Jean Grainger is an Irish author of historical fiction from Cork. She has a bachelors and masters degree in History and English and has held a number of careers before turning to writing. Some of her most notable occupations have been university lecturer, tour director and secondary school teacher. She has also been involved in script writing and play directing for many high school plays. However, it was her experience as a tour guide which indirectly led to a career as an author. In the early nineties, Grainger rebelled against the notion of getting a traditional job to become a tour guide and director.
Over a few years of practice Jean Grainger learnt the names and stories of every historical location in Ireland, making her one of the most sought after guides.The decision to become a tour guide turned out to be one of the best decisions of her life as she met easy going, fun and incredible people that so enjoyed her stories that they encouraged her to write a book.She gained an appreciation of the Emerald Island that she loved and recited poems, sang songs and told stories that moved even her father an extraordinary storyteller himself. People would confide in her the most extraordinary and amazing of things including lifelong friendships, loves lost and found, marriages finished and fixed, families and reunited that provided fodder for many of her later novels.
Over time Grainger’s visitors clamor for her to write about her experiences got to her and so one winter she dove into it.She sent her first draft titled the Tour to a publisher confident that it would be published and that she would soon have Little Brown, Simon and Schuster, Penguin and Hatchette beating down her door. Things did not come out as rosy as she had expected as none of the big publishers was remotely interested in her stories. Frustrated she dumped her manuscripts in a drawer and got back to teaching English and History at University. She was an expert in the life of Irish Women that lived in the Second World War and wrote a lot on the subject matter. However, it was only a matter of time before the fiction writing bug struck again and she penned her second title So Much Owed.
By this time she had met a few authors that introduced her to self publishing which promised unknown writers such as her a chance at putting out their work. While it had once been believed that self publishing was the place where mediocre writers went to dump their drivel that nobody touched, that did not deter Jean Grainger. She got into Amazon publishing and in a few months had her first novel The Tour published in 2013. The novel went on to become a bestseller and even earned critical praise from historical fiction critics. While she currently sells hundreds of books a month, she is still incredulous at how self publishing has changed her life and made it possible for her to go full-time. While she is not a John Grisham or Stephen King, her novels have been compared to the likes of Maeve Binchy which is quite saying something about her abilities.
Her first novel tells the story of a diverse group of American tourists who experience a life changing experience while on a tour of Ireland. Her second novel is a family saga that tells the story of the Buckley family that lives in Western Cork. The family is in a state of turmoil as the world war sets in. It is a family saga that incorporates romance and intrigue with occupied Europe as its canvas. He third novel is a historical title about an old flag reminiscent of the Easter Up[rising in Ireland. It tells the story of Ireland’s final bid to break away from the United Kingdom. However, the story is more than a retelling of history as it also incorporates the life events of the journalist that found the resistance flag. Her fourth novel is about friendship in socially and economically challenging times. Set in the 1970s it features Hugo, Patrick and Liam, three boys from disparate backgrounds that forge a deep friendship.
The Tour is a story about Connor O’Shea a tour guide who will always be found picking up a group of American tourists eager to experience the Real Ireland. But his current tour group has a range of humorous characters that present dilemmas to even the most experienced of tour guides. The eclectic group of tourists include a gold digging multiple divorcee named Corlene looking to hook a new man; a love starved Boston police officer named Patrick, a goth uilleann piper Dylan;a grumpy college professor Dorothy; a wall street oligarch named Elliot. To top it all of is Ellen a tourist that has come back to the Emerald Isle to discover one of the biggest truths of her life. Add to it the colorful cast of locals that include Grda high-flyers, Ukrainian waitresses, passionate musicians, and a couple of Brits make for some of the most interesting of tours. And of course Oshe’a is in between it all mending hearts and solving problems for his guests.
So Much Owed the second novel by Jean Grainger is a novel set in a 1918 Christmas. Dr Richard Buckley has just come back home to Dunderrig House in West Cork having been damaged and devastated by World War I. With him is Allingham Solange the widow of his best friend that is left destitute by the war. Edith his wife hates that he wore the British uniform and see him as a traitor to Ireland. After she gives birth to two children she disappears leaving Solange to take care of her twins while she heads for greener pastures. Juliet and James soon become the life blood of the estate with their incorrigible ways making them a delight for Solange and their father Buckley. But as they grow up the specter of a new war that may take away everything they have looms yet again. Set in the tranquility of Cork to occupied France, from neutral Dublin to war time Belfast, it is a heart wrenching family saga of hope in the midst of turmoil.