Q&A With Susan McGuirk 

Jennifer Richards was kind enough to connect me with another amazing author named Susan McGuirk. Susan is the author of the novel Dear Missing Friend, which is a historical fiction novel based on a true story. Susan has a blog called The Storied Sisters Society and her author website www.susanmcguirk.com . In the past she worked at Anthology Film archives, a historical museum and honed her writing skills at HBO Programming composing hundreds of in-house film reviews. 

Q: Welcome to Book Notions Susan! I’m happy to be interviewing you! Would you please give a brief description of Dear Missing Friend? 

A: Hi Bianca. Thanks for having me. I follow you, really enjoy your work and have learned a lot. To answer your question, the book opens with Catherine McGuirk leaving Ireland and a shipboard suitor behind for a new life in Sag Harbor, New York. At the height of the 1840s whaling era, Cath marries a handsome sailor who promises to forsake the sea. Instead, he leaves for the gold rush, spurring on her quest to become a governess in Manhattan. Cath continues to be torn between her ambition, her missing husband, and her former beau, now a wealthy speculator.

Q: How long did it take you to research and write Dear Missing Friend? 

A: It took the better part of 10 years, in fits and starts. Sometimes I would hit a wall on research, but eventually I would find a path to keep following.

Q: What was it like visiting where Catherine came from in Mullinclavin Ireland and seeing the actual McGuirk farm where Catherine and her family lived? Did you feel connected to your Irish roots? 

A: It was amazing. On my birthday I was standing in wellies in a sheep pasture on my family’s old farm and the current owner asked what I was feeling. The only word I could come up with was, “joy.” I am indebted to a local historian, Larry McDermott, who found the farm and showed me the school that Catherine likely attended. He took me to a nearby castle where he said the family would have helped at harvest time for extra money.

Q: What are lessons, reminders and emotions you hope readers take away once they finish Dear Missing Friend?

A: I have a free newsletter on Substack called The Storied Sisters Society. I end each post with this code: “We honor the women of the past who endured so the women of the present can prevail.” I believe we all stand on the shoulders of the women who went before us. Sometimes, it is the women in our own families, even those we haven’t heard of, who were brave and fierce. They forged paths through difficult terrain, arguably rougher than our own, that benefit us still.

Q: If Catherine were alive or if you were to travel to Catherine’s timeline, what questions would you ask her if you had the chance to talk to her?

A: I would ask Catherine how she had so much patience. One thing people had to do in the 1800s was wait. They had to hang on for a letter to make its way for weeks or even months to arrive. Because of that, they had to live without answers to vital questions, like whether someone was alive or dead. The characters had to accept ambiguity and live with it, regardless of the eventual outcome. When we spend so much time seeking fast answers, I would ask Catherine how she lived with so much uncertainty.

Q: Are you able to give details about the next novel you are currently researching and writing, or would you prefer to keep things quiet for now?

A: My next novel will be a continuation of the story featuring the next generation. 

Q: Would you please post your links so the readers of the blog and I can follow you? 

A: Website: https://susanmcguirk.com

My free newsletter on Substack: https://susanmcguirk.substack.com/welcome

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/susanmcguirk.bsky.social

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susan_mcguirk/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/62168190.Susan_McGuirk

Amazon: amazon.com/author/susanmcguirk

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/susan-mcguirk

Q: What was it like working for HBO Programming in the past? 

A: It was wonderful. In the early days we were growing so fast that it felt like we could do no wrong. There were so many talented people in one place that I used to think, “This must have been what working at the MGM dream factory was like in the 1940s.”