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April 2012

Great news about e-books! The rights to my Dalriada Trilogy have now reverted back to me in every country in the world except the US. My old US publisher is supposed to be putting those out, though I have no idea when. In the meantime, I am putting the e-book versions out myself! In a few weeks they will be available on all the major platforms and retail stores outside the US. I might also offer them on my own website. This means all income will go direct to me in the future, which helps keep me writing. And readers get much cheaper books. So it's a win-win!

February 2011

I am now gearing up for the launch of The Raven Queen on February 22. So far, I have a guest blog at the well-known site Writer Unboxed on Feb 28th, and a radio interview on Sedona Talk Radio going out on St Patrick's day, March 17th. There are some blog interviews coming up, too, so will keep you posted. The first review has come out, from Romantic Times, and is posted on the press page.

October 2010

Finally finished all the edits on the manuscript of The Raven Queen and handed it in! Yay! Its release date has been set - February 22, 2011. I will send out a reminder to everyone to (hopefully) get their copy as close to release date as possible. It's one of those annoying PR type things, but it helps us authors out A LOT if people kind of buy in the first week or two after release. Just asking!

I am now having a break - finishing a big manuscript while renovating one's house and then moving across the world kind of takes it out of ya. Spending my time settling into Washington DC and enjoying all the falling leaves!

April 2010

Husband and I have taken a job contract (his) for two years in Washington DC. Have always wanted to live in the US for a while. I have loads of loyal American readers, so it's great being in the same timezone. The end of 2009 was a huge rush - sorry the book is late! My husband had to move to the US ahead of me, while I fixed up our Scottish cottage to be let as a holiday home. Writing the end of a book while tradesmen hammer and saw (and curse) all around you is not much fun! I kept extending my deadline (am very grateful to my understanding editor) before finally handing the book in and flying out to join my husband in America. Then got embroiled in rewrites, tucked in between a knee operation, a trip back to Australia to see my mother, and some other necessary travels. Did I mention that I'm sorry the book is late?

March 2009

My new book The Swan Maiden came out on February 24th in the US and Canada. It should be available at all the usual places. It is available in the UK and in other countries through Amazon UK or Amazon US (see below left beneath cover). 

It is the first part of a two-book series based on ancient Irish myths.

Read an interview with me about it on author Michelle Moran's (Nefertiti) blog here

The Swan Maiden is a loose retelling of the tale of Deirdre of the Sorrows - my favourite myth. The second book (on which I am  working) is called The Raven Queen, and is a "reimagination" of the life of Queen Maeve and her part in the famous Irish epic, The Tain. It's all juicy stuff, with my usual mixture of romance, adventure, swordfights and Celtic spiritual goings-on.

No one has written a novel about Deirdre for many years, and though The Tain has been novelised by Morgan Llewellyn and George Green, both stories were from the point of view of the Irish hero Cuchulainn. In my new books, I wanted to focus on  strong female characters instead, as they struggle to survive in a man's world.

The Deirdre myth is about an old king lusting after a young woman, trapping her in an unwanted betrothal. She takes her life into her own hands, though, throwing off the king's shackles to run away with the young hero Naisi. Their passionate love frees her, but brings disaster to Ireland. It is thought this ancient tale inspired the similar but later story of Tristan and Isolde, and there are shades of it in the love triangle of Lancelot, Arthur and Guinevere. The  theme of true love's defiance in the face of a disapproving society drives Romeo and Juliet, and of course, the story of Helen of Troy. Hope you like it! To see the cover, read the blurb or buy the book, click here »

PREVIOUS NEWS

Writing involves long periods of doing not much but writing! The lead times on books are long as well, so 2008 for me involved not much more than sitting at my desk looking out at the rainy and beautiful Scottish hills.

However, I was ecstatic when the manuscript of The Swan Maiden, my first for my new US publisher Bantam / Random House, was rapturously received by my editor in June.

Going back to January, the third novel in my previous Dalriada trilogy was published by Overlook Press under the title of Song of the North in the US, with a new cover. The first two books, The White Mare and The Dawn Stag, are available from Amazon and other online retailers. Note that The Song of the North is known as The Boar Stone in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

2007 involved ... hmmm ... more writing! The most exciting thing was reaching out to the US market and my growing band of loyal readers there. I was taken on by a wonderful agent, the famous Russell Galen of Scovil Galen Ghosh. He is the agent for my two literary heroines - Diana Gabaldon, and Marion Zimmer Bradley, who sadly passed away a few years ago. I started writing because of those two authors, and in fact I wrote The White Mare because I loved Marion's The Mists of Avalon so much. Because my books are set in Scotland / Ireland and have the same mixture of romance and action - plus in Marion's case, Celtic spirituality - I get compared to both these writers, which is humbling but also very satisfying.

Rights queries: Russell Galen
at Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency

Publicity queries: Kathleen Rudkin
at Bantam Dell