Historical Fiction

Derry O'Dowd's The Scarlet Ribbon

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:33:58 +0100

The father/daughter writing partnership developed after Katy’s father had an idea that he was keen to turn into a novel but didn’t have the time to write himself. ‘It took off from there,’ Katy explains, ‘slowly at first, but became a proper working partnership when I moved back to Galway with my family a few years ago. We hadn’t written together before then, but it works very well – collaborating brings up things that you wouldn’t have thought of yourself.’ Katy goes on to expl...

Orna Ross: Traditional to Self Publishing

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:15:45 +0100

Tweeting that she found the self-publishing process “a lot more rewarding in every way,” Ross decided last year to forge her own path to literary stardom and cut ties with her traditional publisher, because she “was troubled by the loss of creative control demanded by [the corporate world]”. Her last book, After the Rising (previously published as Lovers’ Hollow by Penguin), was self-published on Amazon by Ross before Christmas.

“I’m having more fun than at any time since starting...

Joe Murphy - 1798, Tomorrow the Barrow We’ll Cross

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:03:04 +0100

The note’s kind of a wry, half-mocking glance back at the incident that sparked off the idea for this book. My first, and most enduring love was goal-keeping. I was handy enough too. During a pre-season friendly in August 1998 I collected a booming, miss-hit cross and got clattered in mid-air by an oncoming forward. I picked myself up and kept playing, unaware that I’d ruptured my spleen and was bleeding to death. Two or three days later I collapsed and was rushed to hospital. On the way my h...

Tales of Emigration: Great Writing, Great Places.

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 22:04:38 +0100

Writing about three very different aspects of Irish history, these authors' stories bring the emigrant experience right into our living rooms, and in the case of Marita Conlon McKenna, whose bestselling Famine Trilogy is now on the national curriculum, provide a vital link between the Irish who were forced to leave, and their grandchildren and great grandchildren who live in Ireland today.

For Marita, listening to a radio report of three small skeletons found in an unmarked grave beneath a Hawth...

Patricia O'Reilly: Delving into the Past

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 07:13:33 +0100

Patricia finds the inspiration for her writing all around her, "I'm influenced by everything- from what I hear and see - overheard conversations, ads to posters, new stories, features, fiction and non-fiction." She continues to be an avid reader and this keeps her imagination alive. "Each season I devour the latest crop of contemporary fiction, particularly those titles nominated for and winners of various awards."

So where do the different ideas for her books come from? "My ideas are ...