Happy New Year 2014

2013 has been an amazing year for me, both personally and within the whole writing journey. I hope I learned a lot during the last 12 months. I know I laughed and cried a lot, found joy in the most surprising places, reaffirmed the wonder of family, and having people in your life to love and to give love back in return. I've worried and I've thought too long and hard about certain things, gotten myself stressed, even panicked, but usually, thankfully, I've ended up with some semblance of sense, realizing that every moment, hour, and day, is a gift in this once in a lifetime opportunity of living.

I hope 2014 is a good one for you all, and on the stroke of midnight wherever you are, that all the new beginnings you are wishing for are there for the taking. Have a good one folks.

xxx Louise 

Doolin Short Story Competition

The Doolin Writers' Weekend takes place this year at Hotel Doolin from the 28th-30th March 2014

Hotel Doolin in association with The Irish Writers’ Centre is delighted to announce the launch of the DOOLIN SHORT STORY COMPETITION 2014. There is a prize fund of €1,000 for first place and second/third of €600/€400. Entries can be on any theme and should be no longer than 3,000 words. The fee is €10 and closing date for entries is Monday 3rd March at 5pm. Winners will be announced at the Doolin Writer’s Weekend on28th – 30th March 2013.

Anthony Glavin is this year’s judge. Editor of “New Irish Writing” in the Irish Press from 1986-88, and a commissioning editor with New Island Books from 1994-2004, Anthony Glavin has published two story collections, One for Sorrow and The Draughtsman and The Unicorn. His stories have also appeared in many Irish, UK and US anthologies, including Phoenix Irish Short Stories, Best Irish Short Stories, Short Story International, New Dubliners: Stories to Celebrate 100 Years of Joyce’s Dubliners, The Faber Book of Irish Short Stories 2006/7, and New Irish Short Stories (Faber, 2011). He is also the author of a critically acclaimed novel,Nighthawk Alley.

Following on from the success of the inaugural Doolin Writers’ Weekend, The 2nd Annual Doolin Writers weekend will take place on the weekend of the 28th-30th March 2014. The weekend will consist of workshops in short story writing, poetry and novel writing, lectures and readings by some of Ireland’s leading writers, as well as some great traditional music and theatre It is a great opportunity for aspiring writers as well as literary fans & published authors to get together and celebrate everything that is good about Irish Literature. Many artists and writers spent time in Doolin, including J.M. Synge, George Bernard Shaw, Dylan Thomas, Augustus John and Oliver St. John Gogarty. This spring we look forward to welcoming back some of Ireland’s best writers for what we hope will become an annual literary event in North Clare.

The winning entries will feature on the Irish Writers’ website and the story placed first will also appear in print in The winning entries will feature on the Irish Writers’ website and the story placed first will also appear in print in The Clare People.

For further details, to download an entry form or to enter online visit:
www.hoteldoolin.ie

Doolin Writers Weekend ENTRY FORM available here

If you have any queries, please contact:
Donal Minihane
Hotel Doolin
Doolin Co. Clare
065-70741111
dminihane@hoteldoolin.ie

It's not all bad news!

Believe it or not, I'm down with the flu again. By that I mean I was on the mend, then things took a nosedive. Hubby is now sick too, so we're coughing and spluttering and generally sharing our germs the same way we share most things in life, wholeheartedly!

But it is not all bad news. Firstly, I'm back to the writing and I'm beginning to get that sense that the fictional world is becoming real. This is a very good thing, because if it's not real for the writer, it sure as hell won't be real for the reader. The second bit of good news is that my sick hubby finally read The Doll's House! Yes, I know that it has taken him a while, but he's been mad busy with work, and in fairness hasn't been reading at all. It was a funny thing, me on one side of the couch coughing and writing, and him on the other side of the couch reading my novel.

The really good news is that he loved it, and said it reminded him that he missed reading so very much. You need to understand that whereas my hubby is wonderful, he doesn't get gushy with lots of words of praise, he simply say it as it is, and for him to say that he felt the book had him gripped, and he was sorry it was over, and could I please hurry up with the next one, was kind of mega great.

Thankfully we have plenty of books for him to devour in the interim, so I'm sure he'll have much to enjoy.

Have a wonderful New Year folks.....

Merry Christmas!

So the Christmas tree is finally up, the food is in, and most of the pressies are bought, and considering how sick I've been with the flu for the last couple of weeks, that is a small miracle.

Tonight we have what we call our annual family Christmas party. It's a time we all used to gather together in our parent's house, siblings and grandchildren and grandparents, together. Now that both our parents are gone, we alternate between myself and my siblings for hosting the night. The young grandchildren have all grown up, and the next generation have arrived!! 

This is our year to host the annual get-together, and before I depart for the holidays, I wanted to wish you all a safe, happy and healthy Christmas. May 2014 be a great year, and fingers crossed a lot of happy memories will be formed.

All the best to you and yours.

xxx


Louise 

Want to win a FREE copy of The Doll's House - Winner of Best Irish Crime Novel 2013

As The Doll's House paperback has been out of stock on Amazon for nearly 2 weeks now, here's a nice competition for you!!

Anyone who orders it or Red Ribbons on Kindle from Amazon in the next few days, please let me know and I'll put your name into a draw for a signed free copy of the 1st Edition 'THE DOLL'S HOUSE' paperback!!!

I have a couple hidden in the attic!!

Here a lovely picture of me winning the award with State Pathologist, Marie Cassidy!! I think I look like I'm still in a daze, but receiving it from this wonderful lady was the icing on a very delicious cake!!

Photograph by Patrick Bolget

Crime Fiction Writing 8 Week Workshop at the IRISH WRITERS' CENTRE

Did you ever think Crime writing might be for you?

Have you the idea for a crime novel, or have you already started one and are looking for the impetus to finish it?

Do you want to really understand the genre, to look at tension, pace, creating memorable characters, writing effective dialogue, and producing a gripping story with plenty of twists and turns...then this could be for you!!!

FOR FULL DETAILS - VISIT HERE

Celebration!!

With all the madness over the last while, and then being struck down by the flu demon, I neglected to let you know that I have signed another 2 Book deal with Hachette Books - The contract has gone off in the post with my Christmas cards!!! 

So roll on 2014 and 2015! Only not too fast as I need to get an awful lot of writing done!!

First drafts are like lovers!

I know everyone says (including myself) that first drafts are simply that. They are the beginning not the end, and yes, I know, the best books aren't written, they're rewritten, but god oh god, first drafts are frustrating.

At first, as with all love affairs, they seem special. They are filled with endless possibilities, your head is dizzy with what the future holds for you both. In some ways, you're blind, because you have to be. There is no way of knowing the future, especially while you're creating it.

It's a time to be patient, a time to see what the new lover is all about, to give them time to grow and evolve into their full potential. All sounds very good, until the niggling doubts appear, and you wonder about this first draft - has it tricked you? How much work does it need? Will it ever be the wonderful lover you thought it would be, could be?

Right now, myself and my first draft are not seeing eye to eye. We are frustrated with each other, and not altogether sure about moving forward. We have gone from 45,000 words to less than 42,000 in the blink of an eye. We see each other's weaknesses and wonder can we move on from here. The future feels less than certain.

Nonetheless, here we are, and like all relationships that are worth anything, they require work. Time for a breather, me thinks, then I'll return to do battle again!
 

Dogs and the City!

This is a story of life, love, companionship and respect. 

Listen in HERE - you won't regret it!

Ger Philpott

Ger Philpott is an award winning screenwriter and filmmaker. He writes for the print media, radio, screen and TV.

His work includes the prizewining short films, Change and An Turas. He is the author of the best-selling book on AIDS, Deep End.

He works as a writer, director, radio producer and freelance journalist.

A keen gardener and accomplished cook he lives in Dublin. He is a current Irish Masters swimming record holder and breeds and exhibits Champion Weimaraner dogs.

Number Crunching!

I must be on the mend from this flu virus as I've started to read again, and do some useless number crunching stuff.

Last month was the highest recorded visits to the blog so far, nearly 10,000. I'm sure it was due in part to The Doll's House winning the Best Irish Crime Novel of the Year Award 2013 at the Irish Book Awards, but it also brings my blog hits to over the 150,000 mark.

Anyhow, here are some useless blog states for you for last month. United States looking good!!

Blog Visits last month

United States                    5,403

Ireland                              1,207

China                                   826

Germany                              770

United Kingdom                   437

France                                  206

Others                              1,105

Total                                9,954

My Mother's Hands

I've been very touched by the amount of people who read the story in the Irish Examiner and who've made contact with me in one way or another. 

It got me thinking about a poem I'd written a long time back. It was about my mother's hands. I realised I didn't have a copy of it anymore, but like all words that come from a place deep inside, they never really leave you. 

So I've put the poem below. I hope you enjoy it. The angels referred to are the two children my mother lost. Many others have suffered too, but here are a few small words about her. 

The image below is of my Mom as a young girl. At the very bottom are YouTube links to Mount Pleasant Buildings and the poverty within it. Thank you.

My Mother’s Hands

Her hands held little fingers with cold front door keys,

wrapped a red coat over, 

protecting me from more than rain,

pushed prams, peeled spuds,

no lady hands, but lady owned.

skin like alabaster, soft not weak,

hands of pain, hands of an optimistic soul,

sprouting blood bubbles in pin-pricked old age,

folded quietly in gentle melancholy, 

stolen by her mind’s disease,

in death as in life, 

angels drawn.

Part 1 of 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJhtNOkB07I

Part 2 of 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t3L-FPpd9U

Haunted by Mount Pleasant - Irish Examiner

Image by Nick Bradshaw - Irish Examiner

Haunted by Mount Pleasant 

Monday, December 09, 2013 - Victoria White

STANDING up, as she’s about to leave, Louise Phillips, author of the just-named Irish Crime Novel of the Year The Doll’s House may have cried as she told me about the dark place where her novels originate.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

Francis MacManus Short Story Competition

This year marks the 26th anniversary of the RTÉ Radio 1 Short Story Competition, which over the years has proved to be the launching pad for many renowned Irish writers.

Submissions for the 2014 RTÉ Radio Short Story Competition in memory of Francis Mac Manus are now being accepted. 

The closing date for submissions is Friday 31 January, 2014.

Applications forms and guidelines can be downloaded here or obtained by post (Please include a stamped addressed envelope)  to:

The Francis Mac Manus Short Story Competition,
RTÉ Radio 1,
Donnybrook,
Dublin 4.

The three judges for 2014 are Christine Dwyer Hickey, Award winning novelist and short story writer, Julie Parsons, best selling author and former radio producer, Eoin Purcell, Editorial Director, New Island Books.

Irish Crime Fiction Books of the Year 2009 -2013

Irish Crime Fiction Award 2009: Blood Runs Cold by Alex Barclay

Irish Crime Fiction Award 2010: Dark Times by Gene Kerrigan

Irish Crime Fiction Award 2011: Bloodland by Alan Glynn

Irish Crime Fiction Award 2012: Broken Harbour by Tana French

Irish Crime Fiction Award 2012: The Doll's House by Louise Phillips

Ireland AM Children's Christmas Short Story Competiion

Word Count - 500

Closing Date - 6th December

Email to tv3.ie

Click on image below

Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards 2013

To view RTE coverage of the Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards 2013 - click the image below.

Photograph by Patrick Bolger

Voting is now open for Overall Irish Book of the Year in the Irish Book Awards!

THE DOLL'S HOUSE is up for BEST BOOK of the YEAR 2013 - if you fancy giving it a vote  - you can do so by clicking the pic below!!

Voting closes the 5th December!!! 

Irish Book Awards 2013

For anyone who missed the Ireland AM coverage of the Irish Book Awards 2013 - Click on the link below! 

Most Wanted!

"Irish crime fiction is enjoying something of a golden age, and this year’s most wanted is Louise Phillips for her second book, The Doll’s House. The award was presented by the State pathologist Marie Cassidy." The Irish Times

I was utterly thrilled to receive the award for the Best Irish Crime Novel 2013, sponsored by Ireland AM, in the Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards on Tuesday evening. 

I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to everyone who helped make this happen, and in particular everyone who has visited and supported this blog. 

If there was even more icing to be found on the cake, it was the fact that the award was presented by the wonderful Marie Cassidy, a women whom I greatly admire. 

Thank You

Cinderella will go to the ball!

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who cast their vote in the Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards!!

The Award Ceremony is tomorrow evening the 26th November and Cinderella is going to the ball - My ticket arrived today - YAY

I'll try to remember to take lots of pics!!!

Quasimodo by Mia Gallagher

Curled up in front of the fire this evening I set about catching up on my reading material, delighted to be one of 100 lucky folks who acquired a copy of Quasimodo by Mia Gallagher, a limited edition chapbook from Spolia, with full color illustrations by Kirsetn Stolle. 

“Quasimodo” begins with two sisters doing something they've done a hundred times before: entering their parents’ house. But something is different. The lighting is wrong. The normally soft hues and gentle lamp-lit shadows have been washed out by hard fluorescent overhead bulbs. Carpet stains– once hidden– are exposed and the wallpaper is peeling. It isn’t pretty but it’s the truth. What is light after all, if not revealing? Their father has been left in charge after their mother’s stroke. He does not share her knack for ambiance.

Ann, one of the daughters, knows about strokes. Her husband suffered three of them. The story takes its title from the way they left his face partially paralyzed, half-melted like that of Notre Dame’s famous hunchback. It’s a bitter association that Ann keeps to herself. And yet, the phrasequasi modo means ‘almost the standard measure,’ which connotes the skewed shape of relationships in crisis. Everything is almost how it’s supposed to be. The pieces are there but nothing looks quite the way you need it to.

The light in Ann’s parents’ house is without magic, like when the auditorium lights pop on after a play. The story itself points a flashlight into the mouth of a cave and asks how deep people will go for the sake of their loved ones. When is it selfish to distance yourself from a situation? When is it foolish to keep getting closer? “Quasimodo” offers no certain answer to those questions, except to say there is a time and place for everything.

To get your hands on a copy, you can order HERE

This book is an absolute delight, limited to 100 copies, is a treasure to have.

Tune into Sunshine 106.8 tomorrow after the 12'o'clock News - I'll be chatting with the lovely Andrea Hayes!!! And don't forget Crime Fiction the festival is also on tomorrow at Trinity College!!

Irish Crime Fiction A Festival - Trinity College Dublin

Friday 22 Nov & Saturday 23 Nov 2013

Trinity College Dublin and New York University are holding a festival devoted to Irish crime fiction, featuring more than a dozen of the most exciting Irish crime novelists. This will be a memorable event, devoted to a key genre of contemporary Irish writing. 

Among the confirmed participants are Declan Burke, Jane Casey, Paul Charles, John Connolly, Conor Fitzgerald, Alan Glynn, Declan Hughes, Arlene Hunt, Kevin McCarthy, Brian McGilloway, Eoin McNamee, Niamh O'Connor, Louise Phillips, Peter Quinn, Michael Russell, and Stuart Neville. 

Register for Free Event http://buff.ly/1b2m9Tk

Check full Details  http://buff.ly/1b2ma9y

Midday TV3 Interview at Fire Restaurant - Mansion House, Dublin

One of the most pleasant mornings in the city this week, chatting with Andrea Hayes of the TV3 Midday team, along with novelist Claudia Carroll about the Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards Nominations 2013, 'The Doll's House', and 'Me & You'...

Click on image below to view (it's about 30 minutes in)

Voting Link - Irish Book Awards

Click on Image below to vote- Closing MidnightThursday 21st November!!!

If I Was a Child Again -

If you're doing your Xmas shopping early this weekend, can I ask that you keep this lovely book in mind? 100% of the royalties from the sale of this book will be donated to Barnardos educational programmes.

*******

Brief Extract below from my story 'Light Within the Dark'

A number of years back a woman I had briefly met asked me a straightforward question. "What kind of a childhood did you have?" My answer was both short and swift. "Don't go there," I said. Thankfully she took the hint, and didn't. But I still remember the emotional torrent behind my response, even if the woman in question wasn't aware of it. Internally, a tsunami of emotional defense-mechanisms jumped into place. The truth was: I couldn't go there.....

About the book
If I Was a Child Again is a collection of memories and inspirational words from some of Ireland's finest writers, journalists and TV personalities as they tell us what they would do if they could be a child again for one more day. Some recall their fondest childhood memories, some are bittersweet, while others provide uplifting words of wisdom for today's children. This book will make you laugh and cry but, above all, it encapsulates the magic of childhood.

Only 7 DAYS LEFT!!!

The countdown is on...Only 7 days left to vote in the Irish Book Awards!!!! If you fancy giving The Doll's House a vote, scroll down to the Ireland AM Best Crime Fiction Award and cast your vote...it couldn't be easier!!

Spread the word if you can - every vote counts  L

Link HERE: http://www.irishbookawards.ie/vote/

Shortlisted for IRISH TATLER WOMAN OF THE YEAR 2013 - Arts & Literature!!

Delighted to be shortlisted in IRISH TATLER WOMEN OF THE YEAR AWARD 2013 for ARTS & LITERATURE alongside such amazing women!

IRELAND AM TV 3 Interview

For anyone who may have missed the interview with Ireland AM about THE DOLL'S HOUSE Nomination in the Irish Book Awards - you can watch it  HERE

If you want to cast your vote for THE DOLL'S HOUSE or any of the other nominated books, remember the voting closes on 21st November. You can VOTE HERE !!

Ireland AM - Best Irish Crime Novel Award!

If you can, tune into TV3 Ireland AM after 10 o'clock tomorrow (Monday 11th November) when I'll be chatting about THE DOLL'S HOUSE Nomination for Best Irish Crime Novel of 2013!!

Talking The Doll's House and Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards on RTE Television!!!

For anyone who missed the Morning Edition last Friday, you can catch it here on Real Player

http://buff.ly/1cHb0Yi (its the last quarter of the programme!!)

And as it was my first time on RTE television, I took this riveting image!!!

THE DOLL'S HOUSE Nominated for Best Irish Crime Novel of 2013!!

If you would like to give THE DOLL'S HOUSE your vote  

,

 Click HERE and scroll down to Ireland AM Crime Fiction Award!!!

 

I am thrilled to let you know that THE DOLL'S HOUSE has been nominated for Best Irish Crime Novel of 2013 in the Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards!!!

Second year in a row to be nominated, and I'm utterly over the moon.

The announcements were made this morning at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre. The Awards Night Gala Dinner will take place on the 26th November, but I'll keep you posted.

Thanks everyone for all your support!!!

This Year's Nominees are....

The Twelfth Department by William Ryan

The Convictions Of John Delahunt by Andrew Hughes

The Doll’s House by Louise Phillips

Inquest by Paul Carson 

The Stranger You Know by Jane Casey

Irregulars by Kevin McCarthy