Interviews
Brisbane Herald
After my publisher had read the first 30,000 words it was suggested that I delve deeper into my darker side
Capitol Times
"I pay a lot of attention to people," Keyes says in her lyrical Irish accent. "I'm very analytical and I'm always drawing conclusions.
City Weekend
"I write to produce something I am proud of and it is nice to have a job that I really love."
Fire Press
Marian has held onto her anonymity despite her name gracing the window of book shops up and down the country.
Independent
It's a minor miracle she's writing at all. Her career as a writer suffered a grave setback after she was turned down for a post-graduate journalism course in 1986.
Ireland on Sunday
The vivacious Irish author, now deemed internationally as the "Queen of 30-something fiction," comes from a family of born storytellers.
Ireland on Sunday
Although she spent nine years in London, Marian returned to Ireland with an English hubby and set up home only one mile down the road from mum.
Irish Farmers Monthly
All that I can say is that I work very hard, and it matters to me that I get it right, but at the same time, lots of people are hard workers and good writers.
Irish Independent
Tony looks after all the administration, the VAT, the tax, all the phone calls and contracts. If it wasn't for him, I'd never get anything done. It's a full-time job at this stage.
La Femme
In Australia and New Zealand to promote Sushi for Beginners, the queen of feel-good fiction sounds like a good sort.
Nottingham Evening Post
She has an ability to capture both the trivial and profound problems that dog so many people, without losing the laughs.
Now
Any message? "It doesn't hurt to be nice."
Port Elizabeth Express
"When my mother is asked if she is proud of me, she always answers that she has always been proud of me."
Pretoria Times
Her stories deal with damaged people and are all about redemption.
Irish Times
"I don't want to sound ungracious, but I find dealing with the media incredibly stressful."
Metro
60 second interview.
Mirror
It hasn't been that easy. Raised around Dun Laoghaire, Marian first began writing stories - "dreadful stories" - at school. "I was good at English, and I felt misunderstood and creative, but then practically everyone else feels like that as a teenager.
Unknown
I always loved reading, but I didn't start writing until I was 30. It had never occurred to me it was something I could do. Once I started, it was like the floodgates opened. I must have been storing up lots of information.
RTE Guide
Marian's writing career started out of the blue, she says. "I read a short story which was quirky, out of the mainstream, and that started me off, with short stories. The idea of writing a novel initially appalled me, but I eventually conned myself into it - and now I can't write short stories at all!"
Sunday Herald
"If I had heard about a young woman who'd struggled and come through booze, it would have been easier for me to face up to it," says the author of five bestselling novels.
Sunday News
She says she's overwhelmed by her popularity here. More than 200 people turned up to a reading in Auckland.
Sunday Star Times
Keyes was lucky. After taking a handful of tablets, she called for help before she passed out. She ended up in rehab and started on the road to recovery. She hasn't touched a drink since.
Sunday Tribune
Keyes is a hard worker. "Addicts only have two speeds," she says later. "One hundred miles an hour, or f*** it!"
Sunday Tribune
I remember getting our first television in 1969, which was a red-letter day in our house. I don't think that anybody had any more than anyone else. It seemed that things happened homogeneously, and that we all got televisions, cars and phones about the same time.
The Citizen
She keeps this figure in full curve with relaxing dates with "Bed, book, box of Maltesers."
The Natal Witness
Keyes smiles.
The Observer
Lurched through dysfunctional relationships behaved badly, tested all her loyal friends.
The Sunday Times Lifestyle
Dialogue, as any writer will tell you, is very hard to do. Comic dialogue, with its timing and rhythm and witty references, is even harder.
Western Morning News
Marian told me: "At the age of 30 my life felt over and bleak and empty. And I always had a great lack of self-worth. I went through hellish times and I was lucky enough to survive them.
Womans Weekly
"I'm nothing like that well-paid," she says. "I know this sounds really boring, but what I value more than anything is peace of mind. It means more to me than money or success."