Castle Bridge in Buncrana, County Donegal is impressive. It has stood crossing the Crana River near its mouth for 300 years this year. Brigid Rose Higgins, local Inishowen artist, has captured the solid strength and serene beauty of the bridge in her recent acrylic painting. It is really beautiful. The Buncrana Castle Bridge has an
We have said every year that St. Patrick’s Day should be a national holiday. Even as early as the 9th and 10 century Saint Patrick’s feast day was being celebrated. The 17th of March is the traditional death date of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. We do take the day off. Be sure
Nick loves the movie Top Gun. He watches it over and over, singing the songs while following the story line. In case you are not familiar with the story line, this is a spoiler alert! Goose dies. Nick always tells us at that pivotal point in the movie, “Goose is dead.” It is like he
I watched a facebook video the other day that had gone viral. A brave young mother tearfully shared her feelings about her life caring for her child with autism. She said, “Some days it is not ok.” My heart swelled with pride and compassion for her, then clamped down with fear. I couldn’t read the comments
Yesterday, at the end of the day I thought, “Today was an ordinary day during tax season.” I met with clients, I worked on files in between appointments, made phone calls, talked to Arden and Nick, I was tired, ate meals, etc. Typical day, nothing special. Then, almost immediately, little vignettes of the day flooded
Every day when we wake up, it is a clean slate. Oh we have made plans and scheduled events, but as my mom always told me, “man proposes, God disposes!” Nick woke us up last night at about 2 am coughing and sneezing. We did get back to sleep after a little while, but this
Today in the car we were singing along to an ’80’s station on the radio. Then Kool & the Gang’s hit song “Cherish,” came on. Nick loves this song. It was very moving to hear him singing along with the chorus, “Cherish the love we have We should cherish the life we live Cherish the
What happened! I was so motivated, again. I had all the best intentions, I bought all the right stuff. Clothes, equipment, I even got a cute water bottle. Glass of course. I started out dedicated and gung-ho. This time it was going to be different. Again. I did great for two weeks. I rode my
Nick was about seven when he finally gained the skills to feed himself. It was a long road, but he finally got there. He spent many years, three meals a day, eating food that was pureed in a blender. It was the only consistency he could manage to swallow without choking. Then he graduated to
Today we watched the NFL Super Bowl game. I always find the ads interesting. Some are funny and some are strange. But the ones that I remember best are the ones that show the athletes competing in the upcoming Winter Olympics in South Korea. All of the athletes that I saw on TV today, both
Announcing that I have finished a book with the working title of “The Fairy Fort.” I am currently pitching it to publishers. Keep checking back to watch the progress of my newest novel.
Here is a quick glimpse of the story.
Sarah Doherty is an 18-year-old living in rural Ireland at the tail end of the Great War. Plagued by severe epilepsy, she is protected by her parents and lives a sheltered, secluded, lonely life. The Fae, local Irish fairies, interfere with her life. She falls forward a century in time through the local fairy fort of standing stones. She had a seizure in 1918 and woke up in 2020. The 21st century world includes life-saving prescriptions, physical comforts and the independence and freedom she seeks. The locals are welcoming and Andy Mclaughlin, a handsome young historian, is intriguing. She doesn’t want to return home.
Then a letter arrives from Boston divulging the story of Sarah and Andy’s lives that are deeply entwined in the previous century. They are not yet in love but as they seek to verify the letter through online resources, they feel a growing obligation to their unborn family and to each other. What would happen to their posterity living in Boston if they don’t return to 1918? Even if they do make it back, her parents can never know what happened to her or that would change everything.
This Young Adult time-travel romance explores the question: Do we have the freedom to make choices or is free will an elaborate illusion?
This is my third book. I love reading time travel romances. I am an advocate for epilepsy awareness because my 43-year-old son has intractable epilepsy. As a genealogist specializing in Irish research, I live part of the year in the village where the story is based. I wrote the book to help young adults understand that difficult situations can change your life. Sometimes miraculously.
