Isabella Pollexfen Varley: Artist and Aunt of WB Yeats
One thing I love about writing historical fiction is doing the research. I often have to stop myself digging too … Read more
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Friday Fiction: Extract from Her Secret Rose-Introducing Rosy Cross
If you don’t already know, my Yeats-Gonne book Her Secret Rose (first published in 2015) has morphed into a Yeats-Gonne … Read more
Friday Fiction: Using Haiku Poetry to Plan a Novel
A while ago, I came across an idea that has made an enormous difference to how I plan my novels: … Read more
After the Rising & Before the Fall: American Fiction Awards Finalist
I’m delighted that After the Rising & Before the Fall (Centenary Edition) was honoured as an award-winning finalist, in the family … Read more
After the Rising & Before the Fall: Blog Tour
The After the Rising & Before the Fall blog tour begins today. For 10 days, 13 bloggers will be celebrating … Read more
Friday Fiction: Yeats-Gonne Series: Maud Gonne is Arrested
Each Friday, I publish an extract from my work in progress, currently Dancing in the Wind, based on a true … Read more
WB Yeats Letter to Maud Gonne on Her Marriage
“Poets should never marry,” Maud Gonne told WB Yeats shortly before she, without telling him, became engaged to another. “The … Read more
Dancing in the Wind Snippet: What of Love?
The story opens in 1916. The world is at war, Irish freedom fighters have just staged an armed rebellion in … Read more
‘A Life’s Sketch’: A Short Story by Maud Gonne
Like all young women of her class and time, Maud Gonne was raised to have a wide variety of accomplishments—singing, … Read more
Dancing in the Wind Snippet: A Chaste Kiss
The story opens in 1916. The world is at war, Irish freedom fighters have just staged an armed rebellion in … Read more
DANCING IN THE WIND NOTEBOOK DAY 58: Irish Women’s Poetry
The best poetry reading I ever attended took place at the Abbey Theatre in 1992. Reading this Irish Times article … Read more
DANCING IN THE WIND NOTEBOOK DAY 53: Yeats Society Sligo Under Threat
I am a member of the Yeats Society Sligo and horrified to hear from Director Susan O’Keeffe today that its future … Read more
Dancing in the Wind Snippet: OPEN YOUR EYES, WILLIE
The story opens in 1916. The world is at war, Irish freedom fighters have just staged an armed rebellion in … Read more
DANCING IN THE WIND NOTEBOOK DAY 51: Joe Biden Quotes Yeats
The Guardian recently pondered whether Joe Biden’s quoting of Yeats Easter Rising poem (“a terrible beauty is born) on his … Read more
DANCING IN THE WIND NOTEBOOK DAY 49: Best Fiction About the War of Independence
The Irish Times has put together a list of the best fiction about the war of independence, which was reaching … Read more