Celebrating Writers: Deirdre Laide

Interview with Deirdre

Q. When did you start writing?

A. I've always loved writing and reading. As a teenager, I kept secret diaries and wrote poetry and short stories. As life became busy, writing took a back seat. During Covid, I longed to reconnect with my creativity. We were all at home, and writing became my means of relaxation.

Q. How did you get into writing kidlit?

A. During that time, the whole world moved online. I was suddenly able to access writing courses with authors I'd greatly admired from afar. Everything became more accessible. As a primary school teacher, I have an interest in kidlit. It was on one of those writing courses that I started to workshop an early draft of SHIPWRECK.

Q. What inspired the book?

A. Growing up on the southwest coast of Ireland, I love exploring the seashore. I've always been fascinated by the sea. In my 20s, I lived in Dubai and did a dive course. On a dive expedition we went to a shipwreck. I found it utterly compelling. It felt like I'd encountered an underwater haunted house.  In my classroom, I teach lessons about the Endurance and the Titanic. Children have a deep fascination with shipwrecks and exploration.

Q. How did you get published?

A. My first agent loved SHIPWRECK and sent the manuscript to editors. She left agenting but before we parted ways she informed me that Tilbury House Publishers wished to acquire SHIPWRECK. I worked out the deal myself, signed the contract and worked with editor Sarah Rockett on the project.

Q.What did you learn as you worked on this book?

A. The whole process has been fascinating.  It was certainly difficult to decide on which shipwrecks to include and which to omit.  I learned a lot about my personal writing process. For me, editing drafts involves writing in sprints and then taking some pause time to walk away from the desk before coming back with a fresh perspective. I always find a brisk walk helps me to reconnect with my writing flow.  Speaking to experts was a really lovely experience. Their knowledge added more depth to the nonfiction facts. It can be daunting to reach out but the ones I emailed were hugely helpful.

Q. How has your job as a teacher helped with the process?

A. Being a teacher certainly helps me to relate to children. You develop an awareness of their interests. I also have a critique group of brutally honest little people ready to tell me what they think. Thankfully, SHIPWRECK got the thumbs up from my class.

Q. Are you currently agented? Was it your PBs or MG that ultimately enticed her?

A. Yes. My agent, Tracy Marchini, is fantastic. She's very supportive and is actively on submission with my fiction and nonfiction children's manuscripts.

Q. What's next?

A. For now, I'm really enjoying doing book events and interviews for SHIPWRECK. I've a few new projects in the works. I'm excited to hopefully share good news on another acquisition very soon.

Q. How can people connect with you?

I'm on Instagram @deirdrelaide_books

On Bluesky deirdrelaide.bsky.social 

Or my website www.deirdrelaide.com



Deirdre, thank you so much for taking time to share about your beautiful book and your writing journey! I’m wishing you every success with this and all your future submissions.