And then ...

‘Goldholdren’ by Kindra Nikole

On the Home Front

The February weather winds have been kind to us here in the Land of The Great White Cloud. In the more than 20 years that I’ve called Wellington home, I don’t remember ever having such a calm and balmy summer. I’ve certainly never swam in the sea as often or as regularly as I have this year and I’m pleased to say, the long summer shows no signs of stopping.

The downside of that, I suppose, is that the obvious connection to climate change. In my limited decades of experience with Wellington weather, I’ve seen a definite - if gradual - change. Its discernibly warmer and we’ve had more extreme weather events in recent times. This is the first year I’ve seen wildlife suffer however. Due to the lack of rain, the local streams have dried up in many places and the tuna (the Maori word for ‘eels’) and other fauna are struggling. Fortunately, last week we had the first full day of heavy rain for three and a half weeks and that seems to have helped a bit.

The photos above are from an evening with friends over in Eastbourne, an isolated suburb on the other side of the harbour from the city and which has a ferry running regularly back and forth. Sitting there, watching people swim and listening to a friend playing a guitar version of Molly na gCuach Ní Chuilleanáin I’d not heard before, I had the sudden sense that summer had reached its peak.

Because it really couldn’t get any better than that particular moment.

Currently In Production

As mentioned last November, responsibilities on the home front have meant I’ve cut back on all non-publishing projects (e.g. screen, cultural advice, etc.) and, for the moment, I’m restricting myself to the projects below.

(1) FIONN: The Betrayal [currently at 82,000 words]

I’ve currently finishing off the last chapter of this book and hope to complete the ‘Historical /Creative Notes’ by the end of the week. The release date remains at 5 April 2025 (the pre-order links [digital only] can be found by hitting the image below) but I’m hoping to send a copy out to paid subscribers in the next two-three weeks. Apologies for the delay with that. I really underestimated how long this would take.

I’ve mentioned before that this has been a complex book to write given the culmination of so many different narrative strands. If you’ve read the first five books in the series, you, might want to have a quick reread before starting this one as it pulls from (or refers to) a lot of elements from those initial books.

There will be a seventh (and last) book in the series which covers the remaining plot elements and other reveals not covered in this one. It will also finalise the direction of the main characters.

(2) Irish Mythology 101 [42,000 words]

With my focus on FIONN: The Betrayal, there’s been no work done on this for a while. See the ‘What’s Next’ section below.

What’s Next?

With ‘FIONN: The Betrayal’ released in April, this frees me up to start the next core writing project from April onwards. I’ve thought long and hard about what projects I want to take on and after two FIONN books (and at least one LIATH LUACHRA book) over the past 18 months, I’ve decided I need a slight change of scene and genre.

I will be returning to these series in 2026, however these are the projects I’ll be working on from April this year.

Project One: BEARA: Cry of the Banshee - Book 1

Yup. I’m heading back to Beara, both physically and creatively this year. I have to admit, I’ve been intending to get back to this series for a while as Beara: Dark Legends still remains the most popular of my books back home. If you’ve been following this newsletter for a while, you’ll know its also the book most people keep demanding a sequel to (to be fair, it was always meant to be a trilogy and its been ten years since I released the first book).

Given the narrative and contextual complexity of that first book (4 years of research and writing/ a complex narrative format with two separate stories), I’ve been reluctant to commit to another Beara project for some time. Recently, however, I found a way to manage that level of commitment against my other responsibilities. Essentially, as well as a trilogy, BEARA will now become a series of six books (three different stories - the trilogy - delivered in two separate books for each).

Confused? Understandable. And probably not helped by a mistake in the image above (it should read ‘Beara Series Book III’). Bear with me. It’ll make sense in time.

Meanwhile, I’ll also be re-releasing Beara: Dark Legends (updated to reflect ten years of learnings with respect to Irish ‘mythology’ and culture since it was last published. As the old saying goes, I haven’t grown ‘wiser’, so much as ‘less stupid’. More on that in next month’s newsletter.

Because of the location and the subject matter, the BEARA books are the most personal of the books I write. Despite the fact that the stories are fictional, they take place in an area where I’ve many generations of bones in the ground, an area where I spent much of my formative years, and an area I’ll always go back to one way or the other. The subject matter also relates strongly to the cultural and ‘mythological’ work I’ve done over the past twenty years and, hence, reflects much that I’ve learned over that time.

Essentially, this book will continue the adventures of Beara-based mythological detective, Mos O’Súilleabháin. The draft blurb reads as follows but this will undoubtably change as I complete the books and produce separate covers.

Beara: Cry of the Banshee

Once again, reclusive historian Muiris (Mos) O’Súilleabháin finds himself drawn out of the shadows, coerced into assisting the police on a gruesome local murder. A dark discovery has been unearthed at the ancient ‘Hag of Beara’, a mysterious landmark with deep ‘mythological’ associations. Mos, with his ‘sixth sense for history’ and ‘skewed’ views of modern convention is considered the ideal man to help solve the case.

Or screw it up completely.

But strange sounds are haunting the barren landscape. Some of the local farmers whisper of a long-forgotten creature, and Mos is struggling to confront secrets of his own, not least the mystery of his own baffling origins.

Beara: Cry of the Banshee is the second in a trilogy of unforgettable Irish thrillers. Atmospheric, compelling and darkly humorous, Mos continues to turn contemporary Irish belief on its head, exposing long lost truths, suppressed for generations.

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Project Two: Irish Mythology 101

That’s right. This is the same book listed above, a book I’ve been working on (on and off) for five years or more.

Given the explosion of Plastic Paddy Mythology via social media over the last 10-12 years (see below), I probably should have published this years ago. I’ve written an article on ‘Social Media Mythology’ for paid subscribers, which explains some of the reasons I started this project and some of my thoughts on the approach I might take. Again, I probably should have done this many years ago but, hey, life has a way of tripping you up or distracting you when you least expect it.

At this stage, the intention is to release this work with the Beara III book. The reason for this is because different people absorb information and knowledge in different ways. For some people, absorbing information from a turgid textbook is a lot harder than picking it up subliminally through a narrative that’s entertaining at the same time. Beara III will articulate a lot of the findings in a more accessible narrative format but if I can fight off my ever-growing army of dependents, I might also develop an audio/video resource. I’ll see how feasible all that is in a year’s time.

[As I was writing this newsletter, an email actually came in from one of the Irish universities with a whole bunch of research papers I’ll have to analyse for this project. Shit! I’ll just have to be careful not to bite off more than I can chew.]

Project Three and Four: ‘Audio Project’ and an ‘Online Store’

I’m currently in the process of trying to adapt one of my books into audio form. This is really just a pilot at this stage but I’ll share the result with paid subscribers later this year. No release date assigned as yet.

I’m also in the process of setting up an online store where I can sell what I want to sell and provide people on this newsletter with output I can’t provide via the likes of Amazon/Apple etc. I’ve never really enjoyed working with large, tax-dodging, global corporates for my creative work and, over the years, they’ve become increasingly predatory and harder to deal with. My overall objective is to separate myself from them to a much larger degree (if not completely) and this online store will be the first step in that direction. Hopefully I’ll have some news on that next month.

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An Angry Warrior Woman

‘Now, there’s a glare,’ said a gruff voice to her rear, ‘that would knock a bird from its perch. A glare that would carve calm through the wild waves of a stormy sea. A glare that would grind solid stone to powder.’

Liath Luachra turned to face the source of the voice: a solid pillar of a man with a long, unruly beard, a mass of curly brown hair and several white battle scars carved in parallel down the left side of his face.

‘An Giobach,’ she said calmly.

‘Grey One.’

The big man stood before her, his great arms folded, the bulk of him blocking the slanted light of the late afternoon sun, his face a fearsome sight of mashed lips and missing teeth. ‘Early start for the fian season,’ he commented.

[Scene snippet from 'Liath Luachra: The Seeking' - the ongoing adventures of an Irish warrior woman in ancient Ireland]

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The End

That’s it for February 2025. This month, the ‘Paid Subscriber’ section includes:

• Part Two of the Second Chapter from FIONN: The Betrayal. This is probably where the hidden elements of the plot really start emerging from the shadow. Hopefully you’ll have the full book in your inbox in two weeks time.

• Article on ‘Social Media Mythology’ - Here’s a wee taster on that and my various thoughts on how to approach Irish Mythology 101

  One of the more interesting patterns I’ve noticed on social media over the last decade or so, is that if you search for ‘Irish Mythology’, for the most part you’re unlikely to find it. That’s to say, you won’t find any actual information on what ‘Irish Mythology’ is, where it comes from, how it affects us today, and how you should - or should not - use it.

  What you will find, however, are endless posts on Oirish Mythology/ fantasy stories (always in English) or faux cultural history/folkore delivered by people with specific agendas in mind. Some of these are commercial (suck people in with the subject and get them to buy stuff), some are political (suck Irish-interest people in with the subject and get their contact details), some are religious (Christian, Pagan, Wicca - take your pick, they all pretty much want the same thing), but the most part are …

Meanwhile, it’s already sweltering in the office and I’ve got an appointment to hit the cooling waters the Cook Strait. I’ll be back again at the end of March

Until then ..

Slán go fóill!

Brian