Pics of the Fair!!!

I had an absolutely amazing day yesterday at the LONDON BOOK FAIR - it was such a buzz. 

I learned lots of stuff, I had some wonderful conversations, and I totally enjoyed the Opening Ceremony within which Donal Ryan was announced as the Irish Winner of the European Prize for Literature. 

Sometimes though, pictures speak louder than words, so here's a flavour....

London Book Fair!

Off to the London Book Fair in the morning, so anyone on the early Aer Lingus flight at 6.40 please give me a wave or private message me! I was delighted to be invited to the opening ceremony at the Olympia Conference Centre and the reception afterwards.

The Irish Winner of  the European Prize for Literature will be announced at the end of the opening ceremony and it was an honour to be on the judging panel. 

Shortlist authors are:-

Deirdre Sullivan, Primperfect (Little Island, 2014)

Donal Ryan, The Spinning Heart (Doubleday Ireland, 2012)

Mary Costello, Academy Street (Cannongate Books, 2014)

Winners!!!

The 3 WINNERS of the LAST KISS Paperback/Lipstick Competition are Dawn O'Brien from Facebook and Sharon Benidorm Byrne from Twitter and Facebook and Joanna Ryde Twitter....Well done Ladies and HUGE THANKS to everyone who shared!!! smile emoticon 

Competition Time!!

The great news is that the small paperback of LAST KISS is now in Tesco's. It is also available in Easons and at all good bookshops nationwide....phew. 

To celebrate the smaller paperback being available, anyone who shares this news on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin or Blogger, will be in with a chance to win a copy of LAST KISS along with some killer lipsticks!!! There will be 3 Winners in all pulled out of the proverbial hat, and all shares and comments are much appreciated!!!

Competition closes at 6 p.m. Sunday 12th April 2015!!

The Eagle has landed!!!

Yay, yay and yay, someone has sent me a pic of LAST KISS in Tesco (thanks Kelly Spillane​) 

It may be a little late arriving, but it's there and the competition is still on! So to celebrate the smaller paperback being available, anyone who shares this news on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin or Blogger, will be in with a chance to win a copy of LAST KISS along with some killer lipsticks!!

There will be 3 Winners in all pulled out of the proverbial hat on Sunday evening, and all shares and comments are much appreciated. 

Anyone who has shared already is still in the draw but feel free to share again if you can!!

Falling in and out of Love!

Editing can be joyous, chopping and tidying, finding cleaner, clearer ways of saying things, but sometimes it needs you to dig deeper, to find meanings that you know are there but perhaps you didn't grasp them correctly in that first draft, first round experience. 

Yesterday, I fell out of love with the script of The Game Changer, mainly because things weren't going my way. After a number of different approaches on certain elements, the heart of it felt like it was losing something. Today, I am falling back in love again. I'm seeing fresh possibilities instead of problems, so long may that loving feeling continue... 

Exploring the Novel World!!

Exploring the Novel World

With Award Winning Crime Author Louise Phillips

•GETTING THAT BIG IDEA

•WHERE DO GREAT CHARACTERS COME FROM?

•ROLE PLAY

•WORKSHOP EXERCISES

• WHY FIRST DRAFTS ARE TOUGH

•FINDING YOUR FICTIONAL VOICE

DATE: 18th April 2015
TIME: 09.45 to 14.30 
PLACE: Carousel Writers' Centre
BOOKING: www.carousel-creates.com
TEL: 086 1923613
COST (Including all refreshments): €40

Is it sometimes better not to know the truth??

THE LOST AND THE BLIND by Declan Burke (Severn House) gets its official US release April 1st , and early reviews sound great. 

Described as an intriguing new departure for this comic noir writer, it certainly seems very interesting indeed ….

ABOUT THE BOOK:

“A dying man, if he is any kind of man, will live beyond the law.”

The elderly German, Karl Uxkull, was senile or desperate for attention. Why else would he concoct a tale of Nazi atrocity on the remote island of Delphi, off the coast of Donegal? And why now, 60 years after the event, just when Irish-American billionaire Shay Govern has tendered for a prospecting licence for gold in Lough Swilly?

Journalist Tom Noone doesn’t want to know. With his young daughter Emily to provide for, and a ghost-writing commission on Shay Govern’s autobiography to deliver, the timing is all wrong. Besides, can it be mere coincidence that Karl Uxkull’s tale bears a strong resemblance to the first thriller published by legendary spy novelist Sebastian Devereaux, the reclusive English author who has spent the past 50 years holed up on Delphi? But when a body is discovered drowned, Tom and Emily find themselves running for their lives, in pursuit of the truth that is their only hope of survival.

  

REVIEWS:

“Burke shows again that he’s not just a comic genius, but also a fine dramatic writer and storyteller.” – Booklist

“There’s much, much more, and readers with the patience to watch as Burke (Crime Always Pays, 2014, etc.) peels back layer after layer will be rewarded with an unholy Chinese box of a thriller. Make that an Irish-German box.” – Kirkus Reviews

“In “The Lost and the Blind,” Declan Burke weaves plot twist after plot twist together to create a thriller full of mystery and intrigue … Not many authors are capable of successfully pulling off such a complex plot, but Burke does and makes it seem effortless.” – Library Thing

If that sounds like your kind of book, you can find THE LOST AND THE BLIND here

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Born in Sligo, Ireland, Declan Burke now lives in Co Wicklow. A freelance writer and journalist, his novels have been described as ‘Irish screwball noir.’ He is a regular contributor to The Sunday Times, Irish Times and the Sunday Independent, and hosts a website devoted to crime fiction called Crime Always Pays. In 2012, he won the Goldsboro Last Laugh Award with ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL.

Francis MacManus Short Story Competition 2015!

This year marks the 28th 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 are now being accepted for this year's Francis MacManus Short Story Competition 2015.  You can download an entry form here or send a stamped addressed envelope to:

RTÉ Radio 1 Short Story Competition
RTÉ Radio Centre
Donnybrook,
Dublin 4

About The Annual Short Story Series:

Since its establishment in 1986 the competition has been the launching pad, as well as a great source of support and inspiration, for several new and emerging writers. Previous winners include Claire Keegan, Ciarán Folan, Ivy Bannister, Nuala Ní Chonchúir and Martin Malone. The competition was founded in memory of Francis Mac Manus: the Kilkenny-born novelist, short story writer, biographer and former Head of Talks and Features at Radió Éireann.

The 2014 short-listed entries can be heard on the RTÉ Player at www.rte.ie/radio1/francis-macmanus-short-story/

Unleash your Dark Side!!!

ADVANCED CRIME FICTION WRITING - One Day Course Saturday 9th May at the Irish Writers Centre.

Available for booking from this week, but there are ONLY 3 places left! So if you are interested, get booking! 

This course is aimed at writers who have completed an introductory creative writing course and/or are currently writing a crime fiction novel. It will focus on plot development, hot seating your principle characters, incorporating tension and a fast pace into your story, one with page turning quality, and how best to create effective dialogue. There will be a series of workshop exercises, along with a talk from a crime scene professional.

For more details click HERE