Today I’m delighted to feature author Orla Owen. Her latest book, Christ On A Bike, published by the award winning Bluemoose Books, has been described as ‘strikingly original and utterly brilliant’. It was picked as a recommended read by Nina Pottell from Prima Magazine, who reviewed it as ‘Black Mirror meets Tales of The Unexpected with shades of Shirley Jackson’ and was recommended as a read for January by Martin Chilton, The Independent’s Chief Book Critic. She also published PAH in 2021 and The Lost Thumb in 2019 – described by Rónán Hession as ‘Pacey and intense (I galloped through the last 160 pages today)… I had to stay and sit at Victoria station until I finished it.
Orla Owen was born in Belfast, and raised in Ireland and the UK. Before she became a writer, she was an actress and drama practitioner, studying Theatre at Bretton Hall College of the Arts.
Over to Orla:
Which five pieces of music/songs would you include in the soundtrack to your life and why?
I Believe in Miracles – The Jackson Sisters – A tune I jump up to dance to. I first heard it years ago in a club, love it, and play it on repeat.
Water From a Vine Leaf – William Orbit – I get lost in this one. I love William Orbit’s music – it takes me to another world and for that, my writing and I are very grateful.
#3 – Apex Twin – this takes me back to chill-out rooms from clubs and raves in the nineties. I lived in Stoke Newington – loads of people in their twenties did then because it was so cheap – it was a wonderfully creative time with talented housemates, and great music, dancing, parties and chats.
Lay Lady Lay – Bob Dylan – the song reminds me of Ireland – when we moved to the UK we’d go back to Ireland for all the school holidays and my dad played Bob Dylan on the long car journeys.
You Got the Love – Candi Staton – a great tune that reminds me of great friends and lots of fun at festivals
What five things (apart from family and friends) would you find it hard to live without.
Good, fresh coffee – I have a strong, creamy coffee first thing every morning and look forward to it SO much.
Great books, tv and films – love getting lost in stories of all kinds.
Ice cream – I love it so much – good home-made ice cream in praline, hazelnut, coffee, chocolate flavours. The last one I had was a milk chocolate cone from Kimi’s in Staveley, Cumbria – absolutely incredible. And I make Brown Bread ice-cream which is amazing and a whole other story…
Exercise – dancing, runs, yoga, long walks – it’s how I clear my head and also how I work out stories and what my characters are doing.
Music – takes me backwards and forwards in time.
Give five pieces of advice to your younger self?
Try to worry less; after the downs, there will be ups, I promise you.
Eat less sugar and brush your teeth more and you’ll have way less painful trips to the dentist
Don’t start smoking because you fancy that boy
Be more confident and say yes to the chances you were offered that scared you
Write down all the books you’ve read with a couple of sentences about each because you won’t remember them at all. Last week I started to read a book and eighty pages in thought, hang on, this is familiar… The advantage is I’ve an exciting time ahead full of new experiences – ha.
Tell us five things that most people don’t know about you
I have a tattoo of a gecko – a reminder of when I went travelling and loved seeing them in beach huts because they ate all the bugs – and it’s to remind me to go travelling again.
Not too shabby at a triple time step
Don’t enjoy cooking but like making desserts
Went to five primary schools
Once worked above Browns in Maddox Street and Liam Gallagher kindly held open the door when I was taking out the bins while Patsy Kensit stood beside him – both were very nice.
Tell us five things you’d still like to do or achieve.
I want to travel again – would love to visit New Zealand, see all our friends in Australia, and visit lots of new places
Been suffering from rubbish sleep the last eight years – would like to be able to sleep through the night again
Hope to have more books published
I’d like The Lost Thumb to be made into a film starring Margot Robbie as the mother, and Christ On A Bike to be made into a TV series.
If I came into a lot of money, I’d set up a charity aiming to provide stable homes and mentoring for young people. I think a roof over your head, your own bedroom to go back to, and then people encouraging you and having faith in you, are so important in life.
Many thanks for joining me today Orla, it was lovely discovering more about you. I love the music choices you brought with you, I’m definitely adding #3 by Apex Twin to my ambient music list. Mostly, when I read I do it in silence, but sometimes I fancy some music, and ambient music doesn’t distract me but blends nicely into the background. I can appreciate the value of getting lost in stories, I do it all the time. I also think I should take your advice to heart about writing down a few sentences about each book I’ve read. While, I do keep a list, it’s online and never anywhere near me when I’m buying other books, or when I pick one up to read. I think I should keep a little index book at hand at all times! Great advice to say yes, to chances. I try to, but still have lapses when I could be braver. Is it shameful that I had to ‘google’ triple time step? For anyone else as clueless as me, it’s a tap step. Making desserts, over cooking sounds good to me, I think I prefer the same. Good luck with your plans to travel, you need to see some more geckos. Here’s hoping you definitely have more books published and that your dreams about a film and tv series materialise.
Orla’s Books
(NB This post features Affiliate links from which I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases)
Christ on a Bike
Cerys receives an unexpected inheritance but there are rules attached.
Three simple rules that must be followed.
As she settles into her new life, she begins to feel trapped: the past
is ever-present. She convinces herself that the villagers are watching
PAH
Susan Brown is trapped. She lives in nurses’ accommodation she hates, on the run from a past she detests, desperate for a future she can’t afford. Yet.
Calton Jonas is lost. He travels across the country, from beach to city, settling in a small town with a job at the morgue.
Jeffrey Jeffreys is happy as long as life provides him with enough whiskey and beer.
Their lives cross. Old wounds open. Susan takes control but not all of them can survive…
The Lost Thumb
Lara and Luella Jeffreys lead isolated lives until the night they are left alone for the first time, and Luella decides to have some fun.That evening goes horribly wrong.After Luella wakes up in hospital, she’s kept prisoner at home with her mother acting as her warden. Lara is sent to school to keep up the pretence that she is fine, her sister is fine, and the world is fine. Except they aren’t. Sensing that something’s wrong, the local storekeeper’s son befriends Lara, but the results of his meddling are deadly…
