Book Four Is Coming

We writers try our best to keep on schedule, but sometimes things take longer than we planned. I had thought I'd have Book Four of "Rose Of Skibbereen" published by now, but my revisions are going a bit slower than I anticipated. Don't worry, though -- I will have Book Four published in ten days, if not sooner.
Book Four starts in 1960, and as you might imagine, there's a lot that happens in that wild and crazy decade. I was around for those years, and it's been fun to write about an era that I actually lived through. Writing about the music, the politics, the conflict between old and young people that took place in that decade has brought back a lot of memories. The Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, rock n' roll, Carnaby Street fashion, and a parade of crazy characters -- they're all in this book. You'll get to meet them in a matter of weeks, so stay tuned for an announcement coming soon on this blog.
In the meantime, here's your hard-working author, slaving away at the novel.

St. Pat's Day Giveaway

I don't want to be one of those authors who's constantly running promotions to get people to buy his ebooks. I think it's important to market your writing, but you can't be running contests, raffles, and giveaways nonstop just to bump up your numbers on the best-seller lists. I've always believed that if you write a good book, readers will find you. Good writing will win people over more than a contest.
However. . . I decided that if I'm ever going to do a giveaway for my Rose Of Skibbereen ebooks, it should be tied in to St. Patrick's Day. After all, this series starts in Skibbereen, Ireland, and follows some Irish characters as they emigrate to America to find love, heartbreak, and personal drama. It revolves around the Irish people, and so I thought St. Patrick's Day, when everyone around the world celebrates the Irish, would be a good time to run a contest.
So, here it is. I'm giving away books One, Two, and Three of the series for free, and all you have to do to get a chance to win is enter on Facebook through this link. It's a simple contest, and I'll announce a winner after St. Patrick's Day. Best of luck to ye!

"It's My Land!"

I was browsing YouTube the other day and came upon some clips of Richard Harris in "The Field" (1990) which is a wonderful film set in Ireland, and which gives some insight into the Irish psyche. Harris plays a character named Bull McCabe, whose family has rented a field in the west of Ireland for generations. I won't give the plot away, except to say that the field in question is so important to the story that it is almost a character in itself. Because the Irish people did not own their land for so long, the very earth took on a formidable quality -- there was nothing so important as having your own plot of land. When I visited last summer, my cousin in Cork told me that land is still very important, even today.
Anyway, here is a clip of Bull McCabe, played by Richard Harris, explaining why he will never give up his land.