ENTERING THE IRISH OTHERWORLD I went to explore one of the more famous entrances to the Irish Otherworld yesterday. A fascinating experience I’ll be using at some stage in one of my books. Expect a post on this in the newsletter.
Broody days in the Galway Gaeltacht under skies like a mottled bruise. I’m travelling around Ireland at the moment, catching up with old friends and family and doing a lot of research. Some of my travels took me up through the Galway Gaeltacht – a place I haven’t been in a long time. I couldn’t… Read more »
Earlier this year I entered a competition (initiated by author Mark Lawrence – of ‘Prince of Thorns’ fame) called the ‘Self-Publishing Fantasy Blog Off 2016’. This basically sees three hundred self-published and small-publisher fantasy books assessed by ten different speculative fantasy book review bloggers and … (well, yes. A bit difficult to explain and I… Read more »
It’s always the little things that get you. Wandering in from the yard back in Cork yesterday, this cluster of wooden sentinels triggered a twinge of emotion as I recalled playing hurling myself as a kid. I was never a particularly gifted player but there really is no sport like it in the world (in… Read more »
In September 2015, we initiated our inaugural Celtic Mythology Short Story Competition. At the time, the plan was to publish a compilation that included the best of the submitted stories but also some explanatory commentary (in terms of the mythology/folklore aspects covered in the stories). This was, we figured, an effective means, not only of… Read more »
It gives us immense pleasure to announce the launch of the 2016 IRISH IMBAS CELTIC MYTHOLOGY SHORT STORY COMPETITION . Submissions will be accepted for this competition from 1 September 2016 to 10 December 2016. This is the second year that we’re holding this competition and we’re coming into it a little wiser, a little… Read more »
Yes, its that time of year again when we give some indication of where things are at on the (cough, cough) ‘production line’. Fionn: the Adversary (Fionn mac Cumhaill Series: Book 4): It’s been something of a frustrating month with this book. Although I’ve been working quietly on the various scenes, given its burgeoning length… Read more »
It’s been something of a hectic June here in Wellington this year but I did manage to fit in an interview with Capital Irish Radio (based here in the city). Capital Irish Radio are a volunteer-run group who produce a weekly, 28 minute programme for Irish people (I occasionally present a show – about 2/3… Read more »
Like many other Western countries, poets, politicians and artists in Ireland also fell into the trap of trying to personify their nation, that is, trying to characterise the concept of the country as a person, usually a beautiful young woman. Such personifications are mostly restricted to the western world and were most popular in the… Read more »
Most people familiar with my books will be aware that I usually try to introduce at least one pre-historic cultural Irish/Celtic concept into a story (and more if it fits with the narrative). For a while now, I’ve been intending to slip in a ritual known as imbas forosnai, something referred to briefly in Book… Read more »
In May 2014, I was champing at the bit to start a new creative writing project. Feeling somewhat tired and shagged out from publishing Beara Dark Legends (that particular epic took about two years out of my life) however, I was keen to try something different, but different in a way that let me use… Read more »
I recently came across this cartoon which quietly tickled my fantasy. In itself, the caricature is quite amusing but the cartoon also effectively captures the immense societal change in in Ireland from pre-history (as in ‘before records were kept’) to the early medieval period. The Cúchulainn and Fionn mac Cumhaill tales all predate the introduction… Read more »
One of my favourite characters in Irish mythology is a little known individual by the name of Beag mac Dé (literally, Small One of God). Ironically, from the few clues we have, Beag (in Old Irish, Becc) seems to have actually been a very well-known (if physically diminutive) figure back in his day. This is… Read more »
This is kinda embarrassing so I’m not going to dwell on it. Three months ago, in preparation for a sales event on St Paddy’s Day, I ordered a box of hard copy books from Createspace (over 50). During the online order process though, I must have been tired because I inadvertently selected ‘Niger’ instead of… Read more »
In ancient Ireland there were patches of grass called ‘Hungry Grass’ that leapt up off the ground to swallow you whole, digest you down and spit you out like a … Actually, er … No, wait .. Hang on. Oh, yeah! Hungry Grass was actually a patch of grass that was completely indistinguishable from other… Read more »
It’s with some pride and some relief that we released the first in our proposed set of Irish Imbas: Celtic Mythology Collection books this week. For those of you not familiar with the intent, this is an anthology of fiction and non-fiction writing that collates winning submissions from the Celtic Mythology Short Story Competition, all… Read more »
It’s always difficult writing these particular updates. I sometimes feel a bit like a minute cork on the ocean, floating around at the whim of waves and tides that can change direction at a moment’s notice (and generally drag me along with them). As a result, despite the best of intentions laid out here, circumstances… Read more »
It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost two years since Fionn: Defence of Rath Bladhma was first published (by accident, incidentally – we really were new at this whole publishing stuff at the time!). Personally, I certainly never imagined it would be so many people’s favourite book or go on to spawn two sequels… Read more »
