Video: Irish author Cecilia Ahern, whose book 'P.S. I Love You' sold 25m copies, divulges her secret in Dubai LitFest
‘I don’t write for profit’, says Irish novelist at Dubai LitFest
Dubai: Cecilia Ahern loves the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature. The Irish novelist is back in Dubai after 10 years, and she’s enjoying it.
“I cannot believe how time has flown. P.S. I Love You was the first book I wrote when I was 21. The phenomenal response helped launch my career as a writer. There has been no looking back since,” Ahern said in an interview with Gulf News.
Ahern, whose P.S. I Love You sold 25 million copies in more than 40 countries and was published in 30 languages, said the festival is proving to be a great platform for her to meet fellow writers and authors.
The daughter of former prime minister of Ireland Bertie Ahern said she didn’t expect the massive success of P.S. I Love You. “I write from my head and my heart. And everyone should do the same. Listen to your inner voice. I don’t write for profit and so when the book became so popular, I was so happy. It was truly phenomenal. I did not even dream that it would become so popular. That really took off my career as an author and writer,” Ahern said.
The protagonist, Holly, experiences the profound loss of her husband, Gerry, and goes through a tumultuous emotional journey. The book portrays the challenges of grief and the process of healing.
The book the number one best-seller status in Ireland, Britain, the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands, and was on the number one spot in Ireland for 19 weeks.
Her other works include Where Rainbows End, and If You Could See Me Now. Ahern has also created, produced and written original TV series.
Ahern's collection of short stories, Roar, is now in development for Apple TV+ with Nicole Kidman and Per Saari’s Blossom Films, Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories and Theresa Park’s Per Capita Productions, along with Ahern’s own Greenlight Go Productions label. She has also written a TV series currently in development with Picturestart, and a feature film sequel to P.S. I Love You titled Postscript with Alcon Entertainment is also in development.
Ahern also talked about how she maintained a diary since she was 10 years old, penning her thoughts and events of the day. “Listen to your voice and write from there. I write from my heart and what is important to me at the time.”
She said discipline and a love for writing are two key things that brought her success. “I write from my head and heart. I don’t write for profit or write with the intention of making money out of it,” she added.
Excited to be at the Festival
“As a writer, I sit by myself readying my piece. So when I travel it feels great to meet fellow writers and listen to their experiences. This is why I am so happy to be at a massive literary even such as the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature and meet such stalwarts. I have met people from all over the world. It is exceptional. It is an absolute honour for me to be invited to the Festival,” Ahern said.
“I was also invited to be in a panel discussion about harnessing the power of TikTok for finding community and promoting books and it wonderful meeting such great experts from around the world,” she added.