Mary with Waterford author Karen Power ahead of her workshops at Curraghmore

Karen has had two novels published; Butterfly Barn and On Butterfly Wings, and she's been crazy busy ever since! She dropped into me On the Fringe to discuss a series of one-day workshops she's bringing to the stunning setting of Curraghmore House in Portlaw on Saturday June 15th, Friday July 12th and Sunday August 11th.

Karen's inspirations

Karen has drawn story lines and characters from a number of areas in her life; one being the experiences she gained from working as a travel agent with local man Sean Power who runs Harvey Travel.

She also had the misfortune of losing twin babies, which she naturally found very difficult, and hard to talk about. However Karen found solace in keeping a journal and expressing her feelings through writing. She went on to give lead character Jessie some of the issues she had herself, while Jessie's best friend Grace was the one who brought in the cruise liners!

Karen's creative writing courses

Karen is really keen to pass on her wisdom about the editing process, as she said the biggest lesson she learned in writing books is how important that process is.  She also wants to explain to people how to pre-edit, so you have your book ready for the editor.  Karen is very excited that she's able to use the staff halls of Curraghmore House as her setting for the one-day workshops. However she is keen for people to book in advance as numbers are limited (12 per session.) She's also organising a surprise tour of the house as part of the sessions. You'll find more details about the history of Curraghmore here.

If you like our interviews with authors on WLR, have a listen here to Donal Ryan chatting On the Fringe.

And below is my chat with Karen..

https://soundcloud.com/wlrfmwaterford/waterford-author-karen-power-is-holding-workshops-at-curraghmore-house