A semi-inflated football and a curious little girl.

They called it peacekeeping. For Corporal Lindsey Ryan it was anything but.

It’s been three years since that bright day in the Golan Heights and the explosion which killed two and changed the survivors forever.

Now Lindsey deals with the many problems of the city’s troubled youth, to distract her from her own. But as damp days turn to night the kids return home, or somewhere like it, and she returns to her own private war. One that exists solely for her.

Certain that she’s being watched and certain that she’s losing her mind, Lindsey battles with the demons of post traumatic stress, while a very real threat edges ever closer until she finds herself face to face with someone who wants nothing more than to finally help her to die.

And it’s the last person she ever could have seen coming.

Blue helmets and blurred lines - While Nobody is Watching delves into the dark world of PTSD and a battle scarred soldier struggling to find a place in her new world.

 

Purchase Link - http://getbook.at/WhileNobodyIsWatching

Author Q&A

1. When did you write your first book? I started writing my first book around 2007. This was the biggest learning curve imaginable for me as I started knocking on doors in the publishing world. It was 2013 before that book was published.

2. What sparks your creativity/how do you get your ideas? I get my ideas from everyday life. The news, world events or even random conversations with the people I meet can spark an idea in my mind and before long a story will start to unfold or a character is born!

3. What do you like to do when you’re not writing? I love being outdoors, in woodlands or on the mountains of Ireland. Even getting out for a walk or a run when I get a chance does wonders for the mind, body & soul. Mind you, after the year we’ve all had, I think I took too much for granted before, like having coffee with friends or wandering through a bookshop. I’ll definitely get more enjoyment out of the simple things in life after this.

4. What’s a typical writing day like for you? I don’t have a typical writing day if I’m honest. What I do have is a toddler! Therefore “my writing day” just means that I never leave home without my laptop. I’m very lucky that I can write just about anywhere, once I have some quite time. Once I’ve started a story, it just tends to flow when I’m at my keyboard.

5. Do you listen to music when writing? No. I need to be totally absorbed in my characters and to be able to focus without distraction. It’s the same when I’m reading a good book. Tea, chocolate and a little bit of quiet!

6. If you could have a dinner party with 3 other authors, who would they be? Cathy Kelly & Marian Keyes for so many reasons! They’re such strong, uplifting, inspirational women. And of course they’re gifted writers. And Amy Cronin! We’re both from Cork (though we’ve never met), which of course is a beautiful, vibrant city – but like me she writes about a very dark side of it that most others can hardly imagine. I think we’d have great fun!

7. If you had to pick a celebrity to cast for your main character, who would it be? Hmmm, that’s a tough one. I think Emily Blunt (Sicario style!) would make an amazing Lindsey Ryan or thinking closer to home, wouldn’t Ruth Negga be fantastic!

8. If you could travel anywhere in the world to write, where would you go? Absolutely anywhere in Italy would be fine by me!

9. Would you ever write under a pseudonym? No. It wouldn’t be for me.

10. Do you have a favorite food/snack/drink when writing (or anytime)? Tea if I’m writing in the evening and coffee on the rare occasion that I get some daytime writing done. Also, I never met a bag of crisps I didn’t like.

11. How do you choose your book covers? I’ve been very lucky with my publishers – they’ve got some very talented people who come up with some great design ideas. They send me a few options and we chop, change and go from there. It’s a very exciting bit of the process.

12. What’s one thing you’d like to say to your readers? With all my heart, thank you! Books are the best company and the idea that someone out there is getting a little bit of enjoyment out of my work makes me so happy.

Author Bio –

Michelle Dunne wore a Blue Helmet in South Lebanon with B Company the Irish army and the UN, probably in that order.

She now lives in Cobh with her husband, daughter and a cast of characters waiting to be written about.

Michelle was one of those sporty types growing up, all bony elbows and knees, and as she lived on an island, it stood to reason she’d spend her first couple of decades taking in the salty, seaweedy air at the local rowing club (not the serene looking, posh rowing, but the other kind, undertaken by hardy fishermen).

This was where she learned just about everything she ever needed to know about anything. They brought home the County’s, All-Ireland’s were won, but the banter on the bus was always the real prize. From there it made sense that she’d leave town and join another club/asylum and found herself wearing a blue helmet somewhere in South Lebanon.

She’d become attached to the UN, but more importantly, to B-Company, the boldest, brightest, bravest the Irish army had to offer. She called them lots of other names too, but only to their faces. As tracer rounds lit up the sky above her and artillery rained down, she learned the words of every patriotic Irish song ever written and how to smile, laugh, and joke about things that would otherwise have you curled in a ball, rocking back and forth in the corner of the room.

Once her eyes had been opened and she returned to Irish soil, Michelle was promoted and following a spell back at college, is now a part of a company providing physiotherapy and staff training in nursing homes and hospitals all over Munster. A slower pace, but still an unruly bunch when they want to be. She’s back living on the island of Cobh with her husband Dominic and their daughter Emily and the hundreds of colourful characters waiting to make their way onto a piece of paper.

While Nobody is Watching is Michelle’s third book, which draws from her military experiences and the types of relationships that form within its ranks.

Social Media Links

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https://twitter.com/NotDunneYet

www.michelledunnebooks.com