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Mary Anne Mc Enery is living her third life—and loving it—a student of human nature, blessed with a vivid imagination and always attempting to juxtaposition events and running internal “what if” scenarios in her head. As a child growing up in rural Ireland, her escape to her magical world was her bicycle and the local public library was her second home. She loved poetry, and prose and Shakespearean works on her school syllabus and would shout out words and phrases to the trees and hedges and to the cows and horses grazing in the fields for the sheer delight and intoxication of them on her bike rides. A strange child indeed! Writing stories was her passion, but she didn't pursue it in earnest until 50 years later because of life's challenges. She's got a lot of catching up to do. She’s had amazing experiences through travel and work—from the Ethiopian Highlands to the Huon River valleys of Tasmania—and places in between. Nowadays, she lives in The Hague, Netherlands with her husband Iain. She loves to wear colored tights and refuses to be the invisible older woman. Writing nourishes her thoughts and her spirit by day and her dreams by night.
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Interview with Mary Anne McEnery
about her story "The Ride of Her Life"
Honorable Mention for The Scribes Prize
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What inspired this piece?
After watching the film Good Luck to You, Leo Grande a 2022 British sex comedy-drama film directed by Sophie Hyde and written by Katy Brand. The film stars Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack. The story revolves around a woman who seeks a young sex worker to help her experience pleasurable sex.
The idea came to me, and I ran with it. I wrote my first draft at a bit of a gallop!
What draws you to the micro-fiction format?
I love the challenge of writing fewer words to convey more information to the reader, weeding out descriptions and using strong verbs... if that makes sense. It surely focuses the mind and is a workout for my brain cells.
Who are some authors that inspire you?
I am inspired by writers like Cathy Fish, for modern flash fiction, many American writers like Steinbeck, Hemmingway and Carver, and indeed so many Irish short story writers. Mary Lavin, is one example and Colum McCann is a dab hand at the short story. I also love the new generation of Irish novelists that has woken Ireland up and out of the old ways. Sally Rooney Paul Lynch, Kevin Barry and Nuala O'Connor comes to mind.
If you could continue writing your story after these 100 words, what would happen next?
I think there is a much longer story or even a short novel behind the character Alice Pringle. I also think I would enjoy fleshing her out and writing about her life’s journey.
What's next on the horizon for you?
Perhaps that’s what’s next on the horizon for me!
After watching the film Good Luck to You, Leo Grande a 2022 British sex comedy-drama film directed by Sophie Hyde and written by Katy Brand. The film stars Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack. The story revolves around a woman who seeks a young sex worker to help her experience pleasurable sex.
The idea came to me, and I ran with it. I wrote my first draft at a bit of a gallop!
What draws you to the micro-fiction format?
I love the challenge of writing fewer words to convey more information to the reader, weeding out descriptions and using strong verbs... if that makes sense. It surely focuses the mind and is a workout for my brain cells.
Who are some authors that inspire you?
I am inspired by writers like Cathy Fish, for modern flash fiction, many American writers like Steinbeck, Hemmingway and Carver, and indeed so many Irish short story writers. Mary Lavin, is one example and Colum McCann is a dab hand at the short story. I also love the new generation of Irish novelists that has woken Ireland up and out of the old ways. Sally Rooney Paul Lynch, Kevin Barry and Nuala O'Connor comes to mind.
If you could continue writing your story after these 100 words, what would happen next?
I think there is a much longer story or even a short novel behind the character Alice Pringle. I also think I would enjoy fleshing her out and writing about her life’s journey.
What's next on the horizon for you?
Perhaps that’s what’s next on the horizon for me!