Sheila O'Flanagan
AUTHOR

Sheila O'Flanagan

Tap the gear icon above to manage new release emails.
I've always loved reading and when I was a child I used to write stories for my younger sisters as a bribe to make them do my share of the housework. It usually worked! Ireland is famed for its writers, but for me growing up most of the novels were rural in both their settings and their points of view. I wanted to read books about people like me, who lived in the city and struggled with the chaotic bus timetable and had dreams and ambitions that had nothing to do with the farm. I also wanted to read novels in which the women were the heroes of their own stories. Too many women in the novels I read were there as a wife, mother or daughter and their role was to develop the storyline for the male character. I wanted to hear those women's stories and tell them myself. Although I was constantly writing, the idea of being a novelist was a bit of a pipe dream. I had to earn a living and so I got a job in finance. It was the complete opposite of anything I'd ever expected to do but - at least for a time - I enjoyed it and I did well. Nevertheless the dream wouldn't go away and in my thirties I decided that I would make a real effort to write my novel. Eventually, after a couple of false starts, Dreaming of A Stranger was written and published and became an Irish bestseller. Since then I've written more than 25 novels as well as 3 collections of short stories and 2 novels for children all of which have been bestsellers both in Ireland and overseas. They include The Hideaway, What Happened That Night, Isobel's Wedding and Suddenly Single and my sales have topped 9 million copies around the world. In most of my books, I put women in situations where they have to dig deep inside themselves to find their inner strength even though sometimes they struggle to realise it's there. Readers often ask who my favourite characters are, but every one of the women in my books is as close to me as a member of my family. (For the time when I'm writing a book they're even closer because they're in my head 24/7. At least with the family I can walk out of the room or put the phone down!) Regardless of who my readers are, I always try to do three things when I'm writing: Tell a good story Make the reader feel like they know the characters Make each book better than the last I've been very lucky in having so many books published and hearing from readers all around the world. And I'm glad that, when times were tough, I remembered the quote that 'a professional writer is an amateur who wouldn't quit" I'm a passionate avocate for increasing literacy and helping people who have come to reading late in life so that they can find the same pleasure in reading as I've had. I've taken part in a number of different televised projects to help people who've struggled with reading and writing and I've contributed to both the Quick Reads and Open Doors series of novellas for new readers. I'm also a board member of Fighting Words, the creative writing centre set up by Booker prize-winner Roddy Doyle where I've worked with teenagers to write their own published stories and retired people who are working on their memoirs.
Read more Read less

Try Audible membership today. Start enjoying the benefits.

Try Audible for free with an audiobook of your choice.
Try Standard free
Auto-renews at AUD $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

What Eden Did Next

Most popular
View Details

Most Popular

Product list
  • Her Husband's Mistake cover art

    $25.49 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • What Eden Did Next cover art

    $26.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • The Missing Wife: The uplifting and compelling smash-hit bestseller! cover art

    $26.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • The Hideaway cover art

    • The Hideaway

    • There's no escape from a shocking secret - from the No. 1 bestselling author
    • By: Sheila O'Flanagan
    • Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
    • Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
    • Release date: 17-05-2018
    • Language: English
    • 88 ratings

    $22.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • How Will I Know? cover art

    $33.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • If You Were Me cover art

    $26.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • What Happened That Night cover art

    $26.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • Isobel's Wedding cover art

    $33.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • Bad Behaviour cover art

    $33.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • The Honeymoon Affair cover art

    $29.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • Stand by Me cover art

    $29.60 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • My Favourite Goodbye cover art

    $26.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • All For You cover art

    • All For You

    • An irresistible summer read by the #1 bestselling author!
    • By: Sheila O'Flanagan
    • Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
    • Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
    • Release date: 02-01-2014
    • Language: English
    • 48 ratings

    $19.11 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • My Mother's Secret cover art

    • My Mother's Secret

    • The truth can’t be kept under wraps any longer in this unforgettable novel from the No. 1 bestselling author
    • By: Sheila O'Flanagan
    • Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
    • Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
    • Release date: 02-07-2015
    • Language: English
    • 70 ratings

    $26.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • Dreaming of a Stranger cover art

    $33.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • Too Good to Be True cover art

    $26.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • Someone Special cover art

    $33.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • The Perfect Man cover art

    $33.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • Secrets Between Friends cover art

    • Secrets Between Friends

    • ‘A warm, sensitive story about the power of female friendship . . . and the joy of second chances’ Lucy Diamond
    • By: Sheila O'Flanagan
    • Length: 13 hrs
    • Release date: 26-03-2026
    • Language: English
    • Not rated yet

    $26.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Pre-order: Free with 30-day trial
  • Suddenly Single cover art

    $33.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00