The Last Lost Girl by Maria Hoey

This is a debut novel published by Poolbeg under their new Poolbeg Crimson imprint which offers 'Fiction with an edge'.  This is the story of Jacqueline Brennan. Set in two time periods; the long hot summer of 1976 when Jacqueline's sister Lily disappeared and years later when Jacqueline returns to her home at Blackberry Lane to look after her aging father. We learn that Jacqueline is the youngest child, the misfit, the loner. Lily was the beauty queen, while middle sister Gayle was the homemaker, the peacemaker. Jacqueline's family have never been able to shake off the sadness, the mystery surrounding the unexplained disappearance of Lily and one by one they had scattered, all except for her Dad who had remained in the family home, stagnant. When Jacqueline returns it as though time has stood still. In 1976 Jacqueline had tagged along after her older, glamorous sister, never quite accepted, a nuisance. Lily had been seeing a boy who worked at the carnival and he had been questioned by police but no-one was ever arrested and Lily's body was never found so Jacqueline has always harboured the hope that her sister simply ran away that she is out there somewhere, waiting to be found. An old postcard of an English seaside town gives Jacqueline a clue about where to start her search but Jacqueline learns as much about herself and her place in the world as she does about her missing sister. This is a beautifully written book about family, secrets and growing up. It's a thriller but it's also very much a family story. Excellent writing. I found it unputdownable.

Thanks very much to Poolbeg for a copy. The Last Lost Girl is out now in paperback. 

For the love of Martha by Maria Murphy

Maria Murphy's debut novel is a romantic, atmospheric and haunting mystery. Set in two time periods; the book features two budding romances: Juliet a young photographer falls for handsome researcher Logan Pershaw when the two meet on holiday in Florence and in 1880 teenage governess to the Pershaw family; Martha White falls head over heels for the dashing new doctor. However although Martha is long dead her spirit does not rest easy and when Juliet visits Logan at his family home in County Monaghan she finds that not only is the house haunted but so is her young man. A search through the family archives reveals that for generations the Pershaw men have died young. Juliet must discover why Martha is haunting the Pershaw family if she is to have any hope of a future with Logan. This is a well written, fast paced and intriguing debut. If you enjoyed The Secrets of Armstrong House or Tyringham Park then you will love this book.

The House Where It Happened by Martina Devlin

This book has become one of my all time favourites because it's fantastically well written and a wonderful page turner but it also includes many of my favourite elements; witches, mystery, ghosts, history it's all here. It's set in 1711 and based on the real events surrounding Ireland's only mass witch trial. Just as the belief in witchcraft is beginning to fade, in a quiet corner of Ulster where superstitions and fear took root easily a young woman, a newcomer but a member of a respected local family begins to accuse one woman after another of torturing her through the power of witchcraft.
The author has fictionalised the events though the narrative remains essentially true to the actual accounts of the incident. The story is narrated by Ellen the 18 year old maid at Knowehead House where Mary Dunbar was a guest when she began to make her claims of being attacked by witches. As the community begins to fall under Mary's spell, Ellen is not entirely convinced however she cannot ignore the strange and brooding atmosphere at Knowehead and she is certain that the house is haunted. This is the story of two very different young women; one pampered and indulged, the other hard working and forced to grow up quickly. It's a story of class politics, religious fervour and how the echo of past wrong can reverberate through a community. Whether like me you are interested in the history of witchcraft or you simply enjoy a rattling good yarn then I highly recommend this book. The writing is wonderful, following the Ulster Scots dialect gives it an authenticity but it is not difficult to read. Placing Ellen at the centre of the story is a genius move as it means like her we watch the entire drama unfold. One of the best books of 2014.

Friday Feature Author Martina Devlin

Martina Devlin is an Omagh-born author and journalist. Her eight books range from historical novels – The House Where It Happened and Ship of Dreams – to non-fiction including Banksters and The Hollow Heart. She writes a weekly current affairs column for the Irish Independent and has been named columnist of the year by the National Newspapers of Ireland. Short story awards include the Royal Society of Literature’s VS Pritchett Prize and a Hennessy Literary Award. Martina's latest book is The House Where it Happened published by Poolbeg's Ward River Press.
Her website is www.martinadevlin.com


Q&A with Martina Devlin


1. Do you plan the story first and then do the research or does reading and research spark ideas?
The research sparks ideas for me. I have a general idea of plot, themes, and so on, but I have to hunt for the characters and wait for them to flesh out.

2. Do you think historical fiction is enjoying a resurgence and why is that?
It never went away, for some of us fans of the genre. But yes it does seem to be having a moment. The past fascinates some readers because we can see where wrong turns were taken but are powerless to shout: Not that way, this way! The end result is already cast. Or is it because we like to replay what-ifs and wonder how they might have changed the course of history? Perhaps it’s nostalgia. Or that we learn while we read. There could be any number of reasons.

3. What draws you to writing about the past?
I’m a history buff. Researching these novels enthralls me. For some bizarre reason, I like to know how much a stamp cost in 1711, and whether or not a servant girl was allowed a half-day off a week.

4. Do you have a typical writing day?
Where possible, I try to write in the morning because my brain is less cluttered and I have more energy, consequently the work is better. It doesn’t always pan out that way, but that’s the ideal. I’ve been adopted by a tortoiseshell cat, who comes and lies in the sun near where I work, and I find her presence soothing. And she seems to find the click-click-click soothing, too. So it’s mutually beneficial, a useful combination.

5. What are you working on now?
Another novel, speculative fiction, in which the protagonist is an outsider trying to make sense of a strange world. I didn’t set out to write speculative fiction, I just wrote the story as it came to me – and was somewhat surprised, at the end of the first draft, to discover that’s what it was. Makes me sound like a hapless channel for stories, doesn’t it? I usually have a short story on the go, too.


Martina's Five Favourite Books

In no particular order, and I could change my mind about the list tomorrow:
1. Samuel Pepys’s diaries, which he kept between 1660 and 1669. He was so fascinated by life. So fascinated by himself. So fascinating to me, hundreds of years later. He blended the personal and the panoramic, and his diaries are a porthole into the social history of his era, the English Restoration.
2. Star of the Sea by Joseph O’Connor because he blends detective and historical fiction to produce a cracking read of Dickensian dimensions. His character Pius Mulvey is compelling. So, too, is his famine narrative.
3. I find myself returning to Seamus Heaney’s poetry: the vividness of the imagery, the strength of the narrative, the love underpinning the portraits of his family – peeling potatoes with his mother, “Never closer the whole rest of our lives”; watching his aunt make scones, “And here is love/Like a tinsmith’s scoop”; the pen pictures of his father in old age. The Economist compared his death to a great tree falling.
4. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte – a revenge story, a love story, a sad story, a masterly story. And it’s set on the haunting Yorkshire Moors. What more could a reader ask for?
5. As a child I was entranced by the Anne of Green Gables series, about an orphan girl sent by mistake to a farm in rural Canada owned by a middle-aged brother and sister. I admired how LM Montgomery refreshed the orphan-made-good formula. However, I should point out that I may have had subjective bias because the heroine had red hair and so do I.


Martina's Top Five writing tips

1. Re-write, re-write, re-write. Cut and polish. No substitute for it.
2. Don’t wait for the muse to strike. Just do it. Start writing. Even if ‘writing’ is a euphemism for staring at a blank screen. Eventually the words will flow.
3. Ask yourself, how would I tell my story in one sentence? Have a clear idea what it’s about.
4. Know your characters inside out: their motivations, their speech patterns, their back story. Make them flawed – nobody is perfectly good or irredeemably bad.
5. Be selective about TV viewing – no need to give it up entirely but be conscious that it can suck you in for hours, so only switch on for specific programmes. Ditto with rummaging round on social media and the Internet. Those lost hours could be spent writing.

Irish Kids Publishing, A Golden Age

It seems that Children's Publishing in Ireland is going through a golden age and long may it last. The announcement of a new Laureate Na Nóg; Eoin Colfer and Marie Louise Fitzpatrick winning the CBI award have both brought Irish books for children into the limelight. However there is so much more going on in the world of publishing for children at the moment, especially for older children and teens and it seems O'Brien Press are in the vanguard. O'Brien publish Erika McGann who has recently won a UK books award for The Demon Notebook which was also chosen for a nationwide UK schools reading programme. They also publish Sheila Agnew's debut Evie Brooks is Marooned in Manhattan the first of a series which is getting fantastic reviews and great coverage in the media. Another outstanding O'Brien author is Nicola Pierce whose latest book City Of Fate was recently picked as a Lovereading book of the month. O'Brien have also branched into the YA market with the incredibly successful Missing Ellen by Natasha Mac a 'Bhaird pitched in today's Irish Independent as a a teen "Gone Girl" and the award winning Rebecca series by Anna Carey. Later in the year O'Brien will be releasing a fantastic YA Fantasy series based in Dublin from Ruth Long and bound to appeal to fans of former CBI winner Celine Kiernan. 

Not to be left behind Poolbeg have brought out some fantastic non fiction titles the In a Nutshell series of Irish myths and legends. These will soon by followed by a new historical title from Claire Hennesey called Seeds of Liberty. Little Island champion some fantastic fiction in translation as well as home grown talent like Sheena Wilkinson and the amazing YA author Deirdre Sullivan. Mercier meanwhile have been quietly publishing the brilliantly written Arthur Quinn series by Alan Early which are perfect for fans of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson and deserve more attention. 

I am only mentioning a fraction of what is out there and I think the efforts of all the writers and publishers working in children's books is enormous. Thanks to you all for producing such brilliant books.

The Incredible Life of Jonathan Doe by Carol Coffey Guest Review by Margaret Madden of Bleach House Library

A Guest Post from my lovely friend, book club buddy and fellow blogger Margaret Bonass Madden of http://bleachhouselibrary.blogspot.ie/ 

Having read Carol Coffey's previous novels, The Penance Room and Winter Flowers, I was delighted to see this on my To-Be-Reviewed pile.  I am a big fan and was dying to see if this new novel was as good as her others.  I was not disappointed.

Brendan is forced to go to live with his Uncle in New Jersey after a brush with the law.  He has also to complete some community service as part of his bail conditions.  A big change for a man in his 30s who lived a pretty self centered life in New York. 

His ex-cop Uncle is hard, tough and extremely old school.  His Aunt is meek and mousy.  Their daughter, Eileen is a nervous, shy  woman who is completely controlled by her bullying Father.  However, Brendan and Eileen form a bond and the changes in their lives mean their days become a bit more bearable for both of them.

Eileen introduces Brendan to staff and residents at a local homeless shelter where she  volunteers, and this is where Brendan meets the unusual character, Jonathan Doe.  Found as a child severely battered, neglected and abused, he has lived at the shelter for years and no one knows where he came from or why he speaks fluent Spanish. This man's story becomes too intruiging to ignore and Brendan decides to investigate the man's past, despite warnings from staff to let it be.

The characters in this novel are just perfect.  Warmly researched, the attention to detail that has been afforded to the individual stories leads to some of the best writing I have come across for years. The concept of what a home is, what family means and how our past can influence our future is delicately interwoven throughout the chapters and you can almost feel as if you are in the middle of the wonderful story along with the cast. 

There are several threads throughout the book but they are so well linked that there is no apparent divisions. Smooth, sleek and compelling, the wonderful characters just tug at your heartstrings and you are wishing them well as they explore their past, present and future.

Similar in style to the 2009 BestSelling " The Silver Linings Playbook " by Matthew Quick, this underrated novel by Carol Coffey deserves a chance to be up there with the best novels of 2013.

Highly recommended.

" The Incredible Life of Jonathan Doe " is published by Poolbeg.

Thanks to Poolbeg for a review copy of this great book.

In The Postbox

It's been a while since I posted up photos of books I have recently received and in the last few weeks I have received quite a few especially since becoming books editor for mumstown.ie. So here are a few of the lovely things that came in the post.

I was lucky enough to win these two lovely books Black Diamond by Jennifer Loiske is a YA fantasy which I won from http://jerasjamboree.com a fab website which features great reviews, interviews and giveaways. The Perfume Garden by Kate Lord Brown has a gorgeous cover with a shiny embossed title which I couldn't stop looking at, this photo doesn't do it justice and I won this from http://www.novelicious.com/ which is the website for women's fiction whether you love to read it or you want to write it. I am looking forward to reading both of them but in particular The Perfume Garden as the plot sounds like a Kate Morton or Victoria Hislop so it's perfect for me. It'll be some time before I can indulge though as I have a number of books to review.

The next book I'll be reading is this one After Flodden by Rosemary Goring which I am reviewing for lovereading.co.uk its set in Sixteenth Century Scotland and I can't wait to get stuck in.

After that I have an appointment with some medieval assassin nuns, that's right it's the second book in Robin LaFevers wonderful His Fair Assassin series and Anderson Press have kindly sent me a debut YA novel which they are publishing this May which they are billing as a cross between Chaos Walking and Stand by Me so that sounds irresistible.

Having seen the author's whirlwind tour of Britain and Ireland in which she managed to do interviews with BBC Breakfast, Ireland AM, RTE Radio 1 and Newstalk and sign books for Eason and Dubray I was intrigued by this title which is a fictional examination of the treatment of Mary Mallon known in popular history as "Typhoid Mary" who was locked away for carrying the deadly fever. Mary Beth Keane has been named by America's National Book Foundation as one of the "5 under 35" so hers is a career to watch. Thanks to Gill Hess for sending this out to me.

Some more lovely historical fiction has arrived from the lovely Frances and Madeleine at Little Brown The Painter's Apprentice by Charlotte Betts. The author's first novel The Apothecary's Daughter won the Historical Romantic Novel category of The RNA awards in February that book is still in TBR pile but I will read both of them soon I promise. Also a proof of the new Elizabeth Chadwick The Summer Queen is the first in a trilogy about Eleanor of Aquitaine I have been a fan of Elizabeth's for a long time so it's exciting to read this as publication is not until June.

Here are some gorgeous kids books which I shall be reviewing shortly. I have reviewed Dolores Keaveney before and she was kind enough to send me her most recent books. I love her vivid , exuberant style. Poolbeg have sent me The Salmon of Knowledge from their In a Nutshell collection and lastly The History Press have sent the adorable Dolls' Hospital Diaries a gorgeous book full of photos which I can't wait to tell you about and which my eight year old daughter is loving. 

Next up some great Irish fiction and poetry. My Father's House by Bethany Dawson is published by Liberties Press a great Irish publisher who publish the very talented Joe Murphy and I am looking forward to finding out more about this one while Love is the Easy Bit is also a debut from Mary Grehan. Penguin Ireland kindly sent this out and as it deals with the motherhood and post natal depression it is a story I am bound to connect with. Dedalus Press have sent me The Bee Loud Glade and anthology of Irish poetry on CD and Máighréad Medbh's Savage Solitude which i am finding fascinating. 

This pile is a mixture of books that were sent to me to review on the blog, that I picked up at work in Waterstones and that I bought myself. If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch was kindly sent to me by Nina at Indigo/Orion and is a YA debut publishing in May. Dead Silence also YA and publishing tomorrow was sent by the lovely Sam at Headline. The Hidden Gift by Ian Somers was sent by Clare from O'Brien Press and Calling me Home by Julie Kibler is a book I'm very excited about it was sent to by Sophie Orme at Pan Macmillan. I am aslo delighted to have been sent The Rook by Daniel O'Malley and Penelope by Rebecca Harrington. I also hope to read How to be a Good Wife, Tigers in Red Weather and Ten things I've Learned about Love asap.

That's about it for now but do stay tuned for new reviews and giveaways coming soon.

Author Interview with Shirley Benton

 Shirley Benton is the author of Can we Start again? and Looking for Leon, Pictured below. She was a panel guest at The Literary Ladies Evening which I hosted last summer in Drogheda and she is pictured below with fellow Irish writers Michelle Jackson and Helen Moorhouse. 

        1.   Did you always want to write?
Oh yes, particularly when I was younger and was being asked what I wanted to do when I grew up – mind you, I kept that to myself whenever I had my consultations with the career guidance teacher at school. Even back then, I knew I’d be told to do something else if I ever wanted to make a living. It was always at the back of my mind, though, even when I went on to work in industries that weren’t in any way related to writing. I always thought the sense of achievement of seeing your book on the shelves would be huge, and I aspired to experience that feeling one day myself. 

2. What was your favourite book as a child?

When I was very young, it was the series of Noddy books by Enid Blyton rather than just one particular book. I moved on to Enid’s obligatory Malory Towers and St. Clare’s books, then graduated to the Sweet Valley High series by Francine Pascal. 

3.When/where/how do you find the time to write?(do you have a separate writing desk or room?)

I have an office – a very neglected office. The daily plan is that I spend at least three hours there at night after the children have gone to bed. The reality is that I grab time here and there during the day because I usually don’t have a block of three hours in the evenings, due to various family and work commitments. When the plan occasionally works out, it is fabulous – but the reality is more frantic than the aspiration!

4.Who/what inspires your writing?

The fact that I know this is what I want to do for a living inspires me to write, although that’s possibly more of a motivation than an inspiration!

5. What advice would you give aspiring authors?

If writing a book is something you really want, you have to be prepared to sacrifice something and just make the time for it – not tomorrow, not next week – today. It could be something as simple as cutting out a TV show that lasts an hour and you’re not really keen on it anyway. There’ll always be a reason to put off writing your book, but you owe it to yourself to try if it’s what you really want – and nobody will do it for you or make that time for you. It’s entirely within your control to make your dream a reality, and that’s a powerful position to be in.

6.What's the best advice you ever got?

I suppose it’s an offshoot of what I said above – it’s the old Nike classic, 

           7.Do you have a favourite fictional character that you love to write about? 

I actually don’t. I guess people writing a series of books would, but all of my books are standalone. 

8.Have you ever/Would you ever base a character on a real person?

No 

9.why? 
I think it’s asking for trouble to do that, because I’m sure some folks would recognise themselves! I also think it would exploit people. Even for “nasty” characters, I would never base one on someone I didn’t like in real life. 


10.What do you think of people who dismiss women's books/popular fiction as chick lit and say it is a passing fad or just frivolous?

If it’s a passing fad, it’s a very long one! I don’t think women’s fiction as a genre will ever be defunct. As regards frivolity, well, I personally think chick-lit is a misleading label that doesn’t accurately reflect the content of the vast majority of women’s fiction books. I can think offhand of various books that are classed as chick-lit and deal with alcoholism, depression and coping with death. If those issues were explored in a book written by a man, would the book be dismissed as being frivolous? 

I often wonder what exactly is/are the distinguishing factor(s) between a book written by a woman and aimed at the female market that isn’t classified as chick-lit, and a book written by a woman and aimed at the female market that is classified as chick-lit. For example, I recently read   a book written by a woman that focuses on a love story, and this particular book is very much not being marketed as chick-lit. However, a lot of women’s fiction that contains love stories will instantly be classified as chick lit. So what’s the difference? Is it the humour? The tone? And if so, aren’t these criteria rather subjective and arbitrary anyway? Why are some books deemed to be so much more worthy than others?

Personally, I don’t let the label worry me too much. As long as people who read my books enjoy them, I’m happy. However, I do think the dismissal of chick lit as fluff is disempowering for women – but I choose not to let that get to me, and I focus on enjoying what I’m doing instead.

11.How do you think the e-book will affect the book world and your career in writing?

I hope it can only affect it in a positive way, in that it will help authors – including me - to reach a wider audience. 

12.How long did it take to write your first book?

It took eleven months to write, if I remember correctly. 

            13.What's the hardest part about writing?

For me, time is always my enemy. There’s always so much I want to do relating to writing, but there’s only so much time you can make in your schedule to perform writing-related tasks without neglecting some other aspects of your life. It’s not enough anymore to write a book and get it published – you need to actively make sure it meets an audience and get involved in marketing it, and that takes time. I really enjoy it all, but I am usually scrambling to find time to do everything I need to do!

14.What do you think of the 50 Shades phenomenon? what next?

I haven’t read any of the trilogy and probably won’t because it doesn’t appeal to me at all, but I think it’s just one of those phenomenons that only come along every few years as a result of a combination of factors, and although its success will be analysed and attempts will probably be made to replicate its level of success, it’ll be impossible to do so. As for what’s next, I think I can safely say that nobody really knows – which some people would consider quite frustrating and others would see as being very exciting, because anything is possible.

This will be the last of this series of Interviews as I will be introducing two brand new regular interview features called My Life in Books and My Writing Life. Please get in touch if you would like to take part in either. I am looking for writers, bloggers, publishers, readers basically anyone who works with or loves books.