Cork author: ‘I’ve sold 5 million books in US, none in Ireland’

Cloughduv-based best-selling writer, Jean Grainger, is very much below the radar in Ireland, but this former tour guide and former teacher of history and English is hugely popular in the U.S.

Her novels - she has published 51 of them - have appeared on the USA Today bestseller list, and are on sale at Walmart and Barnes & Noble.

But you won’t find Jean’s historical fiction in Irish bookshops. She is self-published, something she resisted initially, but which has worked out very well for Jean, who employs her husband, a historian, as well as her two sisters who market her books.

Since publishing her first book in 2013, Jean has had a turnover of €10 million. Her books are in the top 100 on Amazon.

While Jean’s latest book is The Rector’s Daughter, part of the Dunmara series, she is promoting Under Heaven’s Shining Stars for Cork readers.

This novel, set in 1960s Cork, is about three boys from very different backgrounds. Hugo, from the Anglo-Irish aristocracy, is an unlikely friend of Patrick and Liam who are from the Shandon area. All three attend a private boarding school with the two northsiders having won scholarships to it.

One of the boys has a secret; he’s gay. Not easy in 1960s Ireland when homosexuality was illegal and attitudes were often narrow-minded.

The three lads must navigate rock‘n’roll, dance halls, and their studies until a series of seemingly unconnected events throws them and their families into chaos.

It’s a case of following the story to see if their friendship will last, or whether their separate struggles will tear them apart.

“People in Ireland say they have never heard of me,” says Jean. “Selling five million books in America and none at home is an odd enough situation.

“I didn’t go into writing in the traditional way with a publisher and an agent. I have self-published from the beginning and it has worked out really well for me.”

Having worked as a tour guide, regaling Americans with tales about Ireland, Jean was often encouraged to put her stories down on paper.

When she wrote her debut novel, The Tour, she sent it off to publishers and agents. But she heard nothing back. The book is about a group of Americans in Ireland. She says that because of her past experience as a tour guide, she understands Irish Americans. “So I was able to write for the diaspora in a way that hadn’t been done that frequently before,” adds Jean.

But she says she was at first “mortified” about self-publishing.

“I thought it was a vanity thing for people who couldn’t get a publishing deal. But at the behest of my husband, I went to an Amazon self-publishing course in Dublin. I realised that selling books comes down to what the market decides.

“It’s a bit like people who can sit on their bed, play guitar, make a YouTube video and become an internet sensation and then fill a stadium the following year. It’s kind of the same with books now. It’s a great time to be a writer.”

However, AI is on track to produce novels and potentially put writers out of work. Is Jean worried about this phenomenon?

“Worried is the wrong word. It’s inevitable. But at the moment, it’s very easy to identify AI writing. It’s generally kind of word soup. It hasn’t really started to infiltrate and create successful fiction.

“Most people can easily identify AI. which uses a lot of words to say nothing.

“Going forward, it’s a challenge. But at the end of the day, storytelling is a deeply human experience, going back to when we were sitting around fires and living in caves, telling each other stories. I don’t think a robot is going to be able to do that.

“The need to connect emotionally or culturally is something that AI is devoid of.” Is there snobbery about self-publishing?

“That is changing because there are more and more success stories“ says Jean. “It’s really a quality issue. If the books are good quality that people are willing to pay for with their hard-earned money, then self-published books are successful.

“There is certainly a role for the gatekeepers. I’m not suggesting that traditional publishing is a bad idea. But for me and the route I took, I don’t have any regrets.”

Jean writes mainly about 20th century Ireland, the First and Second World Wars, the Civil War, and the War of Independence. Her latest book is set during the Famine. “That’s as far back as I tend to go,” she says.

A couple of years ago, Jean set up a publishing company with her sisters, Carol and Barbara.

“Carol is the business manager and Barbara is the marketing manager. Based in Australia, they both work really hard at it.

“It’s not accidental that you get to sell five million books and become a USA Today bestseller. It’s through hard work, marketing, advertising and reaching groups.

“We do a lot of stuff on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook and not much traditional media. I’m trying to branch into that a little bit more.

“Being unknown in Ireland suits me socially. When I go to the States, people do know who I am.”

Jean can churn out 5,000 words a day – an impressive word count. Most writers would feel highly productive if they clocked up 1,000 words daily.

A fan of Maeve Binchy, Jean loves “everything she ever wrote. It’s hugely flattering to me when people make positive comparisons between my writing and hers.”

High praise indeed...

To purchase Jean Grainger’s books, visit www.jeangrainger.com