Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

That's essentially what I had this morning in Dalkey, at the home of the bestselling novelist y. I took the early morning train with my Book Programme producer Noel Russell, then caught the DART from Connolly Station, recording equipment in hand (okay, in Noel's hands!). It was a lovely visit. Everyone told me Maeve would be the personification of charm, and she certainly lived up to her reputation. We talked about why writers feel compelled to write, how they approach the necessarily isolating task of writing, and how they deal with the pitfalls of both success and failure. We also talked about Maeve's new novel, Heart and Soul, which is published next October -- and how the story, which concerns a heart-rate clinic, emerged from Maeve's own experience of medical treatment for a continuing heart condition. She sat in her writing chair, beside the laptop she uses to produce her phenomenally successful novels, and we were surrounded by her books, paintings, files, and clippings folders. She was very much at home -- in more than one sense -- in that writing space on the first floor of her house in Dalkey, and the interview is full of laughter, stories, insights and tricks of the writing trade. We'll be broadcasting the interview in the next few weeks.