Once, as they rested during a hunt for wild deer, Fionn mac Cumhaill and his men debated what the finest music in the world might be. “Then tell us what it is,” said Fionn to Oisín, who’d started the discussion. “The cuckoo calling from the tree that’s highest in the hedge,” cried his son. Fionn… Read more »
The nice thing about a decent holiday is that it gives you time and space to think outside the rut, to consider new possibilities or the need to change existing circumstances. Like everyone else, I think I’ve been pretty burned out from work and social stress since the emergence of the first Covid strain in… Read more »
I’m currently working full blast on the remaining two chapters (and epilogue) for ‘Liath Luachra: The Metal Men’ but the book is now available for pre-order at Amazon and Kobo and soon thourgh the other major ebook stores. You can find the details here: ‘Liath Luachra: The Metal Men Availability At this stage, it looks… Read more »
I was trying to explain to someone yesterday about how I ended up having four different book series on the go at the same time. Beara Dark Legends (first book in the Beara Trilogy) was my first book but it’s the type of book that takes ages to write (the plot isn’t linear and it… Read more »
I get an email every now and again where people ask if the Liath Luachra character is based on the Red Sonya character. She isn’t, of course, but the development of the Red Sonya character is actually quite interesting in itself. The original Red Sonya was ‘Red Sonya if Rogatino’, a red-haired woman warrior from… Read more »
I have to confess I always get a kick posting this image up on Facebook. Several months back when I first released the book, I put it on the Facebook shop only for it to be rejected as “the sale of animals is forbidden” (the Facebook algorithm thought it was a zebra!). When I resubmitted… Read more »
This is the cover image for a small project called ‘Liath Luachra: The Great Wild‘ which I’m hoping to release sometime next year – probably towards the end of the year. Essentially, it’s a prequel novella to the Liath Luachra Series (The Irish Woman Warrior Series) that tells of an event during Liath Luachra’s first… Read more »
This is the cover for ‘Liath Luachra: The Metal Men‘ which completes the story commenced in the previous book (Liath Luachra: The Seeking) of the Irish Woman Warrior Series. The first five chapters have now been edited and are in their final forms and I’m busy drafting up ‘close to final’ versions of chapter six… Read more »
One of the challenges with writing a character like Liath Luachra – the woman warrior from the Irish Woman Warrior Series and The Fionn mac Cumhaill Series – is the need to reflect the traumatised aspect of her personality across history two different series, while also allowing her to evolve as a person over the… Read more »
I’m delighted to announce that the third book in the Irish Woman Warrior Series is now out and available at all the ususal ebookstores. The paperback version is still available only through Amazon but that will change). Definitely the most popular of all my book series, this is a brief description of what its all… Read more »
After the release of Dark Dawn/An Camhaoir Fuilsmeartha, I took a break for a few weeks, however this weekend I intend to recommence work on the next Liath Luachra (The Metal Men). I also caught up with up a few reviews on Goodreads for Liath Luachra: The Seeking and was particularly gratified to find these… Read more »
Introduction: It’s raining butcher knives and my chest aches but Fiacail has a plan. That’s the way of it! Little more than two days’ comfort here at Ráth Bládhma and already we’re caught up in its people’s problems. But … it’s a nice place, I’ll give them that. A secluded, V-shaped valley, deep in the… Read more »
AG TEACHT 11 BEALTAINE! Tá sé ag cur sceana gréasaí agus tá pian i mo chliabhrach, ach tá plean ag Fiacail. Sin an chaoi a bhfuil sé! Níl muid anseo i Ráth Bládhma ach dhá lá agus tá muid sáite i bhfadhbanna mhuintir na háite cheana féin. Ach… is áit dheas é. Gleann amuigh ar… Read more »
One of the aspects I delve into a little deeper with the book Liath Luachra: The Seeking (and the entire series, in fact) is around the workings of ‘tribes’, at least in terms of how they related to ancient Ireland. The concept of ‘tribe’ (‘tuath’ or ‘treibh’ in Irish) is one that most westerners are… Read more »
On 11 May, the story Dark Dawn/ Camhhaoir Fuilsmeartha will finally be released online. A creative project that’s been in development for almost two years, I’m feeling both relief and excitement at finally having it ready for launch. Set in 1st Century Ireland, it tells the tale of a dying warrior who’s been assigned to… Read more »
Apparently it’s been three years since I last released a Liath Luachra book through the usual ebook stores. I do recall that, on that last occasion, I mistakenly made the book exclusive to Amazon. As a result, it was another three months before anyone who didn’t buy it through Amazon could obtain a copy. I… Read more »
In a world dominated by ‘genre’ entertainment based on clichés and tropes, I’ve always been impressed by creatives that surprise me. That’s something I, personally, strive to do with my own work but, cynic that I am, it’s something I rarely experience myself. I was fortunate to have one of those rare events last night… Read more »
It’s interesting for me to look back on some of the older posts and articles in this site and see how my plans and intentions have changed over the years. I recently came an article from 4 years back where I’d outlined some of my book plans including Liath Luachra: Sons of the Land Bodhmhall:… Read more »
