In her varied career, Deirdre Purcell has been a civil servant, worked for Aer Lingus, been an actor at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, and broken new ground as the first female presenter on RTE's flagship 9 o'clock news.
Since 1991 she has also been a best-selling novelist. Her latest book, Marble Gardens, concerns a woman's desire to save her terminally ill daughter and this shatters her relationships with others.
She discusses the lure of the novelist with Jenni. Deirdre Purcell, Marble Gardens, New Island Books; ISBN: 1902602560, £15
