Poems and Stories

Headed up to Baronscourt in Northern Ireland last week (halfway between Omagh and Strabane)to put on two days of writing workshops for the Pushkin Trust. Founded by the Duchess of Abercorn, it's a wonderful programme involving students, teachers, student teachers, artists (writers, painters, musicians, composers etc) and environmentalists, from both sides of the border. The writing workshops are held in a log cabin by a lake, with a wood stove and candles. I've run workshops there for adults, but this week it was primary school children. Decided to use some Native Canadian artifacts I had collected in my travels, i.e. a rain stick, a birch bark berry basket, and a moose horn. They inspired wonderful poems and stories.

It's Here!

My advance copy of the Abrams edition of The Light-Bearer's Daughter arrived today and omigod, it is only gorgeous! All goldy and shimmery. I couldn't have imagined a book more beautiful than the first two and yet here it is. It is due out in American bookstores as of May 1. Readers in other countries can order it online from amazon.com. (Sorry, but still no sign of my Canadian publishers bringing out the new versions.) At 348 pages, it is almost three times the size of the original. This is the most thorough re-write of all the books and I am very pleased with it. Excerpts will be published in the May online edition of the prestigious Journal of Mythic Arts, www.endicott-studio.com. They are doing a Spring Special on Young Adult literature. Will keep you posted about that.

The Summer King (Trailer, Fan Made)

Look at this! A fellow blogger found it on YouTube. (Thanks, Salerio!) I think it's fabulous. You know, I don't mean to crow, but I've always noticed that my readers tend to be particularly creative and brilliant.

Good News, Bad News

Well, the good news is that my American publishers, Abrams NY, have decided to publish The Book of Dreams as a big Fall book in September 2008, so there is no rush on the revisions. In fact, the manuscript doesn't have to be in till September of this year. Given that the book is over 500 pages, this is brilliant. The bad news, of course, is that I am majorly dossing (Hiberno-English for procrastinating) at an even worse rate than usual. Still, I am reading a chapter a day and making notes and Finn is reading it too, being my first editor. Yes, I pay her. A tenner plus taxi service. Now, must go read Chapter 22.

Spadina Bus

Here it is, back again. Lost it when trying to fix a problem for Firefox users. Aside from it being a hoot, this video reflects what I am working on right now. Toronto - and Spadina Avenue itself - both feature in the last Chronicle of Faerie.

Writer on the Web

Canadian author Richard Scrimger has finally got his act together and put up a website. Of course it's a hoot, like himself. Have a look at www.scrimger.ca. And, yes, I clicked on the "Nothing" bar first. Bet you do too.

Lá Phádraig Punk

Here's the song that Gwen and the leprechaun are listening to on the Triumph Herald radio in The Hunter's Moon. Yep, it's The Rocky Road to Dublin by the Dropkick Murphys. Hup ye boyos!