If you had told me a few years ago that I would become an author – not just of one book but of a growing series – I never would have believed you. Writing wasn’t something I chased. It was something that quietly, persistently, and mysteriously found me. Looking back now, it feels as though every step of my life – every whisper, every meeting, every nudge from nature – was gently preparing the way for the Erica’s Light series.
The seed was planted in November 2023. My friend Laura – who I had only met months earlier – sat with me in my black van, talking about kindness. Out of nowhere, she asked, “Would I write a book about kindness?” A simple question, yet it struck something deep within me. But the true beginning reaches back further, to a warm spring day in May 2023.
Sinead a friend of mine had stopped at the Sunyata Buddhist Centre in Co Clare. After wandering through the peaceful grounds, we met Laura on our way out. Our conversation lasted only a few minutes, yet there was an instant connection between the three of us -something familiar, unexplainable. A few hundred metres down the road, both Sinead and I felt a sudden wave of emotion. Neither of us understood it, but it was strong enough that I couldn’t walk away. Something urged me back.
“I’m not sure why I returned,” I told Laura, “but something greater than me insisted.” She smiled gently and handed me a small piece of ivy to meditate with. Two days later, during my morning meditation, a message came through with absolute clarity: “She is the key to the door you have been looking for.” From that moment, something within me began to shift. It was as if a long-locked part of myself had quietly opened. Laura has been a great guide and teacher ever since.
After our chat in the van that November, ideas began flowing through me effortlessly. Characters who had lived quietly in the background of my imagination for years suddenly stepped forward: Snip-Snaps, Precious, Tu-Ky-Tooks the Wise Owl. And of course, Erica – inspired by my daughter, whose kindness and light continue to guide my work. It felt as though these characters had been waiting for the right moment to emerge, and once the door opened, they arrived fully formed, filled with life.
The woodlands in Mountshannon, East Clare, became the heart of Book One. On my daily walks, scenes played out before me like a movie projected onto the trees. The Gentle Giant was inspired by my own life – at 6’7”, people often see me as strong and unshakeable, but I wanted to reveal another truth: that even those who appear powerful can carry loneliness, tenderness, and old wounds. Through the Gentle Giant, I hoped to show that being open about our emotions is a great strength, not a weakness.
Mother Nature guided me throughout the entire journey. Every rustle of leaves, every whisper of wind, and every glimmer of sunlight through the branches carried a sense of direction. On March 27th, 2025, Erica’s Light: A Journey of Kindness entered the world – a book born from stillness, intuition, and countless hours of joy.
Book Two followed just as naturally. One morning, while drinking coffee in Mountshannon, I looked out at Holy Island – a view I had seen many times before. But that day felt different. It was as though the island itself was calling me. Days later, I stepped onto its shores, and the story for Erica’s Light: The Ancient Scroll Awaits flowed through me effortlessly, as if the island already knew what needed to be written.
Sometimes I wonder why, in my late forties, this surge of creativity has awakened so strongly. Then I remember a moment back in 2019, during my landscaping days. I was exhausted, my back aching, loading a digger onto a truck when a whisper drifted in on the breeze from Lough Derg: “Get out of what you are doing.” I didn’t understand it then, but I listened. Books like The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer helped me see that when we surrender, when we trust the quiet guidance around us, the most beautiful paths reveal themselves.
Today, as the Erica’s Light series and brand continues to grow, I realise this journey was never simply about writing books. It was about following the whispers, trusting the unseen, and stepping through the door that opened the moment someone asked me if I would write about kindness. It was about reconnecting with nature, with imagination, and with a deeper part of myself.
My hope is simple: that these stories invite others to slow down, to look for the magic woven into everyday moments, and to remember that kindness – shared openly and often – has the power to light up the world, one gentle spark at a time.
