Copper has long played a role in the lives of the people of the southwest Irish coast, and when we ventured to Allihies and the abandoned mines on the tip of the Beara Peninsula, I knew the beautiful scenery and history of the area would play a role in my books. In THE ANGEL, Boston folklorist Keira Sullivan investigates a mysterious story told to her in a Boston kitchen by a woman whose Irish grandfather told it to her — he’d first heard it himself in the copper mines. In THE MIST, Will Davenport and Lizzie Rush are back on the Beara Peninsula, ultimately because of that same old story. Life and fiction have a way of going in directions we can’t always foresee…but it can be lots of fun!
I’ve never seen Ireland or Boston in the flesh but, oh my, I certainly know it in my heart through your books! In 1968 my poem ODYSSEY was published in “The American Bard”’s 50th anniversary Year issue (page 13). Your books reminds me of it so much.(I am now 81). I’d like to share with you how your writing affects me…I love it!
This searching mind of mine reads eagerly Pages and pages about distant lands:
Living adventures, intrigue, romance and danger On rampaging seas and hot, undulating sands.
My armchair becomes a sailing schooner Filled with pirates and buccaneers.
As I turn the pages I am back in “The Twenties” With tin lizzies, bangled dancers and racketeers.
I roam through western hiills to see sunsets Described in vivid colors by Zane Grey.
The rugged world of James Jones leaves me breathless, I weep when legendary heros go astray.
Jules Verne takes me around the world, then sea-deep To where the Nautilus stands by.
Kipling guides me through dusty streets of India Where turbaned, brown-skinned boys fight and die.
Have I missed so much by not traveling, by staying home for all these years?
Why, I have toured the world from the depths of my armchair…
Then why does this melancholy bring forth such tears?
Keep up the good work. Looking forward to reading “The Mist.”
Tonye