In My Happy Place

Last weekend, I took part in the brilliant UCDFest, a festival held on the campus of UCD, or University College Dublin. UCD is not only my alma mater but also a place I worked for several years. It’s a haven of happy memories for me, and because of the state of the world since 2020, I haven’t been there in such a long time – so it was a real joy to get to go back, and to visit The Campus Bookshop (one of the places I used to work), and, of course, to talk about books and creativity with some very cool young (and not-so-young) readers.

A display of my books, arranged beautifully by Colm and Clare in the Campus Bookshop, UCD

I delivered a talk called How To Be A Storyfinder (which is one of my faves), where I try to encourage young folk to join me in being a Storyfinder – essentially, a person who notices all the stories that are everywhere, lurking in plain sight, hiding around corners and up trees and wrapped around lamp-posts, just waiting to be discovered. Stories are always looking for imaginations to land in, places where their seeds can take root and grow – so, who’s to say that imagination can’t be yours?

I got to meet some very lovely people, I was given a Harry Potter examination (which I failed, getting one question right out of four fiendishly difficult ones), and I answered some excellent questions: how long does it take to write a book? (As long as it takes!) What’s it like, getting published? (Tough, and challenging, but very worth it) Which of your books is your favourite? (I can’t answer this one!)

Thanks to all the UCD crew for organising such a super – and incredibly big – festival, and a HUGE thanks to the staff of The Campus Bookshop, especially my wonderful former manager Colm and his colleague Clare (who has been one of my favourite people for a few years now, despite us never having met in person until last weekend) for setting up such a gorgeous space, facilitating the talk, and letting me scribble on some books, and the HUGEST thanks of all to everyone who came to hear me, those who wandered in and just happened to stay, those who listened to me reading from SKYBORN, and those who bought some books at the end. You’re all stars! And I’m a very grateful author-type.

Me in my ‘Author Space’ with my name in lights (whiteboard marker counts!) (Photo: G. Connors)

SKYBORN is one year published as of last Friday, speaking of which, so if you fancied picking it up, giving it a whirl, and maybe leaving a review in one of the usual online spots, that would be fab?

Hope to catch you at an event some day soon!

What I’ve Been Up To

Hello! *waves*

So, it turns out that this whole parenting-writering-life thing is pretty hardcore. It eats away at your time, and before you know it whole months have gone by. Since I last saw you all back in April, I have done some or all of the following:

• Kept self (and kid) alive and mostly happy
• Finished an intense second draft of my second book
• Written to hundreds of schools and libraries across Ireland and the UK
• Begun to think about a potentially Exciting New Project
• Led a writing workshop at the Hinterland Festival in Kells, Co Meath

I think you’ll agree, that’s quite a lot of Things!

My name badge from the Hinterland Festival! Photo: SJ O’Hart

I really enjoyed the workshop at the Hinterland Festival, and I’m so grateful to the organisers for inviting me along. I led a group of hardy young explorers on a polar adventure where we learned about dogsledding, named our dogsled team, and wrote thrilling adventures on the ice – all on a swelteringly hot day! It was huge fun.

I’m also preparing for a writing workshop next week in Ballyroan Library in Dublin where I’ll be discussing Monsters, Mythical Creatures, and Heroic Tales with a bunch of brave storyfinders. We’ll be uncovering what makes monsters tick, and using our insights to write stories of courage, cunning and (perhaps?) a little magic…

My second book – about which I’ll hopefully be able to tell you more in the next few months – has officially been redrafted, and so I’m expecting edits from both sides of the Atlantic over the next few months. To save myself from chewing my fingernails to the quick while I wait, I’ve been dipping my toe (or my quill?) into a new project, about which I can tell you precisely zip. Zero. Zilch. So, let’s hope all goes well there, and I can let you all in on the secret – eventually!

Annnnd… best of all, I’ve been writing to loads of schools and school libraries across Ireland and the UK, sending out packs of signed prints, bookmarks, and whatever else I can put together. It has been the most rewarding thing to see my little gifts arriving and to know they’re on display, where they’ll hopefully foster a culture of reading among the children who see them. Thank you to every teacher and librarian who has been in touch with me – I really appreciate your interest and support! And if you’re a teacher or librarian who’d like to hear from me, do get in touch.

Next month it will be a year since The Eye of the North came out in the US and Canada, and six months since its publication in the UK and Ireland. I reckon there’ll be a giveaway in the works, so if you don’t already follow me on Twitter, now’s your chance. I’m far more likely to be talking about it over there than I am to be doing it over here, so it might be worth your while.

So, that’s all for now. I’m off to wander in dreams for a bit, to see what I can see… If our paths happen to cross, do be sure to say hello. Until next time: Never stop adventurin’!