My first published short story, A World Apart, was written about a woman trying to make sense of her new home in an adopted country and deal with problems she hadn’t faced before. Although it isn’t autobiographical, it reflected my thoughts as I settled into life in rural Ireland a decade ago – and came face to face with the odd cow. I drew on irritations I experienced – being at the end of the pipeline and having to wait for the cattle water troughs in the area to be replenished before I could get a drop of water from my kitchen tap and waging a running battle to keep cows off our newly laid lawn. I had vivid images of these experiences in my mind as I penned the story; it was fun to relive it as I wrote. A World Apart was published in Ireland’s Own magazine as well as a local history anthology, Fermanagh Miscellany, before it became the lead story in my short story collection, Dancing Shadows, Tramping Hooves.

To celebrate National Short Story Week Dancing Shadows, Tramping Hooves will be free on Amazon Kindle US & UK from Wednesday, 19^th November until Sunday, 23rd November.

Lead by A World Apart, Dancing Shadows, Tramping Hooves is a collection of half a dozen short stories with Irish connections. Tales of outsiders who discover they belong, a humorous slice of life yarn, heartwarming love stories and a tale of taming fear. The shadows are on the wall, in the heart and clouding a woman’s memories while tangible foes tramp through the physical landscape.

The stories were previously printed individually in a variety of publications, including Ireland’s Own magazine, Dead Ink Books’ website, and several writing anthologies.

Click on Amazon US or Amazon UK to download a copy.