Emily Maguire

Emily Maguire's first novel, Taming the Beast, was nominated for the Dylan Thomas Prize and received a Special Commendation in the Kathleen Mitchell Awards. Her latest novel, The Gospel According to Luke, "a witty contemporary morality tale bursting with lust, longing, and the meanings of life" is published in Australia by Brandl & Schlesinger and by Serpent's Tail in the UK.

From a Q & A with Maguire about Taming the Beast:

Q: Novelists throughout history have spoken about the ways in which their characters become real to them and take over their minds in a way. Did this happen to you? What was it like living with Sarah?

A: Sarah did take over for a time. I only wrote at night, but all day she was on my mind. I tried to really see the world through her eyes. Whenever I heard a song on the radio or read a novel I would think about what she would say about it. I had fun wondering what Sarah would think of the people I came across at work or on the bus.

I know it sounds odd to say I enjoyed living with Sarah — given how destructive and messed-up she is — but I really did. I'm nothing like her and I know if we were to meet in life we would not even be friends, but she lives her life with the kind of dumb-blind-thoughtless daring that I am only brave enough to express on paper. It was exciting and liberating to be inside her brain.

Read the entire Q & A; visit Emily Maguire's website.

--Marshal Zeringue