Ala. slay defendant is related to novelist John Irving - Local News Updates - The Boston Globe

The Huntsville killer is the second cousin of "Garp" novelist John Irving

"Acquaintances of Bishop,a Harvard-trained neurobiologist said she was a regular member of the Hamilton Writer's Group in the late 1990s when she lived in Ipswich and saw writing as her ticket out of academia. She penned three novels for the group -- a suspense thriller about an IRA operative, a tale about a virus that made all women barren that ended mankind, and one called 'Martians in Belfast,' which recounts the life of a girl growing up during the Troubles of Ireland. Bishop, book club acquaintances said, would frequently cite her Harvard degree and family ties to Irving to boost her credential as a serious writer."