about me
I’m Clare O’Brien – born and raised in London but now based with my husband and family in the western Highlands of Scotland.
As well as working on my own writing projects, I handle online publicity, website and social media maintenance, research, administration and general support as a freelance virtual assistant; clients include major artists within the classical and rock/pop music fields.
On a less virtual level, together with my husband and sons I run our own tourism and organic horticulture business at Coille Bheag. I also help organise and promote local theatre and music events for regional Scottish promoter, West Coast Arts.
As an author, I’m currently working on a collection of my own short stories provisionally titled Thin Places: Modern Slipstream Fiction From The Highlands and have a music-related non-fiction project in development. I have published many short stories, poems and articles in magazines and anthologies both in the UK and the US. I’ve also published a full-length non-fiction book, Living And Working in London, a guide for foreign visitors arriving in the capital for an extended stay.
As a journalist, I’m interested in music, movies, books, lifestyle and travel, and have also written business and trade features. I’ve published hundreds of reviews in a wide range of print and online media, including music, movies, books, games and theatre. Some of the people I’ve interviewed in the press include Soundgarden, Audioslave and solo singer Chris Cornell, writer and activist Ariel Dorfman, movie producer Peter Lord of Aardman Animations, ex-Pearl Jam drummer Jack Irons, producer Steve Lillywhite, Them Crooked Vultures member Alain Johannes, literary novelists Jeanette Winterson and Peter Carey, actress and cookery expert Jane Asher, veteran punk frontman Hugh Cornwell of The Stranglers, guitar virtuoso Gary Lucas, Latin/metal crossover band Ill Nino, sci-fi and fantasy writer China Mieville, soul legend Sam Moore and many more.
My own special interests? I’m passionate about music. I’m part of net-based music project Species 8472, I sing in jazz covers band Black Cherry, and writing about music has been one of my specialisms since the 1990s. I’m also interested in cinema, history and in protecting and exploring the wild places of the world.
As a qualified high school teacher, I am also a registered literacy course tutor for learndirect: I’m also a member of The National Union of Journalists, the Society of Authors and MENSA.
