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Jaunting Off

2009-06-27T09:18:00.002+01:00

I'm away to New York and Toronto soon. It's all about meeting publishers, but also a sad personal thing in Canada as I attend a memorial for a dear friend who was also a dear friend's partner. A lot of exciting things are happening right now with my work, but I never make announcements until the contracts are signed. (Loose lips sink ships, as we say in the Navy.) Some deals have been concluded, in fact, but I want to present it all as one big KA-BOOM of an announcement. Nope, no hints. Just watch this space.

Harry Clarke, Irish Genius

2009-06-19T15:36:00.003+01:00

Harry Clarke has a genius which manifests itself at its highest in stained glass ... I imagine that if one scraped a little the subconscious mind of the artist you would let in a flood of rich colour out of some inner luminous aether, where the fire is more brilliant than the eye can see, and the only way he could recreate that colour for us was by the art he practises.
AE (George Russell)
I had only begun reading The Life and Work of Harry Clarke by Nicola Gordon Bowe, an incredibly researched, detailed and beautifully written book, when I set off for Lough Derg. Can you imagine my shock and joy as I sat in the Basilica on my first night and stared around me? At first I thought, "this must be the work of a student of his, someone following his style, they are magnificent." Then the priest announced that we would be doing The Way of the Cross marked by the stations at each of the windows by the Irish artist, Harry Clarke. I nearly fainted. Do click on the images and expand them. You'll see the exquisite and minute artwork. My favourite window of his is The Eve of St Agnes - jewelled fairy tales in midnight blue - but at the same time, it was truly a gift to see his work in everyday use, as opposed to the formal setting of an art gallery or museum.

2009-06-19T15:34:00.000+01:00

Harry Clarke

2009-06-19T15:29:00.002+01:00

Research is a Many Splendoured Thing

2009-06-11T12:00:00.004+01:00

Truth to tell, I have always wanted to go to Lough Derg, an ancient pilgrimage place on a sacred island in County Donegal. Indeed this is research - for the spiritual novel I am writing - but it is also heart and soul stuff. The total fasting from food begins at midnight tonight and ends at midnight on Sunday. We board the boat tomorrow afternoon. (I'm going with a fellow Sagittarian, always ready for a challenge.) The first day includes 24 hour sleep deprivation. We'll be walking over stones in our bare feet, saying and chanting the Rosary, walking the labyrinth which you see here, praying in the basilica, doing stations and so on. The fast is broken once a day with tea and plain bread. (They say it's the most beautiful cup of tea you'll ever get in your life.) I can't wait. EXTREME PRAYER. I trust I'll have time to make notes but not sure if I'll be able to take photos. These pics are from their website: http://www.loughderg.org/. Will tell you all about it when I return ... if I have the strength to move my arms. [More about this on t'other blog.]

RTE Beggars the Imagination

2009-06-04T14:25:00.002+01:00

Many moons ago I wrote and then read out on the radio five pieces for RTE Lyric FM Quiet Quarter. They were called "From a Canadian Journal" and were inspired by a reading tour I did of the Northwest Territories, Canada. One of the pieces was later published in an anthology. Now fair play to Eoin Brady who was in charge at the time, I was contracted and paid for all of that work. Then out of the blue I get an email from the new producer of the Quiet Quarter who wants to publish the piece in a different anthology for the whopping sum of ---- zero. I explained to the woman that as I value my work I do not give it away for free. She came back with "but it's the same piece already published in the other anthology." This is when I asked her if she provided her services to RTE for free. We all know the answer to that one. Someone once told me that producers don't sleep well at night unless they've screwed over at least one writer during the day. I guess it's all about mentalité as the French say.

The Tao of Equus

2009-05-24T09:34:00.003+01:00

As I mentioned in my t'other Blog, the main character in my new adult work People of the Great Journey, has made it clear to me that she is a horsewoman. Since I am anything but, this has sent me down a path of serious research on horses and riding. Given that I am terrified of the great and noble creatures I am reading books, cleaning stables and admiring them from afar. However, this latest book I am reading - The Tao of Equus by Linda Kohanov - is slowly but surely convincing me that I must go to the riding stables near me and get on a horse. (Omigod. Breathe.) The book itself is stunning. It has moved me to tears on more than one occasion. One of her insights early on resonated for me with instant truth, i.e. that humans did not consciously domesticate the horse but rather that species chose to enter into relationship with us. This corresponds to my own belief that, contrary to the notion we are the dominant species on the planet and animals are 'beneath' us, we are, in fact, the slow learners of the world and all the higher-souled animals around us have consented to suffer at our hands in order to help us evolve. (Photo credit: Linda and her horse, Rasa, http://www.taoofequus.com/.)

Iron Butterfly - In A Gadda Da Vida

2009-05-15T18:28:00.001+01:00

I'm using this song in my new book (the adult one). My main character is humming it and then singing it. It was first a hit in the 60s but was still being played non-stop in the 70s (my day), and it went on for way longer than this. These guys are still BRILLIANT. Sigh. They just don't make 'em like they used to.

Gale Group Ignorance

2009-05-13T22:52:00.003+01:00

Bloody hell, I was just reading over this long database bio thing the Gale Group sent me for some series they do on modern authors (which I can't access unless I pay) and I could hardly believe my eyes. First they put: born, Dublin, Ireland. Then they put: nationality, British. How DUMB-ASS can you get? That kind of political and historical ignorance in what is supposed to be a research and information group is mind-staggering. Hardly inspires confidence in any other data they provide, eh? All my ancestors turned over in their graves.

Pushkin Workshops

2009-05-09T11:49:00.006+01:00

Last year I posted pics of beautiful Kilruddery House where I facilitated creative writing workshops for the Pushkin Trust Programme founded and run by the Duchess of Abercorn who lives in Northern Ireland. This year, as in many years past, I was invited up to her estate at Baronscourt in Co. Tyrone to put on workshops there along with visiting environmentalists and other artists. As always, the writing workshops were held in the little log cabin near a river. The theme of this year's workshops was "The Tree of Life" so we spent some time outdoors imagining we were trees before we came inside to write. I decided we would tackle various writing 'genres' such as comics, ads, posters, songs, sketches and riddles as well as the usual poems and stories. Great fun was had by all! (Note: I don't post pictures of the children involved. They were all standing behind me giggling as I took these shots.) I love my work.

2009-05-09T11:37:00.001+01:00

More Bronte

2009-05-01T10:38:00.002+01:00

Nope, I definitely didn't read Jane Eyre before or I would have remembered. What an incredible story! What exquisite writing! And such deep psychological insight long before psychology came into vogue. I was caught from the very first page. And new words which I had to look up! (Excited noise. This rarely happens, except when I read John Banville. Even literature is dumbed down these days.) Inanition: exhaustion caused by lack of nourishment. Hmm, you could do a Ph.D. on the Brontes focusing on that word. Animadversion: criticism or censure. I shall have a long list by the time I have finished this glorious book. (And I shall be speaking like a person of that era for a while, the way I pick up accents.) Can't wait to use the new words in my own work. As far as I can tell, aside from the occasional complaint, my readers like that I send them to the dictionary, even as I like it when writers do that to me.

Jane Eyre

2009-04-30T11:06:00.001+01:00

I am an eternal fan of the Brontes. (See past remarks about Wuthering Heights being 'the book behind the book' for The Summer King.) Recently my sister loaned me her copy of the BBC series on Jane Eyre. Utterly brilliant. Here's a fan trailer I found on youtube. Just got the book out of the library. I can't remember when I read it last. Hmm, did I read it? It may be one of those books I assume I've read but haven't. I do remember the old film with Orsen Welles as Mr Rochester. Well, I shall know for certain as soon as I start reading it. Can't wait. But first, to work.

Easter in Narnia

2009-04-14T10:38:00.004+01:00

The Rector of Christ Church here in Bray, Co. Wicklow where I live is apparently as big a CS Lewis fan as I am. With the help of Signal Arts Gallery (which my sister Pat is involved with) and members of his parish, he transformed his church into a living story tale of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. An admission fee was charged which went to various charities and over 4,000 people visited. Best of all, he left the story tale intact for Easter service so off I went with a little gang to enjoy it all over again. Very fitting, of course, since the resurrection of Aslan is at the heart of the story. You can see from the pics that follow some of the scenes in the church. (The outside stone lions and eagles are a regular part of the church.) We went through fur coats into a snowy forest with a tall lantern lighted and then Mr Tumnus's cave with a lovely tea laid out, the arrival of spring (at front of church) and Aslan on the stone altar. Other scenes not depicted here included the witch's sleigh, Beavers' dam, Aslan's pavilion, the four thrones and so on. At the end of the Easter service - which included a poem by Sedulius Scottus and a reading from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (this is a church I will return to!) - there was smoke, a big bang, the altar flipped over and the Lion disappeared, and suddenly there was a great crack in the stone. Magic. (Photo credit: Tara Whelan)

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The Eagle Has Landed

2009-04-03T09:31:00.004+01:00

Yes, she's out at last and moving into bookstores across America: THE BOOK OF DREAMS, the fourth and final instalment of the Chronicles of Faerie. Must say, given these recession times, it's a bargoon at $20.00, a hardcover of 700 pages with a beautiful cover. Like the other three books in the series, The Book of Dreams is a stand alone and you could actually read this one first and then the other three like prequels. That said, I must point out - and I don't know quite how I managed it, will I call myself a genius? - but the four books are interlocking and, indeed, one leads into the next with the final book being the direct result of what happened in the other three YET they still stand alone and can be read in any order. Yeah, okay, I'm calling myself a genius. Now there is another issue surrounding these books - the Canadian/American one - which I have not discussed in order to avoid spoilers for my American readers. I promise to address this subject at the end of the year when the book has had a good run in the United States. If I forget, you can remind me.

Fabulous Findhorn

2009-03-30T10:35:00.004+01:00

Just back from my Experience Week at Findhorn in Scotland. Here's where I stayed - Cluny Hill College on the edge of Forres, a beautiful Scottish town not far from Inverness. (Do I have a thing for big houses and castles or what?) Will tell more about that amazing week in future blogs. I am still a bit shaky as I managed to pick up a major bug while there. More anon.

The Low Road

2009-03-19T16:08:00.004Z

As I've mentioned in my personal Blog, I am off to attend Experience Week at the Findhorn Community near Forres, in northern Scotland. Can't wait! This is research for my adult novel - People of the Great Journey - as one of my characters, a retired British Army officer, is a gardener at Findhorn. (I've got all kinds of odd sods and bods in this book.) Findhorn is a sister community of Auroville, in Tamil Nadu, India, which I visited many years ago. (Another character in the book is associated with same.) Once upon a time, I was a member of the Meitheal Community on Inch Island in Co. Donegal, which was a 'daughter' community of Findhorn, being much smaller in size. In fact, I mention Meitheal in The Hunter's Moon, in the scene where Dara and Gwen have a picnic by the sea. Did I call us old hippies?

Beannactaí Lá Phádraig!

2009-03-17T10:31:00.005Z

Well, I tried to post a Toyota ad of an Irish dancing pedestrian light but I couldn't. I don't usually post ads on my Blog but it's worth seeing; almost as good as the Guinness ad about the lads bringing the barrels of beer to the Aran Islands which, alas, is not to be found on youtube. Some of the most creative minds on this planet are wasted on the advertising business, but that's a personal choice made, no doubt, for monetary reasons. Which leads me to the hilarious comment made by writer and wag Brian Leyden over the weekend in Co. Clare (see my personal blog). We were all commenting on the fact that the Celtic Tiger had raced past us with little or no effect and Brian said, "we were always in the trenches, it's just that shelling has resumed." In lieu of the Irish dancing lights, here's a pic of a mural on the side of a little school house in Co. Clare. (PS found it! See my personal Blog.)

Glendalough

2009-03-08T19:01:00.004Z

Not long back from a big hike through Glendalough with Ger, Frank and Paul. We started near the Upper Lake and headed off towards Mullacor and then back down An Spinc. It was a rainy, sleety, snowy, sunny day (you get all seasons in a day in Ireland). When we stopped for lunch, it was like eating in a snow globe. I had my usual flask of Earl Grey tea, plus bagel with Emmenthal cheese, toasted sunflower seeds with soya sauce (try it, yum) and an organic apple; but I was seriously missing my standard two bags of crisps and a chocolate bar! (See Blog for Roman Catholic explanation.) This darling robin appeared out of nowhere, looking for a bit of lunch also, and we happily obliged. A snowy Glendalough is, of course, one of the settings in The Light-Bearer's Daughter. The mountainsides were cloaked with snow. The faint tracery of small animals, hares and birds, inscribed the ground. A winter's sun shone palely. (Photo credit: Ger Blake.)

Tarja Turunen

2009-03-03T09:30:00.001Z

Here's an interesting video one of my readers alerted me to. (Thanks Ariel!) I don't know this singer or the group she originally belonged to - Nightwash - but I'm going to look into them. The eye make-up is a bit much and some of this is seriously camp, but I like the fairy tale element and the woods. It reminds me of Dana being attacked by the Oakmen in The Light-Bearer's Daughter.