To celebrate St Patrick’s Week (apparently it’s no longer a day!), FIONN: Defence of Ráth Bládhma – the first book in the Fionn mac Cumhaill Series – is going to be on sale for 99c/99p until next Saturday. I wrote FIONN: Defence of Ráth Bládhma immediately after I’d finished BEARA: Dark Legends (which probably… Read more »
DRESSING LIATH LUACHRA This is a silly little video I threw together during a moment of whimsy while doing my monthly newsletter. When the updated cover for Fionn 2 (FIONN: Traitor of Dún Baoiscne) was being developed, the artist put together a series of cover versions for the different clothing options he’d come up with… Read more »
A gorgeous image from artist Bryan Mahy for the “Dark Dawn/ Camhaoir Fuilsmeartha Project” I’m currently working on. This was intended to be released this month but delays outside my control mean it probably won’t be available for a little longer. Subject-wise, this is a story about a dying warrior defending the isolated settlement of… Read more »
I received one of those social media reminders today that it’s been six years since I first published FIONN: Defence of Ráth Bládhma, an anniversary that’s triggered some quiet reflection for me. FIONN 1 was actually the second book I ever published (Beara: Dark Legends being the first). It was my first attempt at producing… Read more »
A snippet from Liath Lauchra 3: The Seeking ———————————- Emerging from the cave, the warrior woman found Murchú already mounted and waiting below the yew trees. Swaddled against the cold in his black cloak, he had the lower hem drawn up and held in place beneath his inner thighs. The sight of the Uí Loinge… Read more »
This is another of the images pulled from my regular weekend research of imagery – something about the mood in this image really drew me to Eve Ventrue’s ‘The Rider’ ( the image attached to this post). I’m currently writing a chapter which involves the use of horses and was reminded of a question I… Read more »
The title in the image above – Camhaoir Fuilsmeartha – is the Irish title for a free, online, bilingual adventure fiction project released in January 2020. The English title – Dark Dawn – is one you may have come across elsewhere (it’s a bilingual Irish/English project). As with all languages, translation often doesn’t work the… Read more »
Three years ago I was complaining (albeit, not particularly bitterly) about the workload that tended to occur over the New Zealand Christmas holiday period. That workload was mostly self-imposed of course. Holidays offered the only real opportunity to do intensive writing and strategic thinking for various creative projects I wanted to work on – something… Read more »
I’m pleased to announce that Liath Luachra: The Grey One has been optioned for the screen/television with Graisland Entertainment. An action/adventure story based in first century Ireland (and linked to the famous Fenian Cycle), Liath Luachra: The Grey One was first published by Irish Imbas Books in December 2015. The Context: Late last year, I… Read more »
Stories based on Irish mythology and culture have been bowdlerised quite a lot over the last two hundred years or so, often to the point where, now, many people struggle to differentiate genuine Irish history and mythology with commercially-produced “Celtic” fantasy. That’s something that, as an Irish fiction writer (non-fiction, on occasion), I’m regularly confronted… Read more »
It’s always fascinating to learn how other people have interpreted something you’ve created, particularly when it’s something as complex as a novel. I’m still a bit surprised at times when a reviewer comments on my books and adds an interpretation that I really didn’t have in mind when I was writing the story. Facebook… Read more »
Part of the problem with doing creative work on a part-time basis is that there are always more projects than you can actually complete. Personally speaking, I always have at least ten projects on hand at different stages of development. Some may never see the light of day but most of them will. In any… Read more »
Writing about Ireland in the 2nd century can sometimes be a bit of a challenge because the country was so very different to what it looks like nowadays. Back in 195 AD, most of the island was still covered by dense forest and the centre of the country was undrained marsh and swamp. The population… Read more »
After many (many!) hiccups trying to take it off the Amazon exclusive list, the second book in the Irish Woman Warrior Series (Liath Luachra: The Swallowed) is finally available on: Apple (iBooks) Kobo Barnes and Noble Smashwords Google Play; and Amazon Instead of posting another picture of the cover, I’ve decided to celebrate with this… Read more »
It’s been a hectic few weeks but the next tale in the Fionn mac Cumhaill Series is finally available. FIONN: THE TWISTED TALE is a short story set four years after the events in the last book in the series (FIONN: The Adversary). This story is only available in Kindle form (mobi) or in ePUB… Read more »
Osraighe: Ireland’s shadowy centre, a desolate region of forest, marshes and mountainous terrain where unwary travellers are ‘swallowed’ and never seen again. Caught up in an intra-tribal conflict when her latest mission turns sour, the woman warrior Liath Luachra finds herself coerced into a new undertaking. Dispatched to Osraighe to find a colony of missing… Read more »
Twenty years ago, during a particularly tough winter, I found myself thumbing along a country road in Beara, trying to make my way back to Cork city. To be honest, it probably wasn’t the smartest of moves given that it was New Year’s morning and the landscape was empty of human activity. In the two… Read more »
You can tell it’s been a busy first quarter when you’re already wishing it was the Christmas holidays! In terms of writing and other creative work, the last four months have been a bit of a strain but we’re approaching the end of a creative cycle. For at least two months now, I’ve barely been… Read more »
