Sports writer | Rosie Amber

Please welcome Sharon Black to the blog today as she tells us about her debut novel “Going Against Type”

1) Where is your home town?

I live in Dublin. I was born here and I now live in Sandymount, which is right by the sea.
2) How long have you been writing?

I’m one of those people who literally started writing as a child. I was always writing stories, filling copybooks, later on starting books which I never finished. After I got my degree, I trained as a journalist and I worked for national newspapers here in Ireland. I’ve also had some short stories published and I won a national short story competition a few years ago.
3) What was the one idea which sparked off “Going Against Type”?

When I was growing up, I adored the old Hollywood movies of the 1930s and 1940s on TV. My favourite romantic pair on screen, were Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracey. In the film Woman of the Year, he plays a sports writer and she plays a high brow pundit. So I thought I’d see what would happen if the roles were reversed a bit. My heroine is a sports writer and my hero is a fashion writer who knows very little about sport. I actually make a reference to Woman of the Year in my book!

4) Where is your book set?

Going Against Type is set in Dublin.

5) Introduce us to Charlie.

Charlie is a single, Dublin born woman in her late twenties. She lives for sport, and actually tried to pursue a professional career in sport, until she was injured. She loves her job and she is great fun. She’s very feisty and doesn’t pull any punches. She’s also a bit vulnerable. She hasn’t had a lot of luck with men.

6) Please tell us all about Derry.

Derry is very good looking, droll and at ease with himself. He dates a lot of women but hasn’t had a serious relationship in a while. He has quite a high position in his paper, but he doesn’t talk about it. He’s originally from Cork and still has a very faint, lilting accent. He is attracted to Charlie because she’s very pretty, but also because she’s very different to the type of woman he usually dates. He finds her refreshing and challenging.

7) What type of things does Charlie write about in her new column?

As the only woman on staff in the sports department, Charlie knows she has to make her mark, or Side Swipe will be handed to one of the men. She is a bit of a purist when it comes to sport, so she just tells it how she sees it. For example, in one column she attacks highly paid soccer stars for wasting their time promoting underwear or writing their autobiographies. In another, she pokes fun at the women who make Ladies’ Day at the races, all about the designer clothes.

8) How does she come into conflict with a rival columnist?

As well as being a fashion writer, Derry writes a column called The Squire for a rival paper. He reads Charlie’s first column and decides to take Side Swipe down a peg or two. He actually thinks it’s written by a young guy, trying to make a name for himself. Both columns are written anonymously.

9) Where and when do Charlie and Derry meet face to face?

Charlie and Derry first bump in to each other at the Galway Races. Literally! By that stage, they have already had a few weeks of attacking each other through their columns. The attraction is instant but it’s not how they first get together!

10) Tell us where readers can find out more about you and your books.