Book Five of Rose Of Skibbereen Is Out!

Just in time for Thanksgiving, I have published the latest in my “Rose Of Skibbereen” family saga. This is Book Five in the series, and it takes the story through the 1980s and 90s right up to the dawn of the new millennium. The main character is Rosie Morley, granddaughter of Rose Sullivan Morley, the heroine of the first three books in the series. In this book Rosie moves to New Hope, Pennsylvania, and opens a bar and restaurant where she sings her beloved Big Band numbers. She also meets Jack Caldwell, a futurist, who captures her fancy with his optimism and his rugged good looks. Rosie’s son Pete gets into trouble in Northern Ireland, and for good measure there are some psychic overtones, some echoes of the spiritual music Rosie hears in her dreams. 

This series was based on some genealogical research I did, but at this point I’ve strayed far from that path. The characters are all fictional, of course, and their stories have developed in new and surprising directions. I think you’ll enjoy it!

Excerpt: Crossing The Atlantic

I've decided to post some excerpts from my "Rose Of Skibbereen" historical romance series here on my blog. These will give you the flavor of the book, and you'll be able to get a feel for my writing style. This section is from Chapter Two in Book One. It is about the ocean voyage Rose and her friend Mary took when they came to America in 1880. The scene takes place at night, during a terrible storm.

“If I ever get off this ship I’ll kiss the ground and never leave it again,” Mary said, as the ship settled itself before the next wave. “I’ll never get on another one of these floating coffins as long as I live.”

“Sure, and you’d never see Ireland again if you did that,” Rose said. “Unless you know another way of getting home, you’ll have to take a ship to come back.”

“God help me, if I have to take a ship I’ll never see my home again,” Mary said, as another boom of thunder roared in the background.

“Now, Mary, don’t talk such nonsense,” Rose said. “We’ll all be going home again, God willing.”

“We should have stayed,” Mary said. “If I was you, Rose Sullivan, I’d never have left, not with that fine McCarthy boy making eyes at me like he did to you.”

“He did more than that,” Rose said, mischievously. She was trying to distract the two of them from the terrible storm, and she thought talk of Sean McCarthy might do that.

“What do you mean?” Mary said.

“Why, he kissed me, don’t you know,” Rose said, feeling the color rise to her cheeks.

“Kissed you?” Mary poked her head out of her covers, and looked down at Rose. “Why the devil didn’t you tell me this before? That black-haired boy kissed you? What was it like, Rose? Tell me this instant.”

“It was like a spark of fire on my lips, and it spread through my whole body,” Rose said. “I can tell you it kept me warm the rest of the night.”

“You don’t say! How many times?”

“Just once! What kind of a girl do you think I am, Mary Driscoll? Do you think I’d be kissing a strange boy the whole night through?”

“No, but I can tell you what I’d have done,” Mary said. “I’d have sold my ticket on this blasted ship, and home I’d stay if a boy who looked like that kissed me.”

What do you think? If you'd like to read more, Book One is available here. Books Two and Three are also out, so if you like the story, you can continue on!

Rose Of Skibbereen, Book Two Is Published

This is a very quick, short post to tell you that "Rose Of Skibbereen, Book Two" is now published. I had a deadline to get it finished before I left for my trip to Ireland, and I just made it (I'm leaving tomorrow). This is such breaking news that I don't even have a link available to it in the Amazon Kindle store, because it takes 24 hours for Amazon to review and approve it. I do have a link to the book on Smashwords, though, and it's here. It's available in all formats on Smashwords, so you can download it and start reading the book right away.
I had a great time writing this second installment of the series, and I was really pleased to see where the story took me. The characters in this book live through the First World War and the Roaring Twenties, as well as a lot of other personal events that keep them on a roller coaster of emotion. Rose has a lot to deal with, most of it caused by her scoundrel of a husband (who changes his name yet again in this book) and her longing to go back to Ireland. There are more than a few surprises, and I think readers will like this part of the family saga.
Well, that's it for now -- I have to finish packing for my trip. I hope you enjoy "Rose Of Skibbereen, Book Two". Let me know what you think -- I love getting feedback!