New voice in Irish fiction Vicki Notaro dreams of her stories making it to the big screen

Sunday World

2 days ago

LONG STORY SHORT |
Vicki Notaro gave up a solid career in magazines to pursue her ambition of writing books, and she tells Denise Smith how she dreams of her stories making it on to the big screen some day
'I love a sex scene,' laughs the 39-year-old Dubliner, who's just released her second novel, Long Story — a whip-smart tale of the complexities of female friendship, with plenty of sex, sass and chaos in between.
'I feel like they're a bit less filthy and overt than they were in my first book. Maybe they're not. Maybe I'm just more used to it. Either way, I do feel sorry for the poor actress who has to narrate the audiobook — it must feel awkward,' she grins. 'But for me, sitting alone writing them, it's grand. I enjoy it.'
Vicki's debut, Reality Check, was a commercial and critical success, topping book charts and cementing her place as an exciting new voice in Irish fiction.
Despite her seamless segue into the literary world, her decision to leave her role as editor-in-chief of Stellar magazine wasn't made lightly. Reflecting on the identity shift of stepping away from a high-status job, the You Had Me at Hello podcast host explains: 'For me, it was more about disengaging my ego. I had worked my way up in Irish media and I was managing director of a company that publishes three amazing magazines. For me, that's your job title and not who you are, and once you make a decision to walk away from that, you are also walking away from people licking up to you in a way,' she says with impressive candour.
Vicki Notaro
Laughing, she adds: 'And getting great opportunities like press trips and free makeup. You have to be secure in doing that, and hopefully you've built yourself a strong enough reputation that people will still remember you and want to talk to you about your work. And that has come to pass. So I feel very lucky in that way as well.'
Delving into the financially viability of her career change, Vicki laughs when we probe if she's now on the pig's back.
'I'm still very much the new girl. So I mean, the hope is that eventually I'll be on the pig's back. But I have a very supportive husband. And yeah, I mean, of course I was walking away from a salary, so I was walking away from guaranteed money. But really I'd already made the decision to leave my job before I even knew I had a book deal,' she explains. 'The magazine industry has changed a lot, and selling on shelves is harder than ever.'
Though still a relatively new name in fiction, there's no denying that the Tallaght native is quickly carving out her niche in a literary tradition rich with Irish women's voices that spotlight women's lives with wit, warmth and insight.
'We've such a rich literary tradition in Ireland. I'm not claiming to be any sort of literary writer, but I think we do have such a rich history of the likes of Marian Keyes, Patricia Scanlan, Cathy Kelly, writing for women and writing about women's stories at every stage of their lives.
Vicki's new book Long Story delves into female friendships and all that goes with them
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'And I think other Irish women just really relate to that. And there's nothing, to me, like reading an Irish book because you just relate to it so much more. We've such a specific humour and turn of phrase.'
While Long Story is full of sex, sass, and escapism, it's also got heart. 'It's about female friendship — the complexity of it, how it's rarely straightforward,' Vicki says. 'We tend to put all our energy into romantic relationships, but our platonic ones deserve just as much attention. I hope people come away from the book laughing, maybe crying, and feeling like they've spent time with characters they recognise or relate to. It's glossy, it's fun, it's light — but it's meaningful, too. And honestly, I just want to keep doing this forever.'
Like most authors, Vicki dreams of a screen adaptation but she's fully aware of how difficult it is to break into the TV and film industry.
'I think it's a lot harder than anyone realises, even harder than I realised,' she admits. 'There are so many books published every week, not just in Ireland but globally. Everyone has that dream. What you really need is a producer to say, like my publisher did, 'I get you. I see your vision.' Look at Marian Keyes —30 years on, her Walsh Sisters books are being adapted into a series, and Grown Ups is on the way too. It can happen at any time.'
When asked who she'd cast to play her beloved characters, she politely declines to comment. 'I'm far too close to them. I have a very specific image in my head, and I think there's a reason authors shouldn't cast their own work,' she says.
Still, she gives us a taste. 'Sean Sweeney, the romantic interest-slash-villain of Long Story? I saw someone in my head who's a mix of Paul Mescal and Colin Farrell — rugged, tattooed, kind of bad-boy energy. If any man out there fits that description… congrats, the role is yours!'
Now already putting pen to paper as she writes her third book, this is one seasoned journalist that is truly keeping her feet on the ground. 'I still feel like the new girl,' she says with a grin. 'But I'm so grateful.
Vicki's new book Long Story
'The feedback has been gorgeous. You can go through life thinking the world's a bit dark, and then something like this reminds you people are actually lovely.
'Sometimes I am like, 'I can do this, you've built a great career and you have brilliant contacts, it's all about ideas and you've got good ideas and the ability to see them through' and the other side of it is 'who do you think you are?' which is so Irish. Right now though I couldn't be happier.'
Long Story Short is available in all good book stores now.