December 7, 2024, at 2:00 pm The place. One hour before the book launch no chairs were set up in the event space. No tables for the books or for the Irish tea refreshments had been cleared. My publisher had teased me about having a book launch in a plant store. I write historical fictionContinue reading “Launch of “The Darkest Midnight in December””
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Spancil Hill Book Launch Playlist
Artists: Téada, referred to as a “traditional band with a worldwide reach,” has been one of Ireland’s leading traditional bands for more than two decades. They have appeared at major music festivals internationally including Rainforest World Music Festival, Penang World Music Festival, Edmonton Folk Festival, Harare International Festival of the Arts and World Music FestivalContinue reading “Spancil Hill Book Launch Playlist”
Pronunciation Guide for Spancil Hill
Pronunciation Guide for Spancil Hill The story of Cahey in Spancil Hill begins in Ireland in 1885 when he was only seventeen. As I researched the book, I wanted to be able to keep the dual languages he had learned at great risk to him at the time. I researched the pronunciations but I amContinue reading “Pronunciation Guide for Spancil Hill”
Leara’s Lore #11: For the Love of Horses
Writing a novel was hard work. The research needed to learn how to care for horses in the late 1800s was difficult. I did not have a lot of time. I began writing Spancil Hill in 2018. I finished it in 2023. It was published in 2024. I was teaching full time at UGA until 2020 so I could not devote time to the book until 2021. I enjoyed the research, learning about Irish history and culture in the late 1800s, and Shire horses.
I had finished the book and reread it to discover that I had to get four Shire horses from Galway to Boston and then New York in forty days
Leara’s Lore #10: Writing Friends for Decades
Forty-five years ago, Chuck Conner and I met at a writers’ conference held at Epworth-by-the-Sea on St. Simons Island, Georgia. We were both working full-time jobs and trying to write on the side. Chuck attended Emory at Oxford College and was accepted into Emory University School of Medicine on a full scholarship and graduated with..
Leara’s Lore #9: Book Signing at AthFest
As summer temperatures climb in Georgia, gardening and getting a much-needed walk must be done in the morning. Afternoons are set aside for writing, editing, and housekeeping, inside with air-conditioning. Saturday afternoon, though, I requested a slot during AthFest to sign copies of Spancil Hill between noon and two.
Leara’s Lore #8: Book Launch in Words and Pictures
My task as a writer is to create images out of words, to set scenes, to choose dialogue that will tell more of the story. I tossed about in my head for several days the argument of is “a picture worth a thousand words.” My resolution is that both writing and photos are important. As I display photos from the book launch, which are wonderful and have meaning mostly for me, I must attach context of the people and the photographers. There is more of a story here than just the photos.
Leara Rhodes 