SOURCE: “An Interview with Maeve Binchy,” in Writer's Digest, Vol. 79, No. 4, April, 1999, p. 6.

In the following interview, Binchy discusses her writing process and Tara Road.

Maeve Binchy proved as gracious and charming as her characters when she spoke about her latest book, Tara Road.

[Ramirez:] What's a typical writing day like?

[Binchy:] We live in a very small place in Ireland called Dockey, where I grew up. I'm married to a writer, Gordon Snell, and we regard writing like a job. We race up the stairs at 8 the morning when we have to be at our desks. We rush around the place and say “Gosh, we'll be late!” I work from 8 until 2 five days a week.

How do you get started?

I regard my work as storytelling. People want to know what happens next, so I spend a lot of time plotting: by the end of Chapter 1, this...