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Vanessa Fox O'Loughlin

ヴァネッサ・フォックス・オーロフリン

Vanessa Fokkusu Ōrofurin

Pen Names: Sam Blake（Pen name used for crime fiction writing）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
St Albans, Hertfordshire, England
Nationality
Irish
Languages
English
Religion
Unknown
Residence History
St Albans, Hertfordshire, England → Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland → Kilmacanogue, Ireland

Career

Occupations
event manager (former), founder of Inkwell Writers Workshops, publishing consultant, literary coach, author
Active Years
2006-2024
Affiliations
The Inkwell Group, Writing.ie, Society of Authors
Memberships
Society of Authors Management Committee (elected 2019, Chair 2024)
Influenced By
Daphne du Maurier

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Little Bones

2017 crime novel

First in the Cat Connolly crime series featuring a Garda detective in Dublin.

crimefamily secrets

Keep Your Eyes on Me

2020 thriller

Standalone thriller that topped Irish bestseller lists.

surveillancetrust

The Dark Room

2022 thriller

Standalone thriller published by Corvus Books.

darknesssecrets

Bibliography

  • Do the Write Thing: 14 Winning Stories by Ireland's Newest Writers (contributor, 2007)
  • Big Book of Hope (edited, 2010)
  • Writing to Get Published: Bringing the Dream Alive (2011)
  • The New Big Book of Hope (edited, 2012)
  • Taking the Plunge: New Writing from Dun Laoghaire–Rathdown (anthology editor)
  • Little Bones (2017)
  • In Deep Water (2017)
  • No Turning Back (2018)
  • Keep Your Eyes on Me (2020)
  • The Dark Room (2022)
  • High Pressure (2021)
  • Remember My Name (2022)
  • The Mystery of Four (2023)
  • Something Terrible Happened Last Night (YA, 2023)
  • Three Little Birds (2024)
  • Something's About to Blow Up (YA, 2024)
  • The Killing Sense (2025)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
tense thriller proseengaging plots
Recurring Motifs
police investigationfamily conflicts

Legacy

Bestselling Irish crime author under the pen name Sam Blake. Influential literary coach and publishing consultant, elected Chair of the Society of Authors in 2024.

Trivia

  • Former event manager turned author.
  • Married to an Irish police officer.
  • Founded Writing.ie in 2011.