Some writers tiptoe politely into fiction. Ruth McKee has arrived with Wild Iris, a debut novel that looks at midlife, memory, guilt, language, friendship, motherhood and the private weather system inside one woman’s head and says, in effect: yes, all of that, in one day please.

Set over Easter weekend, Wild Iris follows Eve on her 42nd birthday as she moves through a psychological crisis, caught between reconnecting with an old lover and ending her life. The past keeps rising through the present: childhood anxiety, a strict Presbyterian upbringing with Gerty, the intense friendship with Louise, the arrival of Johnny and a 21st birthday tragedy that will shape everything that follows.

It is a birthday novel in the way a thunderstorm is a weather update. Dark, yes, but not airless. Funny, but never glib. It is written with the kind of close attention to language that makes you suspect McKee has spent years reading everyone else’s books for professional reasons and quietly taking notes like a very elegant literary spy.

Which, in fairness, is not wildly inaccurate. Ruth is already a familiar name to anyone who pays attention to Irish books. She is editor of Books Ireland magazine, hosts the Burning Books podcast and edited The Irish Writers Handbook. Originally from Co Antrim and now living in Skerries, she has worked across reviewing, editing and publishing, so she knows the machinery of books from several unglamorous angles. This makes her answer about the writing feel especially earned.

It also makes the rest of her Chapters 10 a delight.

Chapters 10 with Ruth McKee

What is the first book you bought yourself?

I was a big library user as a small child, but sometimes we would get book tokens as prizes when I was in primary school. I cannot be absolutely certain, but there is a good chance that one of the first books I bought with these was The Story of the Amulet by E. Nesbit.

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Write it down when the fire is in your belly. Do not wait until “later”.

Did publishing your first book change your writing process?

Wild Iris is my debut, so I am not sure what things will be like over the next year or two. But going through the publication process has made me realise that it truly is writing that brings me the most satisfaction. There is a lot about publishing a book that can take you away from the creative process, and not all of us enjoy that side of things as much as we enjoy being in the flow of a work-in-progress.

What were you most wrong about when you imagined being a writer?

I blame Murder, She Wrote for giving a whole generation of aspiring writers the hilarious misconception that as a novelist your agent would send you off on yachts and fancy holidays. It came as a bit of a shock later to realise that only a tiny number of writers can make a living from their books. Most have day jobs or are otherwise financially supported.

Which three books do you think everyone should read?

I am not sure about everyone else, but three books that were important to me at different points in life were:

As a child: The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett

As a scholar: Augustine’s Confessions

As a writer: Solar Bones, by Mike McCormack

Do you have a favourite book to gift and, if so, what is it?

I usually try to match the book to the person. The last book I gave to someone was The Gorgeous Inertia of the Earth, by Adrian Duncan.

What song always gets you on the dance floor?

I will dance to literally anything. I could dance to a metronome. But you cannot go wrong with a bit of Daft Punk.

Tea or coffee?

Both.

Do you Google yourself?

I Google Wild Iris, even though I know I should not!

Why do you love Chapters?

The human touch. We live in a world that increasingly detaches us from each other, especially when it comes to retail. Chapters is a beautifully and lovingly curated place to visit and find just the right book for you on that day, whether new or pre-loved. The same goes with ordering online. It is a unique experience. You know that the lists and highlights have real thought and energy behind them, that the recommended titles have actually been read. Reading comes first, and all the rest follows, which is how it should be.

Wild Iris by Ruth McKee is published by Dedalus Books.