The Horse with my Name

You may not know this, but a good Ulster protestant like me has a lot to thank the former Irish Prime Minister and alleged IRA sympathiser Charlie Haughey for. Years ago he introduced a unique tax incentive scheme for artists and writers - i.e. they don`t need to pay tax. When we learned about this comparatively recently we quickly upped sticks and made for the border.

It wasn`t just about money - we badly needed a change of scene, and I needed fresh ideas. I`d decided to set one of the Dan Starkey novels in the horse racing industry, and to that end we rented a house at Fairyhouse in County Meath, which is also the home of the Irish Grand National, horse breeding, stables, etc. I fondly imagined immersing myself in all things horsey for six months and then starting in on my blockbuster. Except, I`m pretty crap at research, and I found that a subscription to the Racing Post and a couple of trips to the races were all that I needed to get started.

The thing about Dan, you see, is that he is always a fish out of water; he doesn`t have to understand the film industry, or religion, or in this case, horse racing to be able to function….or as it were, dysfunction…in it. He just dives in head first, flounders around, gets shot at, and tries to make the best of things. In these cases too much knowledge can be a bad thing. It`s very easy to get weighed down by research.

And at the end of the day, it`s all fiction. A number of people have approached me and said that they worry for my sick mind after reading the scene where a female character is tortured to death with a hot iron. I quite agree. But it`s a good way to ensure that the wife gets the ironing done on time.