Amy O'Connor 8 min read After suffering a double job loss, things turned around quickly for Cork writer Caroline OâDonoghue, as she landed a six-figure publishing deal for her tarot-focused YA novel, writes Amy OâConnor Caroline OâDonoghue is talking about her newfound love of tennis. The author recently enrolled in a beginnerâs class at courts near her home in London, having long been obsessed with the sport. During one of her lessons, she recalls having something of an epiphany. She proceeds to tell me about it with the caveat that it might sound âreally pretentiousâ. âI was playing and my teacher was saying to me, âLook, you go in for the ball too early and youâre going for it while itâs still too high in the air. You need to wait for it to come down and then you can bat it.â I was like, âOkay.â I kept making the same mistake and I was really, really embarrassed and frustrated. And she just put her hand on my shoulder and she said, âCaroline, you always have more time than you think.â