Tuesday, March 18, 2014

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE FOR IRISH TALES

If there is one thing I have learned in the past year, it's that there is no "season" for Irish stories. True, they may seem more topical this month, but the genre is one of those that is popular all year round.  So it is that I am pleased to be back at Mason United Methodist Church in Tacoma this week, to share more of my stories from A TRIO OF IRISH TALES, and the upcoming A TRIO OF IRISH TALES II.

These gatherings are free (with a goodwill donation accepted) and Denny's cooking is out of this world!  come on by for excellent company, great food, and a story or two

High Noon!  
Wednesday, March 19th

Mason United Methodist Church
2710 North Madison Street
In Tacoma Proctor District

Click Here for a Google Map


Monday, March 17, 2014

GOD BLESS ALL HERE!

Why do I love St Patrick's Day?  Why is it as essential as Christmas in my annual pantheon of celebration?

It has never been about the green-beer-pub-crawling sort of revelry.  And I assure you, MY corned beef
Cardinal Paul Cullen, related on the green side 
and cabbage is not the washed out sort of mess that often comes out of other stew pots.  In fact this year I am not even going to have a chance to make "my" corned beef as my new housemate is not a fan of it (baked in Guinness and served over al dente steamed cabbage).  It will be all I can do to manage some colcannon tomorrow, after a big project is delivered.  So again, why?

I think the answer lies in my father, passed these twenty five years or more.  Somehow, in celebrating my very Irish heritage I am celebrating him.  I share his deep longing to travel to Ireland and visit the the places told of in family stories, learn about our ancestors.  It's a hope I haven't given up on.

So yeah, maybe my Saint Patrick's Day, and my writing of Irish tales, has a bit of the yearning that all children of the diaspora reflect. Or maybe I just loved my Dad, and I miss him.

How will I be celebrating?  It might not be all the corniness of "faith and beegorah", but I will be managing Corned beef and cabbage for lunch, and I will be reading Maurice Walsh's THE QUIET MAN in Second Life this evening, and watching the film with Mom (probably tomorrow).  My celebration might be a little like Sean Thornton's cottage in the 1951 film - with roses all around, the paintwork trimmed in emerald green and not the more durable red, and an Irishness that only comes from America. But my parents loved the John Ford film, and I have since fallen in love with the Walsh's short story - indeed with all his short stories.

Alas I cannot stream my reading tonight and share it, much as I would dearly love to - copyright still forbids. So I share these links with you who also yearn for a land beyond green, where the wee folk still dance around the oaks, and the air is ancient and fresh with heather.  ~ Slainte'

The Quiet Man - a short story by Maurice Walsh

The Quiet Man - an award winning motion Picture Directed by John Ford

Monday, March 10, 2014

'TIS THE SEASON TO STREAM!

With one book in review and one about to release, it is time to share previews of the newest story collections! I will be streaming live not once, not twice, but FOUR times in the next week.

On Wednesday, March 12th at 7pm Pacific, I will be sharing selections from A YEAR IN TULFARRIS by friend Caitlin Walsh with excellent photos by her husband, Alfred Hellstern.  Cait and her family celebrate Saint Patrick's Day in Ireland, enjoying the delights of March on the Emerald Isle.


I will be streaming selections from  A TRIO OF IRISH TALES II, at two different times this week Check out the Judy's Stories Live! tab for dates, times, and how to access the stream from YOUR computer.

What adventures await in A TRIO OF IRISH TALES II ?

Two Houses - a newlywed couple on their honeymoon in Ireland discover a mystery: two houses incredibly alike but one thrives while the other is in ruins.  They are drawn to and connected with this very Irish puzzle in a way they could not have foreseen.

The Fairy Tree - Young Liam is back! (from The Shadow by the Gate) Armed with a new sense of belief in the unseen, he confidently goes back into the Wicklow countryside and discovers the power and the danger of getting what you wished for.

A Rock Beyond - Patrick is always left behind, or so it seems.  Eager to prove himself, he vows to spend the night at Teach Duinn, the gathering place of the dead on the most western crag of Irish soil.  What will Pat find beneath the rocks, among the waves, and beneath the cliffs?  Will he find himself?  Or perhaps he'll discover more than he bargained for!
Tune in and check out these emerging adventures!