A quick shout out to the Irish Field Archery Monthly Magazine which is running a copy of my article on “Bows and Chariots in Ancient Ireland – The Facts and the Fantasies” in their latest edition. Kudos to the creators and their work- I know how difficult it is to produce a regular publication while… Read more »
The first reviews from the paperback are just starting to trickle in. Usually, by the time I release a book I’m far too close to tell if its any good or not. As a result, it’s always a bit of a relief to find the reviews are positive. The digital version gets released on on… Read more »
With ‘Fionn: Stranger at Mullan Ban’ now sorted and ready for release next month I’ve been focusing more on ‘Liath Luachra: The Great Wild’, which I’m hoping to release in the first half of 2023. Usually, when I’m starting a new book, I play around with the first chapter for a time as this cements… Read more »
There’s not a great amount of evidence about early Roman interaction with the island now known as Ireland but there are a few tantalising items. Unlike Great Britain and most of the European Continent, Ireland was never controlled by Roman interests, although the Roman Empire was almost certainly aware of its existence even at that… Read more »
I really enjoy making landscape and topography part of a story but of course in ancient Ireland you also have neolithic structures and other features that add a new level of resonance to the land. When writing the Fionn or Liath Luachra series, this kind of inclusion is critical, not only for imbibing the landscape… Read more »
I’m just in the process of completing the last chapter in Fionn: Stranger at Mullán Bán and felt it might be timely to offer a small taster of what that book will be about. For those of you who’ve been following this series, the events in this fourth book take place six years after Fionn:… Read more »
The first book of the Irish Woman Warrior Series has been on a trial sale for the last two weeks but this will soon be coming to a close. Liath Luachra: The Grey One is probably the favourite book (and Liath Luachra is the favourite character) of readers who follow my mythological adventure stories, so… Read more »
A blast from the past with this old post (and draft cover) from 2015. At the time, I was still writing the first Liath Luachra book with the intention of using it as a prequel for the Fionn mac Cumhaill Series. That plan went kinda sideways. After an initial lacklustre reception on it’s publication, more… Read more »
This is a selection of some of the images I used when I was originally conceptualising the woman warrior Liath Luachra. This particular set (from Spanish artist/photographer Lídia Vives) visually captured the savage/thoughtful aspect of the character and proved a helpful prompt when writing. I’ll probably be using these again for the next book (Liath… Read more »
It’s already been a year since I released the first ‘Irish Imbas Catalogue’, but of course its already out of date!In any case, if you want to know a little more about what I do and why I do it, you can find it here: Irish Imbas Catalogue
I got a bit of a shock today when a ‘Facebook Memory’ post alerted me to the fact that it was seven years since I’d published Fionn: The Adversary. After that initial shock – and suddenly feeling very, very old – I was slightly mollified (and relieved) when I worked out that the post was… Read more »
Looking across to Beara from the Sheep’s Head peninsula with ‘Cnoc Daod’ glowering under the central clouds. The name ‘Cnoc Daod’ can be roughly translated as ‘the quick tempered hill‘ (relating to the weather and its ability to turn bad fast). Back in the day, the name was anglicized to ‘Hungry Hill’ (and there’s an… Read more »
I dropped all my current work to spend a few days working on the series outline for this – basically updating it to incorporate ‘The Seeking‘ and ‘The Metal Men‘ into the final story of Liath Luachra. Writing for the screen is a very different way of writing compared to book writing – you really… Read more »
Most striking topographical sites have mythological stories associated with them so it’s no real surprise to find so many linked to the dramatic silhouette that’s Binn Ghulbain – the peak of Gulbain (there’s still a lot of disagreement around what ‘Gulbain’ refers to, but it’s far better than the anglicized – and meaningless – ‘Benbulben’).… Read more »
Not all ‘OLD’ friends are ‘GOOD’ friends! Liath Luachra: The Consent is now available … but only here at the Irish Imbas website. You can find it on the ‘Books’ Page of by linking through HERE:
I’m pleased to announce that the fourth book in the Irish Woman Warrior Series is now live at the Irish Imbas website and most ebookstores. You can find the various links HERE The price will remainat $4.99 for the rest of the month but will go up to $5.99 next month. Liath Luachra: The Metal… Read more »
I really enjoy writing dialogue – particularly when it’s a dialogue between two strong characters with diferent motivations. This is a quick sample of a conversation between the woman warrior Liath Luachra and the bandraoi (female druid) Bodhmhall, who joined her hunt for a díbhearg (raiding party) in a slightly underhand manner. At this point… Read more »
One plotline that I’d hoped to return to in more detail with ‘The Metal Men’ was Liath Luachra’s relationship with Bressal Binnbéalach – Bressal of the Sweet Tongue – her old rígfénnid and sly ex-leader of Na Cinéaltaí. The interaction between Liath Luachra and Bressal was always one of my favourite elements from the first book in the… Read more »
