Cork-based author’s tale of secrets, lovers and a 50-year family rift

West Cork-based writer, Sue Lewando, who writes under the name Chris Lewando when self-publishing, has a new book coming out on October 22.

It’s her third book in the Emerald Isle series written under the pseudonym Daisy O’Shea, published by Bookouture. (This publishing subsidiary of Hachette wanted a different author name to distinguish between Sue’s current series and her self-published work.)

Entitled The Irish Family Secret, the main character in this novel is Ginny Kingston.

The Kingstons and the Savages have been neighbours, farmers and bitter rivals for as long as anyone can remember. Drawn home by her work as an archaeologist, Ginny is determined to discover the truth behind the family feud.

What happened to the young lovers who tried to heal the rift more than 50 years ago?

Ruari Savage offers to help, but this comes at a price; he wants to know the truth about why Ginny left Roone Bay so suddenly.

What he doesn’t know is that Ginny’s devastating secret might destroy their families’ new-found peace and any chance of happiness they might have with each other.

Roone Bay is a fictional place in West Cork. 

“You can imagine it being set where Schull is,” says Sue, chatting in UCC’s Student Centre over coffee, accompanied by her husband Robin Lewando, who is working on a doctorate in Geography at the university. (The couple are originally from the UK.)

Sue’s series does not have to be read in order from book one to book three.

“The books are set in the same time-scale and place. There might be a character in one book that turns up in another. There is a dual timeline in the books. 

The modern part is set in 1979/80. I wanted it set pre-internet and pre-mobile phones.

“I was in Ireland at that time. It was a lovely experience. There were still donkey carts for milk collection.

“The modern story has an element of mystery from past generations. Somebody has to find out something about them.

“The modern characters get intertwined with the history of their ancestors and the local community. There’s also mystery in the modern story that only unfolds in the last two chapters.”

The main character has been to university to study archaeology.

“There is a lot in the book about the Irish past such as ring forts,” said Sue. “Ginny’s studies take her back to the family farm and what happened in her past as well as the older story concerning her grandparents’ time. This affects her current life.

Past generations were probably more affected by previous generations than in modern times.

The late ’70s and early ’80s in Ireland were very different to today, says Sue, who has done some ghost writing projects with Irish people who lived in those times.

“It was a very hard life. They had big families and were happy to share what they have. They didn’t mind the cold and the shortage of food.”

But, with few employment prospects, a lot of people emigrated during that time.

Sue says that while there’s an element of “romanticism” in the book, she is also highlighting the pertinent issues of the day.

“Women’s fiction kind of demands a love story with a happy ending. Bookouture labels what I’m doing as women’s fiction. It’s not pure romance. It’s a bigger story than that. And it’s realistic.

“I personally think the ‘women’s fiction’ tag puts people off. They’re just good stories with good endings.

“I’ve written about important social issues of the time such as contraception being illegal here in the seventies. Also, marriage was for life as there was no divorce.

“If an unmarried mother got pregnant, it was a stain on the family.”

Unlike today, the church “had a huge influence on the morals of the day,” says Sue. “That comes out in my stories.” As Robin chimes in, life was often tough on women in that relatively recent past, particularly in rural communities.

Sue, who worked as a PA before “throwing off the chains of wage-slavery,” studied for a Masters degree in creative writing at UCC. Now, she says she makes a good living from writing, describing what she produces as “commercial writing.”

“When you talk about commercial books, all that means is that you want to get good sales that don’t come from literary books, on the whole,” she said.

“But there are standards. My books have a standard. They are well written. That comes from years and years of writing.”

Ever since she was a child, Sue wanted to write.

My mother baked and my sister did pottery so there’s a creative background there.

However, real life got in the way of pursuing creativity so Sue worked in offices for most of her adult life.

She managed to write a children’s novel, but she worked full-time and reared two children, the eldest of whom is now 40.

Now, Sue is living the life of a full-time writer. She and Robin bought “a wreck” of a house near Drimoleague and the first room they did up became Sue’s office.

“We took a leap of faith when we moved to Ireland. We gave up our jobs and struggled to survive. Robin was hoping to get farm work. I was an online writing tutor (which was poorly paid.)”

But chasing the dream of living in scenic West Cork has paid off.

At the moment, Sue is working on the fourth book in the Emerald Isle series. She has also self-published thrillers and romantic fiction.

She has cracked the writing game - and has even written a book, Waymarks For Authors, with tips for aspiring writers and information about self-publishing.