Anyone who references Gloria Steinem, Annie Ernaux and Clarissa Pinkola Estes goes to the top of my reading list, throw in a tale about trying to find The Beats as a 15 year old and I am transported back to the 80s and the boys I was friends with who all had flat-tops, were doing Art Foundation courses and smoked smelly French cigarettes you could only buy in town - I’m sold.


It is hard to easily place Karl Geary, he both fits into boxes and defies categorisation - an Irish born, American who lives in Glasgow; actor, screenwriter, bar owner, he has been away from Ireland longer than he lived there, yet in both his award nominated first book and now ‘Juno Loves Legs’ he has captured the rhythms, nuances and essence of 80s Dublin. His writing is not twee or sentimental, he hasn’t romanticised the bleakness of the environment, the people or their lives, yet his stories are love stories, for the place and time and people, as much as the relationships between the main characters.


Geary’s first novel, ‘Montpelier Parade’ was a masterful, luminous debut novel, I've thought about Sonny frequently since reading it. When I heard his second novel was coming out, I was curious whether Geary would return to him, if we would follow him to better times, would he prosper as Ireland had? Geary has returned to 80s, working class Dublin, but his new characters are completely themselves, full of life and bursting with love to give to someone and hungry to be loved. ‘Juno Loves Legs’ is heartbreaking, in the best way possible - I was laughing through tears and didn’t want to put it down, but also wanted to read it slowly so it wouldn’t be finished.


Not sure where this quote came from, I found it on ‘Jojo’s Over the Rainbow Blog’, but this is just perfect “An unforgettable portrait of two young misfits bound together by hard Dublin childhoods. It’s a ode to love, to salvation of friendship, and to the families we build when our own families fail us. The characters are so real, so desperate to be loved that the reader will want to reach through the pages and hold them”.


What is the first book you bought yourself?
I was about 15 and I’d heard older people talk about ‘The Beats’, and in particular, ‘On the road’. I knew nothing about Kerouac or Burroughs or Ginsburg (you could never ask) and I went into a second hand bookshop that used to be at the end of Talbot street, and couldn’t remember their names, and they kept trying to sell me books about American bands on the Road! I left, mortified.


If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Slow down. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. It’s everyday, even a few words, they’ll add up. Trust yourself, it’s only your own voice you are after, some part of you knows when its in tune.


Did publishing your first book change your writing process?
Yes, definitely. There’s an initial self-consciousness. It’s awful, but It does go away as you become more engaged in the new work.


What were you most wrong about when you imagined being a writer?
I read somewhere that being a writer is a lot like always having unfinished homework and for the rest of your life. It’s true.


Which 3 books do you think everyone should read?
Annie Ernaux-The Years
Anton Chekhov - Short Stories
John McGahern - That They May Face The Rising Sun


Do you have a favourite book to gift and if so, what is it?
For years I would gift A Joseph Campbell Companion. It’s a great entry into the myths, all the kernels of all the stories are in there. Then I discovered Clarissa Pinkola Estes, she’ll get you there in half the time.


What song always gets you on the dance floor?
Dear god…None, Never!

Tea or Coffee?
COFFEE


Do you Google yourself?
Yes, sometimes, the algorithm doesn’t know what to do with me, it’s hysterical.


Why do you love Chapters?!
Gloria Steinem said, ‘Wherever I go, bookstores are still the closest thing to a town square.’ They may also be the last physical space where we can disagree in a decent fashion. What’s not to love about that.