Putting Out the Stars by Roisin Meaney

In 1977 Roisin Meaney finished a sentence and won a car. The sentence was 'I would like to win a Ford Fiesta because my father won't let me drive his.' In the 24 years that followed she wrote a lot more sentences and won a lot more prizes. In 2001 she finally decided to keep writing sentences until she filled a book. Since then she's written eight adult novels and two children's books. Her work has been translated into German, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch and Italian. Two of her books have also been published in the US, Semi-Sweet (previously Love in the Making) and Life Drawing for Beginners (previously The Things We Do for Love). Five of Roisin's novels have made it into the Irish bestseller list, with The Last Week of May (2007) and The People Next Door (2008) securing the number one and two slots respectively. Her ninth novel, Something in Common, will be published in 2013. Roisin Meaney was born in Kerry and has also lived in Dublin, Tipperary, London, Zimbabwe and San Francisco. Her present home, and her main place of residence since the age of 8, is Limerick. Putting Out the Stars is her second book.