Martha Geaney's Blog, page 5

Support Independent Bookstores

Indie authors (like me) and independent bookstores have at least one thing in common: we need community and local support. The independent bookstores need our support now, in the time of pandemic, more than ever.

[image error]Indie author, Martha Geaney, taking a writing stint in Mount Dora, Florida

Recently two online retailers have popped up in support of both indie authors and independent books stores. In the US, the retailer is bookshop.org and in the UK, the retailer is http://hive.co.uk

These retailers offer paperback formats of indie author books. At Bookshop, for example, when you order a book you can tag your local bookstore and they will receive the full profit off your purchase. Otherwise, your order will contribute to an earnings pool that will be evenly distributed among independent bookstores (even those that don’t use Bookshop).

[image error]Castle Bookshop, Castle Street, Castlebar

Thank you so much for reading my blog post today. I hope you enjoyed it. Please use the buttons below to share with your friends. If you haven’t already, sign up for my monthly newsletter with stories and updates about Star O’Brien’s adventures in County Mayo, Ireland.

The post Support Independent Bookstores appeared first on Martha M. Geaney.

Irish Halloween Blessing

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NBS9LSV/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i1




[image error]William Murphy, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons



At all Hallow's Tide,
May God keep you safe
From goblin and pooka and
Black-hearted stranger,
From harm of the water
And Hurt of the fire,
From thorn of the Bramble,
From all other danger,
From Will O' The Wisp
Haunting the mire;
From stumbles and tumbles
And tricksters to vex you ,
May God in His mercy
This week protect you.




[image error]Celtic Pooka

Thank you so much for reading my blog post today. I hope you enjoyed it. Please use the buttons below to share with your friends. If you haven’t already, sign up for my monthly newsletter with stories and updates about Star O’Brien’s adventures in County Mayo, Ireland.

The post Irish Halloween Blessing appeared first on Martha M. Geaney.

Up Turlough!

Excited to report that my Schipperke, Turlough, won two agility ribbons today – he qualified and took First Place in the Novice Standard class. When I’m not writing or taking care of family, Turlough and I have been training one day a week for the last two years.

[image error]Turlough’s Ribbons for Qualifying and First Place

Turlough, by the way, is named for the village in County Mayo where my mom was born. Turlough is also an Irish male name which means to be “assistive and comforting”. He is a joy to have in our life! So, here’s a toast to “Up Turlough” and everything it means in our life: mom, our relatives in Turlough, our history in Turlough and to County Mayo.

By the way, the Turlough Museum and the surrounding area play a prominent part in the third book in the Star O’Brien series (coming in spring 2021.)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NBS9LSV/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i1

Thank you so much for reading my blog post today. I hope you enjoyed it. Please use the buttons below to share with your friends. If you haven’t already, use the sign up form below to receive an email when I post something new.

Email Address

Subscribe

The post Up Turlough! appeared first on Martha M. Geaney.

The Flower of France

[image error]The Flower of France

I write a cozy mystery series set in County Mayo, Ireland. So why am I posting a picture that represents the flower of France. If you sign up for my newsletter, you’ll find out why and get to read an interesting document concerning the cottage (French Hill cottage) in the Star O’Brien series.

Thank you so much for reading my blog post today. I hope you enjoyed it. Please use the buttons below to share with your friends. If you haven’t already, use the sign up form below to receive an email when I post something new.

Email Address

Subscribe

The post The Flower of France appeared first on Martha M. Geaney.

Zooming on a Friday Afternoon

“Star O’Brien is a haunting voice for the dead, the missing, and the lost.”

Martha Geaney, Author

Excited about my upcoming Zoom author talk Friday, October 16 with “The Happy Hour Book Club” based in Delaware. I’ll be talking about the first book in the Star O’Brien mystery series, “Death on Clare Island” and other authorly topics. I plan to record the event so watch my website for viewing information.

[image error]Clare Island Lighthouse overlooking the Atlantic Ocean

Thank you so much for reading my blog post today. I hope you enjoyed it. Please use the buttons below to share with your friends. If you haven’t already, use the sign up form below to receive an email when I post something new.

Email Address

Subscribe

The post Zooming on a Friday Afternoon appeared first on Martha M. Geaney.

Let’s Have a Hooley

So, I posted several weeks ago about my mom’s dementia. She’s with us now in Florida and she really misses home in New Jersey. One night after dinner, I was racking my brain to think of something to do because (like everyone else) we are pretty much homebound due to the pandemic. Then, it came to me: Let’s have a hooley.

[image error]Mom

What is a hooley? By the way, I love this word. Hooley has two definitions: (1. a party – an Irish night of traditional music and dance. 2. a strong wind or a gale as in “it’s blowing a hooley'”). Okay so I had the idea. I knew my mother would love a hooley (the party kind) because we grew up surrounded by relatives in the Bronx who played the accordion and sang all the old Irish songs. My dad was always a featured singer at the gatherings. My mother never sang but she loved to dance. My brother John and I went for Irish step dancing lessons when we were kids.

[image error]It’s Blowing a Hooley (Image: PROCarlo Scherer under CC BY 2.0)

So, here we are (Bill, me, and my mom) sitting in the living room and I get the idea. Now all I had to do was find the music. Enter Alexa! my hooley hostess. That’s right. I turned to our Alexa dot that usually sits in the living room (doing nothing – well maybe she’s listens) and I asked her to play one traditional Irish song after another. Bill closed his eyes and tapped his knee. Mom’s feet were moving and I sang along with the music. We asked Alexa to play many of the songs my dad sang. Songs like Black Velvet Band, Wild Colonial Boy, Paddy Reilly, and I’ll Take You Home Again Kathleen.

[image error]An Irish Music Seisiún

Overall, our first digital hooley was a success. My mom said it was fun. And, boy we do want her to have fun and be happy here with us in Florida. What are some of the things you are doing to pass the time together? I’d love to hear from you.

Thank you so much for reading my blog post today. I hope you enjoyed it. Please use the buttons below to share with your friends. If you haven’t already, use the sign up form below to receive an email when I post something new.

Email Address

Subscribe

The post Let’s Have a Hooley appeared first on Martha M. Geaney.

Plotting a Poisoning

What finally drives someone to murder? Passion, anger, jealousy? What kind of person uses poison to commit the deed? Of course, someone who likes to plan! Someone who knows their way around the kitchen maybe? Or the garden? Or an antique shop? Or garage sale?

A is for Arsenic

According to Lucy Zahray, aka The Poison Lady, any number of sinister plants, herbs, and elements can be used to “cut the threads of life”. Looking for arsenic? Go to an antique shop or garage sale and buy fly paper. Yeah, grandma had arsenic hanging around the kitchen in the form of fly paper.

Arsenic Fly Paper

Or, how about that mixed green salad that hubby insisted he make for you this evening? Are you sure, he hasn’t mixed in some datura seeds masquerading as red pepper flakes?

How about some red pepper flakes?

Have you guessed? I’m working some poison into my latest Star O’Brien County Mayo Mystery Series? Still deciding how and whom but I’m a planner so who knows how I’ll sneak the pinch of toxin into the mix. You’ll have to read the book!

Thank you so much for reading my blog post today. I hope you enjoyed it. Please use the buttons below to share with your friends. If you haven’t already, use the sign up form below to receive an email when I post something new.

Email Address

Subscribe

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NBS9LSV/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i1

The post Plotting a Poisoning appeared first on Martha M. Geaney.

Autumn Equinox 2020

[image error]The Falling of the Leaves

The post Autumn Equinox 2020 appeared first on Martha M. Geaney.

Ireland’s Autumn Equinox and Book Giveaway

Hello Star O’Brien fans, click on over to my blog post to learn about my autumn equinox book giveaway.

If you’re like me, it’s been a year in which finding balance was and continues to be challenging. But looking to our Irish roots and the ancient Celts for guidance, I’m celebrating the autumn equinox (when there is an equal amount of day and night) by thinking about how to find more balance in my life.

So, Star O’Brien fans, let me know how you plan to find some balance in your life (by posting in the blog’s comment section at the bottom of the page) and I’ll choose one random winner (on Tuesday, September 22) to receive a free ebook format of the first two books in the Star O’Brien series. http://martha-geaney.com/books

Loughcrew, County Meath is home to a series of cairns, dated back 4000 years B.C.. It is believed that Neolithic farmers built the series of passages topped by mounds of stone. Interestingly, the cairns align with the rising sun of the autumn equinox.

Loughcrew, County Meath

For later generations of farmers, like some of my grandparents and great grandparents, the autumn equinox celebrated the nearing completion of harvest and the hope for bountiful crops in storage for the winter months.

So, here’s what I plan to do…enjoy the early sunrises and start my day with appreciation for life. Carve out a few minutes each evening to enjoy the sunset and be grateful for the people in my life. What do you plan to do? What helps you find balance these days?

Thank you so much for reading my blog post today. I hope you enjoyed it. Please use the buttons below to share with your friends. If you haven’t already, use the sign up form below to receive an email when I post something new.

Email Address

Subscribe

The post Ireland’s Autumn Equinox and Book Giveaway appeared first on Martha M. Geaney.

Autumn Days in Ireland

And all at once, summer collapsed into fall.

Oscar Wilde

September 1 marks the beginning of autumn in Ireland. It’s a time when the weather can be beautiful. Cooler but not too cool. Or blustery towards the evening. All good as far as I’m concerned whether it’s a walk along Barney Road in French Hill or a hike along the Wild Atlantic Way.

[image error]Field along Barney Road, French Hill

Just one year ago this week, Bill and I were in County Mayo, Ireland. It was a wonderful ten days. A time when I got to see cousins and friends at my book signing.

[image error]Book Signing at the Castle Book Shop, Castlebar, County May

Of course, there was the daily trip to Cafe Rua on Spencer Street for coffee and a sweet for my sweet, Bill.

[image error]

One year later, the world has changed. For many, the changes are drastic, tragic, and on some days incomprehensible. But for now, I am grateful for my life, my family, and the blessings we have. I hope all who follow and read my blog can find a moment of peace.

Thank you so much for reading my blog post today. I hope you enjoyed it. Please use the buttons below to share with your friends. If you haven’t already, use the sign up form below to receive an email when I post something new.

Email Address

Subscribe

The post Autumn Days in Ireland appeared first on Martha M. Geaney.