My name is Clare O’Dea and I am the director of the Irish Festival Fribourg/Freiburg and author of the historical novel Voting Day, set in Switzerland in 1959. Voting Day was published in 2022 by Fairlight Books. The Swiss edition in English, German, French and Italian is available through Zytglogge Verlag.
I have also written two non-fiction books – The Naked Irish: Portrait of a Nation Beyond the Clichés, published by Mentor Books in September 2019, and The Naked Swiss: A Nation Behind 10 Myths published by Bergli Books (2016 & 2018).
Originally from Dublin, I have lived in Switzerland since 2003, on the invisible line where the French- and German-speaking cultures meet. I spent nine years as a journalist at the international news service of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, swissinfo.ch, covering Swiss politics, culture and business news. I previously worked as a staff journalist for The Irish Times.
You can read an extract from The Naked Irish here. If you would like to read a sample of my fiction, try The Obituary, a short story that was highly commended in the 2019 Irish Books Awards.
A good way to keep up to date with writing news and events is to follow my author Facebook page.
I am available for writing, editing and communications work (see contact page). You will find me on Twitter @clareodeaz. Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Clare, I enjoyed the book launch for Voting Day and I’ve just ordered a copy. I’m looking forward to reading it and hopefully seeing you again when we can all get out of our boxes! Meanwhile, keep up the good work. The timing of your book launch was incredible! Pam Jaunin pamjau@yahoo.com
Thank you so much, Pam. I’m glad you could make it last night. The launch exceeded my expectations in lots of ways. Hope you enjoy the book!
Hi! Is it also available as an eBook on Kindle (in English)?
No, it’s not available as an ebook yet. Coming out next April on Kindle.
Hi Clare, your book Voting Day is exceptional. You covered the background and the story with great ease, and great humanity for all the characters. I couldn’t put it down, their lives and situations were just so compelling. Thanks so much for writing it, my wife is reading it now and she also can’t leave it down.
Regards,
Kieran
What can I say? Thank you for this lovely feedback, Kieran. I’m so glad you found the book. You’re very kind to get in touch. All the best, Clare