Welcome to Tea with Mrs B, an author interview series. Here to share a pot of tea and to chat about her brand new book, Beneath The Veil, is Bernadette O’Connor.
Bernadette is a powerful storyteller, she has the skill of a lyricist. Her luminous threads from the first word to the last draw her readers into a transformative immersion within the pages. She has an innate knowing of how to work with the vibration of words, to reach the hearts and minds of her audience.
Her colourful, diverse and curious nature is expressed through her narrative: the elements of the craft entwined with her ability to write from a conscious place, is a powerful combination.
Bernadette writes to create change, to inspire, to grow the spirit, and invites you into a literary world where you experience life from a new perspective; with a greater vision exploring life from an expansive viewpoint.
Words are a powerful connector for her, the golden threads of wisdom she weaves richly and profoundly through her writing connect her to a wide audience: she conveys her messages through a higher vibration that works magically on the reader.
Hello Bernadette. It is my pleasure to welcome to my blog, Mrs B’s Book Reviews. Thank you for joining me for Tea with Mrs B, an author interview series. To set the mood for our tea infused interview, what is your preferred beverage, tea, coffee or other? And side accompaniment, scone, cake or other?
I love my coffee, either a long black first thing in the morning or an almond cappuccino. I don’t need anything on the side, I love my coffee just as it is.
Beneath The Veil, your second book has just been released. Can you describe the book in just a sentence?
Beneath The Veil is a tale told with heart, that speaks to your soul through Clara’s story, a potent mix of suppression, abuse, tragedy and healing, wisdom, truth, which will inspire you to remember who you are, to forgive your past and trust in your becoming.
What came first in the creation of the novel – the title, plot, characters or setting when you first set out to write Beneath The Veil?
I am not a traditional writer and do no planning or researching in my writing, so I cannot say I set out to write Beneath The Veil. Like my first novel, Let’s Go Home the whole book – from the title, plot, key characters and themes ‘downloaded’ into my consciousness one Saturday morning. I felt something funny energetically within me that morning, and whenever I am feeling a little ‘out of control’ I clean. In some way it makes me feel more in control. What I didn’t realise was the unease I was feeling was the energy of this new book preparing to land with me. I got half way through mopping my bathroom floor when I had to sit down on my bed. I must have sat there staring into space for 20-30 minutes ‘downloading’ Clara’s story into my consciousness. The only way I can explain it is to think of a computer file downloading, in that all this information just suddenly lands in my consciousness.
And just as I did with Let’s Go Home, I didn’t doubt the story once it landed with me, I just started to write and the words flowed through me. I feel very honoured to have been chosen to write Clara’s story and share it with the world.
How long did it take you to write Beneath The Veil?
About 5-6 months.
Did you need to undertake any research to bring Beneath The Veil to life? How did you incorporate this research into your book?
I didn’t have to do any research (I feel I am a lazy writer) because the story comes to me in the way that it does I don’t feel like I am the creator of it. As such I don’t feel I need to research to add more detail to the story. If the story is there, I write it. I did find myself intrigued by parts of the story as they were coming through to me, and more out of curiosity I read up on things like the abuse of young nuns in convents by priests and the Magdalene Laundry. There were many weird coincidences as I was writing that lead me deeper into the story and really strengthened its power.
I was curious about the origin of the names of the characters as they were told to me, and I would research them after they had ‘come to me’. There were many spine tingling moments when I discovered the meaning of the names, for example when the name of one of the characters came to me as Cynthia I thought my ‘connection’ must have been off that day because Cynthia didn’t sound like a very Irish name. Yet as I never doubt the story as it comes through to me, I typed her name in as Cynthia and then out of curiosity I looked up the meaning of it, and got head to toe goosebumps when I read Cynthia is the Goddess of the Moon. I had known from the day I ‘downloaded’ the story that moon energy was to play a huge part in Clara’s healing and Cynthia was indirectly going to be one of her teachers! This type of thing happens often with me when I am writing….there’s a story about an owl I could also share!
Can you tell us more about the inspiration for the evocative Irish setting of your novel?
My dad is Irish, from the mid-lands of Ireland and we were raised here in Australia but with a very strong connection to our Irish family, our Irish ancestry and Ireland herself. I was 7 years-old when I went to Ireland the first time and I made my First Holy Communion while over there, in the village my dad grew up in and many of the family still lived in. I have been back many times as an adult, and each time I land I feel like I am returning HOME, and I cry when I leave.
I feel like Ireland is part of me and I know her so well. Her land and her stories and her mystic and magic. In 2016 my hubby and I took our children to Ireland for the first time and it was on that trip that I spent time in The Burren on the west coast. I could feel the old wisdom of the land speaking to me. It is such a special place. There is so much healing energy there and it was the place I saw Clara doing her healing, following pagan rituals, immersing herself in the beauty of the true Gypsy life and really connecting into the beautiful healing energy of nature.
What character did you most identify with in Beneath The Veil?
I think it would have to be Maeve, Clara’s aunt. She is very wise yet does not want to overstep her boundaries and impose herself on others. She is silently wise and powerful and steps into her power when she is called, beyond that she seeks a simple life doing the things she loves. As a kinesiologist I am honoured to help heal and guide so many people. I do my thing, I step into my power when I am called to use my gifts but I am also very much seeking a simple life spending time with those I love and doing what I love-including writing.
What was the most challenging and rewarding aspects of writing Beneath the Veil?
The most challenging aspect of writing Beneath The Veil was definitely believing I was strong enough to be the person to write this story, especially when it got very dark and started to challenge the way women are being called to rise into their power. In Beneath The Veil, Clara learns, as Maeve did before her that a woman can only truly reclaim her power from the patriarch when she moves beyond anger and injustice and into a heart space of love, forgiveness and compassion.
The reward in writing was knowing the power of the story as it came through me and the huge potential it has to create change in people. I could feel this potential growing as I finished each chapter.
What do you hope readers will take away from reading Beneath The Veil?
I truly hope that after reading Beneath The Veil, readers will look at other people through a compassionate lens, because we never really know what is going on beneath the veil for anyone. As a kinesiologist I work with people every day who have experienced significant trauma in their life, yet for most of these people you wouldn’t know it by looking at them. There are many veils. And for those who present in life in ways that aren’t ‘ideal’ if we could offer compassion instead of judgement then the world would be so very different.
My other hope, and it is at the core of all my writing, is that through Clara’s story other people (especially women who have in some way lost their power) may be inspired to do the work needed to unravel the pain of their past, remove the veil so that they can reclaim their power and live from a place of truth.
I hope that as a collective, women can move beyond the pain of suppression by the patriarch, release the resentment, anger and hurt and open their hearts to forgiveness, compassion and love. Because when we reach this space, this is when we truly reclaim our power and come into peace.
As we rise, individually as a woman and as a collective, all will be transformed.
How will you celebrate the official release day of Beneath The Veil?
I am in the midst of planning my launch function. It will be a celebration of Beneath The Veil and all that she represents, think Ireland, music, dance – a true celebration with my family, friends and supporters.
Can you tell us about your journey to publication?
I have worked with the same team for publication of Beneath The Veil as I did for Let’s Go Home. Natasha Gilmour as editor, Karen McDermott as publisher and Maja Otic for cover design. I love these women and I feel it is our book not just mine. So much energy goes into each part of the process and I value these women and the loving energy that they have brought to Beneath The Veil.
They believe in this book and its transformative power as much as I do, and they understand the way I write and the powerful energies that work with me when I am writing. I need a team around me who understand this and support my writing in this way.
How do you balance life with writing?
My life is full. My husband works away all week, I have three children 11, 9 and 7 and I run my own Kinesiology business. So my life outside of writing is really full. I cannot write with anyone else around so it is often done in the early hours of morning, sometimes if the feel is right I will start writing late at night. With Beneath The Veil I found myself allocating 1-2 days per week to write during school hours. Writing at this time, in the middle of winter, snuggled on the lounge under a blanket with a coffee by my side felt deliciously indulgent and the words flowed from me.
Beneath The Veil was both emotionally challenging and profoundly beautiful and empowering to write.
What is next on the horizon for Bernadette O’Connor? Do you have any writing projects you would like to share with us?
My focus really is on releasing Beneath The Veil and continuing to promote Let’s Go Home: Finding There While Staying Here. Both of these in themselves takes a lot of energy, along with continuing to work with my kinesiology clients, present at conferences, run workshops and most importantly showing up as the best mother I can be to my children.
My next book has been swirling around me for a couple of months and I have inklings about what it is about, but I haven’t opened myself fully to receiving the gift of this story, yet. One thing at a time and I know in the next month or so, I will be ready to begin the next exciting writing experience. I cannot wait to open myself to this ‘download’.
Finally, what 2019 book releases are you most excited to read?
I’m waiting to be surprised by what lands in my sphere and calls to me. Sometimes it’s not new releases, sometimes they are books that are decades old, that I discover at just the right time. I have a feeling there are one or two important books out there waiting for me to be ready for them this year.
Thank you for taking the time to visit Mrs B’s Book Reviews for Tea with Mrs B Bernadette. Congratulations on the publication of Beneath The Veil!
Nobody knows what lies Beneath the Veil. Clara grows up haunted by the dark secrets of
her past: a deadly betrayal, unspoken and unspeakable. Clara is too scared to speak her truth, knowing she will be condemned and punished by her brother or Father Stanley or Padraig McDermott. Her silence a betrayal of her soul. As she listens through the silence that surrounds her, the blood-stained truth engulfs her and her family. She must symbolically cleanse herself of her sins while the endless penance to God continues through abuse, humiliation and beatings, is anyone listening to her? Will Clara rise from the darkness of her past and free herself from the indoctrination of her remote Irish Catholic village? Can her gypsy soul awaken and ascend the power of her feminine?
Beneath The Veil by Bernadette O’Connor was published on 24th February 2019. Details on how to purchase the book can be found here.
Connect with Bernadette here:
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