Virtual Book Tour 2...author Paul Kilduff

Author Paul Kilduff has been writing since 1998 when he read a financial thriller and learned that the author had gotten a large advance. He knew he could write a book at least as good as that author's book so he did. In fact, he wrote four financial thrillers for Hodder Headline in London, drawing on the places, people, scams, scandals and cities he had encountered in his real life as an accountant in London's business district. He still works his day job, but now in Dublin, and he writes on the weekends, holidays and any time he's not working.

In 2004 Kilduff found himself abandoned by his airline Ryanair in Malaga, Spain for 10 hours and later hatched the plan for his first work of nonfiction, Ruinair. Flying all over Europe on this low-fare" airline, he explores the new travel trend for as little as one cent a flight. Published by Gill & Macmillan in February 2008, Ruinair has been number one on the Irish nonfiction bestsellers list for nine weeks.

Kilduff has begun a sequel to Ruinair. Ruinairski takes him through the 12 countries of Eastern (or New) Europe with all the indignities of low-fare flying still in tact. The book is due out in 2009.

Last week 3 Questions…and Answers readers had an opportunity to leave questions for Kilduff about Ruinair and his writing life. Below are his responses: (The questions are in the order in which they came.)

How long did it take you to complete this book from idea to publisher?

It took about 3 years plus from the idea in September 2005 to publication in February 2008. I would say 2 years were spent writing the book and editing it and then I used my London literary agent for a few months before my Dublin agent sold the book to Ireland's biggest nonfiction publisher, Gill & Macmillan.

How many trips did you take?


I lost count and after a while I was suffering from Ryanairitis! But I think it was about maybe 25 return trips. Sometimes you take a trip to an awful place that you just cannot write about and so you have to bin the chapter and go somewhere else that works better!

Would you recommend discount flying now?

Yes, I would if you play by their rules. Book well ahead to get cheap fares, go off-peak or off-season, be on time, travel light and smile at them!

What prompted you to become a writer after being an accountant?

I qualified as an accountant with Deloitte first because it was a smart and safe career move and I still have a good day job. Writing is not secure especially when you are starting off in the world. Few writers make lots of money in their first years unless they are J.K. Rowling?

Do you still work as an accountant?

Yes, I still work in a bank but I plan to leave this year to write full time. I can always get another banking /finance role at a later date if I need to.

What sort of response have you gotten from the airline Ryanair?

We got no official response from the airline except that a journalist from The (Daily)Mirror newspaper in the UK asked them for their reaction and their press spokesman said, "We view all books about the airline with total difference." - I am certain they do not wish to give us any extra publicity.

Did you worry about legal action? Isn't there an issue of libel or defamation?

Yes, that can be a worry but my publisher ensured that the book was read by Ireland's leading libel lawyer. He made us take out, say, 10 sentences in the book, which I was very happy to do. Also on the first draft of the book cover he asked us to remove the Ryanair corporate harp logo from the side of the aeroplane. Sure, anyway Ryanair attacks everyone else so it's about time that someone little like me had a go at them in reply and a little bit of controversy never did anyone any harm! Ryanair and little me are like McDonalds Corp and Morgan Spurlock!

How hard was the transition from fiction to nonfiction?


It was not that hard to be honest. It's very easy to write a book about which you are passionate. I had lost some of the passion about writing fiction since the boom years of banking and finance are likely over and I was much more excited about writing nonfiction. Also some of my fiction was aimed at a narrower finance niche market while travel writing as at present is much more mass market and commercial.

What do you like better about nonfiction in comparison to fiction?

I think nonfiction is easier because you can go somewhere or research something and write about it, but writing fiction to me always felt like I was draining the well of my imagination and its more solitary sitting at home writing fiction that being out there in the real world with nonfiction.

What made you feel like you wanted to write a book? Is it something that you've always wanted to do? Or did it come from dissatisfaction with your job?

It was something I always wanted to do. I have an urge to create. Before my books I wrote great letters to friends, or so they tell me. I was not dissatisfied with my job and my advice to anyone who is would be to move jobs immediately. There are plenty of good jobs out there.

Do you think you will continue to write both fiction and nonfiction?

Yes, if I can - for example my fifth financial thriller is presently being considered by a new London publisher. I will write both if I can sell both types.

How hard is it to maintain the humor throughout the book?

Good question and like most things in life, less is often more. I try not to over-do the humour, nor end every paragraph with a punch line. I don't think that you can manufacture humour so you have to let events unfold and find the right angles to amuse the reader. I learn from Mr. B (Bill) Bryson. Also note that in this part of the world we do not have any 'humor' - we have humour!

This book seems so vastly different from your novels.
Why did you want to write it?

I wrote it because it was a topic of interest to me, I thought there was a market for it, it was topical and funny, and I love to travel too.

Did you have to put on a different persona to write it or is this voice more you than in your novels?

I always try to be my natural self when writing fiction or nonfiction - it's so much easier than trying to be someone else which can be hard to sustain for any period of time. I am the voice of an investment banker in my financial thrillers and the voice of a baffled passenger in Ruinair.

Bouncing off of an earlier question, how did your experiences in your professional career contribute or hinder your personal writing process?

I think my professional career actually helped my personal writing career. I had a job in a major London bank which involved heading off to a foreign city like NY or Hong Kong and to write a 10,000-word report on some event, problem, scandal or loss. So I learned at an early stage how to write and structure my thoughts and how to provide detail and also I lost the fear of having to write a daunting 100,000 words for a book.

Kilduff with a crew from Sky Europe Airlines while researching Ruinairski.

Ruinair is available through Gill & Macmillan and through Amazon.com. You can learn more about Paul Kilduff on his website.