author does a great job setting the scene in this book so the reader feels completely transported to Ireland in the 1920’s. I liked learning a little bit more about Ireland’s struggle for Independence as it was fascinating to see how it affected ordinary people’s families and friendships. I liked that the story didn’t just focus on this though as the author highlights other things that were happening in Ireland at the time too, especially women’s fight for independence. It was quite emotional to see families fighting for independence and to keep their families alive at the same time.

The characters were all brilliant creations that I grew fond of throughout the book. I did enjoy the love story that develops between Winnie and Joseph, though knowing a little bit about this period I felt a sense of trepidation too as I didn’t think it would have a happy ending. For me the love story was secondary to the historical events that were happening in Ireland at the time and I felt more caught up in those stories instead.

I thought this book had a great pace to it and there always seemed to be something happening to keep my interest. I soon became really invested in the characters and their individual struggles which made the book hard to put down at times as I really wanted to find out what happens. I felt there were a few unfinished threads in the story and I’m really hoping that there will be a sequel to this book as I’d love to learn more about them and see what happens next for the characters.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Headline for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

I’ve always loved reading and when I was a child I used to write stories for my younger sisters as a bribe to make them do my share of the housework. It usually worked!

Ireland is famed for its writers, but for me growing up most of the novels were rural in both their settings and their points of view. I wanted to read books about people like me, who lived in the city and struggled with the chaotic bus timetable and had dreams and ambitions that had nothing to do with the farm.

I also wanted to read novels in which the women were the heroes of their own stories. Too many women in the novels I read were there as a wife, mother or daughter and their role was to develop the storyline for the male character. I wanted to hear those women’s stories and tell them myself.

Although I was constantly writing, the idea of being a novelist was a bit of a pipe dream. I had to earn a living and so I got a job in finance. It was the complete opposite of anything I’d ever expected to do but – at least for a time – I enjoyed it and I did well.

Nevertheless the dream wouldn’t go away and in my thirties I decided that I would make a real effort to write my novel. Eventually, after a couple of false starts, Dreaming of A Stranger was written and published and became an Irish bestseller.

Since then I’ve written more than 25 novels as well as 3 collections of short stories and 2 novels for children all of which have been bestsellers both in Ireland and overseas. They include The Hideaway, What Happened That Night, Isobel’s Wedding and Suddenly Single and my sales have topped 9 million copies around the world.

In most of my books, I put women in situations where they have to dig deep inside themselves to find their inner strength even though sometimes they struggle to realise it’s there. Readers often ask who my favourite characters are, but every one of the women in my books is as close to me as a member of my family. (For the time when I’m writing a book they’re even closer because they’re in my head 24/7. At least with the family I can walk out of the room or put the phone down!)

Regardless of who my readers are, I always try to do three things when I’m writing:

Tell a good story

Make the reader feel like they know the characters

Make each book better than the last

I’ve been very lucky in having so many books published and hearing from readers all around the world. And I’m glad that, when times were tough, I remembered the quote that ‘a professional writer is an amateur who wouldn’t quit”

I’m a passionate avocate for increasing literacy and helping people who have come to reading late in life so that they can find the same pleasure in reading as I’ve had. I’ve taken part in a number of different televised projects to help people who’ve struggled with reading and writing and I’ve contributed to both the Quick Reads and Open Doors series of novellas for new readers. I’m also a board member of Fighting Words, the creative writing centre set up by Booker prize-winner Roddy Doyle where I’ve worked with teenagers to write their own published stories and retired people who are working on their memoirs.