Catch Up

I came back to my parents’ roots in Donegal in 2001. I brought with me work and connections from all over the place and many connections lost along the way. Were you there? Were you there in Northern Ireland in…

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Self-definition

Lia Mills (libranwriter.com) article on why there are so many Irish writers. She blames the weather. Read her blog and read her novel, Fallen, if you haven’t already. I defy you to find a better literary representation of 1914-16 in Dublin.…

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Second book syndrome

What makes a writer? Prompted by the Leipzig Book Fair in March, Suzanne Rippenberger’s article  in the German newspaper, Taggespiegel explores „second book syndrome“. She claims the second book crisis it heightened by the writer’s consciousness of the time between…

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From Berlin to Chorlton

Saturday 29th November between 2.30 and 4pm at Chorlton Library, Manchester M21 9PN. My novel, „Bone and Blood“ internationally available from 28th November will be celebrated at an event with proceeds to the Bhopal Medical Appeal. (see www.bhopal.org for the…

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How could she?

In my novel, „Bone and Blood“, a young woman, Aisling, regrets choices she has made. Is she responsible for those choices? Is she a victim or is it more complicated than that?  Are her choices corrupted by ambiguity, secrecy and…

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How could I?

Reading to understand myself and others has been in my blood since I first examined the picture of the British Houses of Parliament on the bottle of brown sauce, that accompanied the Irish family fry, and persuaded a sibling to…

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Boomerang

Letting people know my novel, „Bone and Blood“ is about to be published feels like throwing a boomerang in a public place. When I tell people or invite them to the launch, the words curve in the air and vibrate…

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Publishing

Hibernation in Donegal and Berlin in order to write novels has turned me into a hedgehog – mostly out of sight; slow to move; and quick to prickle-up. The imminent publication of my first novel, „Bone and Blood“ makes me…

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Hello old friends

2012 will be the year of big changes. I want to reclaim my social network by using this blog as a newsletter. I plan to let you have a look at progress on the garden, my writing and the self-catering…

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