Sheila O’Flanagan, international bestselling author Posted on March 12, 2023 by planirl

Sheila O’Flanagan is an international bestselling author of sixteen novels and 3 short story collections. Her novels, including All For You, Stand By Me and Suddenly Single, have been translated into over twenty languages. The former financial services executive has won the Irish Tatler Woman of the Year for Literature award and currently is a director of the Irish Sports Council. All For You won the Eason’s Popular Fiction Award 2011.

Because I am a Girl I ask…why is there such an emphasis on how women look instead of what they are thinking

Because I am a Girl I believe…that I have an infinite capacity to see many sides of every story

Because I am a Girl I hope…that one day managing a country and the political system will be a collaborative rather than a combatitive process

Because I am a Girl I wonder…what my life would be like if I was taller, shorter, thinner, fatter, blonder, darker, or able to wear 4″ heels without falling over

Because I am a Girl I dream…impossible dreams of world peace and an end to hunger while hoping that I can make a difference in my corner of the planet at least

Because I am a Girl I remember…my mother hugging me and telling me she loved me when someone said something nasty to me. My dad telling me that I could succeed in whatever I chose to do.

Because I am a Girl I like…fast cars and slow dancing

Because I am a Girl I dislike…hypocrites and loudmouths. Boorish behaviour. Taking advantage of people less fortunate than yourself.

Because I am a Girl I feel…connected to every other woman in the world.

Because I am a Girl I celebrate…the big things and the little things - the birthdays, the weddings, the anniversaries; finding the perfect lipstick, saying the right thing at the right moment, sucessfully changing the battery in the smoke alarm.

- Sheila O’Flanagan