Feature: Meet young novelist Eilís Barrett

Finding time to meet Irish Country Living while working on a deadline for her next book and attending her monthly readers club, Eilís Barrett resembles a working woman more than a 16-year-old.

However, the bubbly, chatty girl certainly proves to be your happy-go-lucky teen. Taking everything in her stride, it’s easy to forget that she is a published author and a guest speaker at the upcoming Eason YA (young adult) convention with her all-time favourite author Victoria Schwab.

Growing up

Eilis’ upbringing was rather unique. While hailing from Ballinasloe and growing up beside her grandad’s farm, Eilís and her brothers are home-schooled by their mother, Bernadette.

“Home schooling was never the initial plan,” Eilís admits “My mom didn’t always think of home schooling, but when my older brother Andrew was four, she noticed he was performing very well naturally and progressively learning each day. She didn’t want to take him out of that environment – she wanted to see how he would get on organically.”

The family have a laid-back, natural rhythm which works for them. Every day is always different. Eilís says that being home schooled meant they had time to think for themselves, as their mother allowed them the freedom to learn about what interested them. Remarkably, at the age of 12, Eilís and her siblings found their destined paths in life.

“That’s when our passionate interests emerged. For example, when I was 12 I found my niche. I decided I wanted to be a published author,” she says.

Eilís’ first novel was discovered by pure chance.

“I shared a chapter of my manuscript with a family friend, completely unaware that it meant anything at all. But it turns out the split-second decision to push a couple of pages towards her across the table would be the catalyst to a pretty awesome story,” she discloses.

Having worked in PR on a book the year before, Eilís’ friend ended up writing an email to the publishing house, and a few weeks later she had set up a meeting to visit the offices in Dublin. Eilís subsequently became a published author with Gill Books.

Eilís feels her childhood prepared her for writing, divulging that she loved a little white lie when she was a child. She would dream up adventures, only to terrify her mother about escapades she supposedly went on that day, when in reality she would be in the garden playing.

“As a novelist, you could almost say I lie for a living when writing fiction, so I never really grew out of it,” Eilís remarks.

Eilís hopes to continue her career as a published author, revealing that she comes up with three viable ideas a year. Unfortunately, she only has the time to write one good enough to publish.

“My biggest fear is that I will only be capable of producing one out of every three possible books in my lifetime,” she admits.

Eilís believes that the key to success is being aware of everything that is going on around you.

“That’s the recipe for a good writer – you’re always thinking of the next story,” she explains.

Eilís pulls on parts of her own personality when developing characters. What makes them different from her is how they react to certain situations. Eilís confesses that she does see certain traits in Quincy (the protagonist in her novel) in her own personality. What makes Quincy different from other YA characters is that sometimes females in literature are expected to be these ideological characters, to be kind and beautiful but, most importantly, not know it.

“What’s refreshing about Quincy is that she is really difficult to be around. She puts her own needs above others in certain circumstances, she doesn’t need to be anything or prove herself to anyone but herself. She’s not out there to be a role model, but at the end of the day she is.”

After speaking with Irish Country Living, however, it’s fair to say that Eilís possesses the wisdom and poise of a seasoned author, and like Quincy, she is not only an outstanding character, but an unassuming role model. CL

Oasis by Eilís Barrett is published by Gill Books and released on 7 October, with its sequel Genesis to follow later next year.

The novel is set in the near future, where a virus has the potential to drive humankind to the brink of extinction. Walled off from the outside world is the last fortress of civilised society known as Oasis, built to protect people from the virus that killed half of the population. Born into this world is Quincy Emerson. At seven, she undergoes her genetic test, a rite of passage for all Oasis’ young. Living in a city built to protect the “pures” from her a “dormant”, she is soon separated from her family and transferred to the brutal institutions built to house the youngest members of Oasis’ underclass. However, beyond the walls of Oasis, something is stirring...