As If It Meant Something

Publishing as an industry is obsessed with new – books yet to come out… but what about the brilliant books that have already been published? Each month we spotlight a different author whose book was published more than a year ago, which you might be yet to meet… This month we hear from Steve Denehan about the brilliant As If It Meant Something…

Shuffling the Shelves: As If It Meant Something by Steve Denehan

What inspired you to write As If It Meant Something?
Day to day life, more than any one thing, is the inspiration behind As If It Meant Something. And pretty much everything I write really.

Are there any main themes or points you want the reader to take away from your book?
Savour the detail. Often, it's the small things, the small moments, that are the big things and the big moments in the end. (In my experience at least!)

Which other writers do you most admire and why?
Over the last year I've taken a deep dive into the back catalogue of James Sallis, who is widely known as the writer of the book behind the film Drive, which starred Ryan Gosling. He writes in a taut and spare way while still managing to create small worlds heavy with depth and feeling. He leaves a lot unsaid too which I love.

Are there any books which have changed your life? 
It's a cliché I know, but The Catcher in the Rye was a big one for me. I often find the classics a bit la-di-da, but Salinger showed that enormous emotion can be conveyed when writing in a conversational way that I found and still find mind blowing. Also, I can't remember the first Bukowski collection I read but that also blew my head off in the rawness and wildness of the poetry.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received?
I once read somewhere that it can be a valuable thing to read a poem out loud after you have finished writing it. I thought it was a crazy thing initially but it has been surprisingly helpful. I am a horrifically terrible reader but it really does help to highlight how the music and rhythm of the poem can be tweaked and improved.

If you could offer a budding writer one piece of advice, what would it be?
Write the truth and don't try to impress anyone.

What drew you to poetry?
Laziness! A novel can take years to write but a poem can be written in ten minutes! The idea that something can be pulled out of thin air and brought into the world, even if it goes nowhere, in such a short time… it's like magic.

What’s the strangest job (besides writing) that you’ve ever had?
I worked as a corporate detective for a company investigating serial false accident claimants. Being paid to people-watch was amazing but we had gadgets and stuff too, like budget James Bonds. It was super.

Where do you write?
Mainly on the couch in the corner of the sitting room. I sometimes play a little music like Chet Baker or Men I Trust or Erik Satie or Bill Evans. In saying that I've written some of my best stuff on my mobile phone while sitting on the toilet.

What’s the best place to read?
Without a doubt on the patio under a blue sky with the sun blazing. But in Ireland those days are rare enough, so I tend to read in the sitting room stretched out on a recliner.

You’re hosting a literary dinner party. Which famous writer do you invite?
A toss up between Glen Duncan and Joe R. Lansdale.

What’s the background music at your dinner party?
The Blue Nile.

Any outlandish hobbies?
Not really, though I do play video games even though I am super old. I still (barely) play a bit of football too.

What’s next?
After the runaway success of the multi-million selling As If It Meant Something maybe another collection from Renard!

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Roches Stores, Henry Street,
a Quarter of a Century Ago

I was working in the basement of an iconic Dublin shop
long since gone now
it was coming up on Christmas
after hours
we stocked the shelves
preparing for the droves of last-minute shoppers

I was in the glass and china section
unpacking Waterford Crystal
there were four of us
all college age
Donna, Niamh, Ger and myself
the conversation was easy

I unpacked a crystal serving dish
worth more than my weekly wage
I remember thinking
I better not drop this
just before I dropped it
it fell
for ever

it had fallen away from me
unreachable for my hands
I leaned back slightly
stretched out my left foot
intercepted the crystal serving dish
inches before it hit the ground

I froze, my arms out for balance
my right knee bent
my left leg out before me
the dish resting on my foot
my weekly wage
intact and sparkling

Niamh took the dish from my foot
I exhaled
Ger and Donna laughed and applauded
and I can’t believe that twenty-five years later
I still remember it
as if it meant something

– Steve Denehan, August 2026