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Horror Fiction – 4 Tips to write a Terrifying Story

September 25, 2017 in Writing Tips

Horror fiction is a genre that has lasted the ages, transcended generations and left a mark in literary history. From Bram Stoker to Stephen King, horror writers have left a mark on the literary scene and resonated with readers all around. So much so that readers are left turning on their light at night to ward away the dark. Which, let’s be honest, is part of the fun. Here are 4 of our favourite tips for making writing terrifying your readers: Maintain mystery to maintain fear Fear of the unknown […]

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The Parting – Patrick Stack

June 11, 2013 in Books

“I’ve always had a love for the sound of language,” Patrick says. “As a child and teenager I would regularly take down one of the four volumes of The Imperial Dictionary of the English Language from the shelf in our living room and read it. This had belonged to my paternal grandfather who died when my father was 7 or 8 years old. I was enthralled by the little lithographs scattered throughout its pages to illustrate some obscure word, and fascinated by the etymological information in each entry. I was […]

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The Boys of Ballycroy – Kieran Ginty

March 27, 2013 in Books

A full-time public servant, Kieran Ginty qualified from the University of Limerick with a BA degree in Public Administration. Originally from Ballycroy in Co. Mayo, he is now settled in Limerick. This week, I had a quick chat with Kieran about his newly printed novel, his first, The Boys of Ballycroy. First off, I asked Kieran how it all started. “People who have read the book estimated that it must have taken me at least three years to write,” he said, “but I actually did it in less than 6 […]

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Irish Poetry with Sean O’Muimhneachan

December 15, 2012 in Books

Sean O’Muimheachan, a primary teacher in Macroom, printed with Selfpublishbooks.ie a casebound book of his poetry. I had a quick chat with Sean and asked him where it all began. “I was born and reared in a rural Gaeltacht area, Gaeltacht Mhúscraí,” said Sean, “and received my primary and secondary education in that area; I’ve
 spent all my working life there. Very boring you might say! Not at all.
This is an area of natural beauty, steeped in history and culture and with
plenty of sporting and cultural activity throughout the year. […]

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Young At Heart

December 12, 2012 in Books

Young at Heart – a Celebration of Ten Years is a compilation by Phil Goodman which chronicles the activities of a group of volunteers in the Douglas area who meet on a weekly basis and call themselves ‘Young at Heart’. The book was launched at St Columbas Hall, Douglas, Cork on November 26th by Kathleen Lynch, Minister with special responsibility for the elderly, pictured above with Frank Kelly of Selfpublishbooks.ie and Phil Goodman. This group was formed by Phil ten years ago who saw the need to focus attention on […]

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Kilclooney Woods by Micheal O’h-Aonghusa

December 1, 2012 in Books

Last week, Selfpublishbooks.ie printed Micheal O’hAonghusa’s new book, Kilclooney Woods, a brief history of Fenianism and the events of 1867 in East Cork. I had a quick chat with Micheal and asked him if he had always wanted to write. “I have never been into writing,” says Micheal, “but I have always been into history, and especially local history. I was involved for years in Republican politics, and at the age of 23 (I am now 76) I was organising commemorations of Peter O’Neill-Crowley at Kilclooney Wood. That wasn’t surprising, […]

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Radio Blaa Blaa by Brian Kennedy

November 29, 2012 in Books, Uncategorized

Brian Kennedy’s first book, Confessions of an Exeter City Nut, was self-published before being taken up by a small publisher in England. His 2011 book, Just Follow the Floodlights was published by Liffey Press and went to No.1 on Amazon’s English Football League Bestseller List on 4 different occasions. I caught up with Brian to talk about his new memoir, Radio Blaa Blaa. Brian was a man born with a pen in his hand: “I’ve always been writing one thing or another from an early age. I used to do […]

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A Certain Time, A Certain Place

November 26, 2012 in Books, Uncategorized

Selfpublishbooks.ie are reprinting Katherine O’Riordan’s memoir, A Certain Time, A Certain Place and luckily I got to catch up with the author herself. Katherine O’Riordan was born in Macroom town where she lived for twenty-one years until she married and moved to Cork. I asked her where the writing began. She said, “Those years I spent growing up left such a lasting impression on me that I was forever writing down memories as they came, in the hope that one day my children and grandchildren would get a glimpse of […]

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‘Valentia’ by Catherine Conlon — Christmas Bestseller!

November 22, 2012 in Books, Uncategorized

Set in contemporary Ireland, this novel follows the lives of the various members of the O’Sullivan family during a pivotal five-month period which marks a number of important transitions in all of their lives. The main backdrop for the action is the remote and magically beautiful island of Valentia in County Kerry, one of the most westerly points of the country. The author, Catherine Conlon, is a medical doctor and lecturer in Public Health and Epidemiology in UCC Public Health Department. Married with 4 children, living in Blackrock in Cork, […]

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The International Charity Bazaar Cookbook

November 20, 2012 in Books

The International Charity Bazaar was founded in 2006 by the wife of the then Pakistani Ambassador to Ireland in order to raise money to provide relief to the victims of the devastating earthquake in Pakistan. Since then, the Bazaar has evolved and is now a firm future on the social calendar in Dublin. It had long been the wish of the organising committee to publish a cookbook of international recipes in order to raise funds. This week I caught up with the woman who led the project, Siobhan Denham. I […]

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