“Every single thing I ever wrote was rejected by myself. I burnt nearly everything I wrote throughout my twenties because I was so ashamed of how bad it was.” ~Donal Ryan Donal Ryan is an author who’s not only dealt with rejection, but has flourished despite it - winning awards, writing bestsellers and becoming one of Ireland’s best loved authors. But what did it take for him to succeed against the odds? Donal’s latest novel, Heart, Be At Peace reintroduces us to the original cast of characters from his 2013 book The Spinning Heart. Meeting the inhabitants of this small Irish town 10 years later, we get to see how they’ve changed and grown - now dealing with a new demon… drugs! Discussing the book and his fascinating approach to writing, Donal explains why he chose to tell this story through so many voices - taking on a polyphonic approach. He explores the way he manipulates and plays with time, creating a beautiful rhythm to his writing. And, as someone who experienced a lot of rejection early in his career, he describes how he pushed through. In this episode, you will learn: Why it’s our job as writers to shine a light on darkness.  How to approach writing the second in a series of novels. Why you sometimes need to take your art into your own hands! Find out more about Donal here. Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood. Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here. You can buy copies of our anthology series here.  You can view the full transcript here. Connect with the show: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BehindTheSpine Twitter: https://twitter.com/BehindTheSpine Website: www.behindthespine.co.uk