Interview with Orna Ross, Acclaimed Irish Poet and Writer

ORNA ROSS is an award-winning poet, writer, and powerful advocate for independent authors and other creative entrepreneurs. She has been named “one of the 100 most influential people in publishing.” Her work includes nonfiction guides for creatives, and she is Founder-Director of two popular online communities, the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) and The Creativist Club. She lives in London with her family and writes, publishes, and teaches in workshops and podcasts around the globe.

Orna’s novels and poems are often haunting in what they evoke and hold a stillness that reminds me of the Japanese poet Basho. After the Rising, the first book of her Irish Trilogy, is a sweeping, multigenerational tale that merges 1920s Ireland with the present. It is a remarkable reading experience. Throughout, I ceased to know I was reading at all — the immersion into the characters’ lives was that strong, evocative, and riveting. Here is just one line from its pages:

The sea-chant of the prayers, breaking in a holy wave across the headstones, down to meet the sound of the sea itself.

I am thrilled she has agreed to an interview.