I’m extremely happy to have my short story “Box” published in the latest issue of The Liminal Review
The variety of Irish literary journals may suggest there’s no shortage of avenues open for any writer operating in Ireland to publish their work, but as anyone trying to be published knows, the greater the number of journals, the greater the competition. So, it’s hugely gratifying when any journal decides to publish your work.
Please, if you can, enjoy my work, and the work of all of the contributors.
It really has been a shitty few years. There’s no other way of putting it. From the global pandemic to the personal and private, there’s no other way of describing it.
In an effort to bring some semblance of a return to ‘normal’ life, I was finally able to return to the writing retreat at Circle of Missé in France.
To once again be looked after so well by Aaron and Wayne, and to live, temporarily at least, as a writer, was a huge balm to the soul.
It was great to return, even after three years it felt like stepping back into a comfortable home, and it was so nice to share the space with other writers, to eat, to drink, to talk, and to get a lot of work done.
I managed to get nearly 18k words written of a novel I’m working on. The week gave me the realisation that most of these words will be edited out, but in putting them down I have the foundation to pare it all down to the important words I need, so nothing is wasted.
I also got to see these two small paintings on a shelf on the top floor landing, which I think I’ve been haunted by for the last three years in one way or another (painted by a friend of the owners).
As with any attempt to reconnect with the pre-2020 world, there are times when you just have to reflect on those losses that hurt the most.
But the trip was, as I said, a balm for the soul, and of course I got to meet the new queen of Missé, Chips!
A Stain on Silence 