Delighted that my short story “The Pattern of Seamie O’Connell” (based on a true GAA story) has been included in the GIFTED anthology published by Bridge House. It’s available in paperback or kindle format from the publisher https://www.thebridgetowncafebooksshop.co.uk/2023/10/gifted.html or from Amazon https://amzn.eu/d/fnsZEgk
Would make a nice Christmas or birthday gift for someone you know.
Thanks to all at Bridge House publishing (UK) for all your support.
The nights are getting longer, darker and cooler as I write this October blog. The GAA year is winding down. Success was very limited in 2023 for my teams. Now my attention returns to writing. Lots of ideas flowing around my head for plays and short stories and longer ones. However, before the words hit the laptop screen and store in the clouds, I am spending some time calling out to Drama Groups and Publishers. Hello!!
The stories I write and tell are nothing until people hear or see them. I have got so much satisfaction and pride from the small wins I’ve had in the past. It’s the little things that make life wonderful. From Macra Na Feirme performing a one act to the publication of a short story or poem, it does feel like scoring a goal in a major GAA match! Without drama groups, theatres, producers, directors, actors, stage crew, editors and publishers, those small moments of pride could not happen. The work in trying to contact the appropriate people, prepare submissions or competition entries can be time consuming and certainly not the most attractive part of writing. When someone contacts you back it becomes so worthwhile. So please if connected to a Drama Group or a Publisher, please explore the stories I have to offer. One hit would make the year!
DRAMA GROUPS
If you are involved in a drama group, please click the link. If you are a Producer, a Director, an Actor or Stage Crew or possibly the Chairperson or Secretary please check out my library of full-length plays and one act plays. There is a variety. Some fun, some serious. Some Irish, Some American, Some contemporary, some historical. Some have large casts, some small. One thing for definite, you will not be disappointed with the stories.
Maybe you are not directly involved, but you know someone who is. Please share this Blog with them. Use your social media connections. I would really appreciate it. I would especially love anyone who is involved in Macra Na Feirme to check out my one act plays and make contact. An organisation that inspired my love of stage drama, inspired me to write and gave me so many wonderful memories. Some of my material would be well suited to an American or English audience. Reach out. You might end up performing a World Premiere!
PUBLISHERS
When it comes to publishers, I know it is a longer shot. I have one completed novel, one completed volume of short stories, one novel which is a work in progress and a completed novella that I would love to have published. If you are a Publisher or related to a publisher, please check out below and reach out to me. A million thanks in advance.
QUEST FOR JUSTICE
My first completed novel is a crime thriller with a science fiction undertone and a romantic sub-plot filled with suspense, intrigue and mystery stretching from Ireland to the Channel Islands to the United States and back to a thrilling action packed climax off the South West coast of Ireland. 88,000 words of compulsive and exciting reading.
DREAMS VOLUME ONE
A collection of 16 short stories written over a number of years. I describe them as Dramatic, Romantic, Entertaining and Amusingly Magnificent Stories. Stories that are inspired by a mix of imagination and reality. They are Sport, Western, Romance, Crime or rural Irish themed. Dreams Volume One is about the story, the drama, the fun, the twists and the unexpected. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll wonder and you’ll enjoy. Stories set in Ireland, England and the United States of America with time periods varying from the mid 1800’s to modern day to sometime in the not-too-distant future.
THE UNDERDOG
A teenage boy who has moved to Ireland with his mother, brother and sister after the disappearance and presumed death of his Father in the Middle East. They move to his uncle’s farm in a rural area. He Gaelic sport of Hurling becomes his love. The story revolves around his life, his family, his friends, his adversaries and the girl he likes with a subplot about the mystery regarding his father’s disappearance. He is an underdog and an adventurer. This is still a work in progress.
JAMIE
This is a novella of 40,000 words. The Emergency Response Unit is the elite police armed tactical unit of the Garda Síochána, Ireland’s national police and security service. Jamie is one of their best officers. After a tragedy strikes while on duty, he is partnered with a tough and beautiful female officer who has baggage that links her to a notorious unidentified serial killer. Can they work together and track down the killer before history repeats? Plenty of mystery and intrigue.
Deletion – Definition; The removal or obliteration of written or printed matter, especially by drawing a line through it; The removal of data from a computer’s memory; The removal of a product, especially a recording, from the catalogue of those available for purchase. What about the removal of mankind?
I have just published my latest short story. It is called DELETION. It is FICTION. But could it be true? Read it and find out! (Click Button below)
Are you getting comfortable with the current situation due to the COVID-19 virus? Should it be a bigger concern, if people are? Have you thought through the practicalities of living your own life if no vaccine, cure or treatment is found? Is it possible? Deletion on the face of it is a morbid look of what could happen, but the important message it tries to give it, stay hopeful, stay positive and never give up!
It is a bit like my writing career. I’m always hopeful that people will read my library, even though it doesn’t seem to happen. I’m hopeful, drama groups will want to produce and perform my plays. I’m hopeful, publishers will want to publish my novels or stories. I’m hopeful filmmakers will want to turn my stories into films. So, I never give up. I still write even if I am the only one that reads it. I believe in the stories. I’m not worried about the fancy well-constructed sentences. To me, it’s all about the stories.
Meanwhile, on the technical front, I have updated the website to improve navigation. Around the LIBRARY Please feel free to check it out and use the CONTACT FORM to let me know what you think.
