Louise Phillips's Blog, page 31
March 11, 2016
BE AWARE!!!
CAROUSEL AWARE PRIZE for INDEPENDENTLY PUBLISHED AUTHORS - will close on the 29th April 2016!!! This competition is for all non-traditionally published books with ISBNs published in the last five years. (Limited to those resident in Northern/Southern Ireland)The cost of entry is €50, most of which will go directly to mental health charity Aware. The Competition is sponsored by DUBRAY BOOKS & EASONS.....GET SUBMITTING FOLKS!! Full Details here.....http://writingcap.ie/The 6 categories are: Best Novel to be judged by International Bestselling Author Jax Miller.Best Short Story Anthology to be judged by Bord Gáis Award Winning Author Louise Phillips.Best Non-Fiction Book to be judged by Books Ireland Magazine Editor Tony CanavanBest Poetry Anthology to be judged by Award Winning Poet and Writer Eileen Casey.Best Young Adult Book to be judged by Bestselling Young Adult Novelist Claire Hennessy.Best Junior Book to be judged by Novelist Carolann Copland in conjunction with St. Comcille’s Junior National School, Knocklyon.Carolann Copland of Carousel Creates says, "These awards aim to provide a platform to showcase the cream of Irish Self-Published authors, bringing them to the attention of book shops, distributors and the media in Ireland and abroad. Self-publishing is changing the face of publishing world wide and we think that Ireland could do with a little nudge to help it along."
March 10, 2016
A taste of Irish Crime Fiction 2016!
There was a terrific Book Event with Penguin Ireland at 37 Dawson Street this month. The idea behind the evening was for authors with novels coming out this year, to connect with book bloggers. I saw many familiar faces there, and it was terrific to be in a room with writers and book lovers.
I caught up with three Irish Crime Writers, all female, and two of which are debut novelists. The first, was Vanessa Rohan, the second, was Bernice Barrington, and the third is an author well known to many of you, Liz Nugent, author of Unravelling Oliver.
All of the upcoming novels sound great, and I can't wait to get stuck into reading them. So here's a taster for you all.....
The Last Days of Summer - Vanessa Rohan, 5th May 2016
She can forgive. They can't forget.
After ten years in the Huntsville State Penitentiary, Jasper Curtis returns home to live with his sister and her two daughters. Lizzie does not know who she's letting into her home: the brother she grew up loving or the monster he became.Teenage Katie distrusts this strange man in their home but eleven-year-old Joanne is just intrigued by her new uncle.Jasper says he's all done with trouble, but in a forgotten prairie town that knows no forgiveness, it does not take long for trouble to arrive at their door ...
Sisters and Lies - Bernice Barrington - 24th March 2016
One hot August night, Rachel Darcy gets the call everyone fears. It's the police. Her younger sister Evie's had a car crash, she's in a coma. Can Rachel fly to London right away?With Evie injured and comatose, Rachel is left to pick up the pieces of her sister's life. But it's hard fitting them together, especially when she really doesn't like what she sees.Why was Evie driving when she doesn't even own a licence?
Who is the man living in her flat and claiming Evie is his girlfriend?
How come she has never heard of him?
The more mysteries Rachel uncovers the more she starts asking herself how well she ever really knew her sister. And then she begins to wonder if the crash was really the accident everybody says it is.
Back in hospital, Evie, trapped inside an unresponsive body, is desperately trying to wake up. Because she's got an urgent message for Rachel - a warning which could just save both their lives . . .
Lying in Wait - Liz Nugent - 7th July 2016
The last people who expect to be meeting with a drug-addicted prostitute are a respected judge and his reclusive wife. And they certainly don't plan to kill her and bury her in their exquisite suburban garden.
Yet Andrew and Lydia Fitzsimons find themselves in this unfortunate situation.While Lydia does all she can to protect their innocent son Laurence and their social standing, her husband begins to falls apart.
But Laurence is not as naïve as Lydia thinks. And his obsession with the dead girl's family may be the undoing of his own.
I caught up with three Irish Crime Writers, all female, and two of which are debut novelists. The first, was Vanessa Rohan, the second, was Bernice Barrington, and the third is an author well known to many of you, Liz Nugent, author of Unravelling Oliver.
All of the upcoming novels sound great, and I can't wait to get stuck into reading them. So here's a taster for you all.....
The Last Days of Summer - Vanessa Rohan, 5th May 2016
She can forgive. They can't forget.
After ten years in the Huntsville State Penitentiary, Jasper Curtis returns home to live with his sister and her two daughters. Lizzie does not know who she's letting into her home: the brother she grew up loving or the monster he became.Teenage Katie distrusts this strange man in their home but eleven-year-old Joanne is just intrigued by her new uncle.Jasper says he's all done with trouble, but in a forgotten prairie town that knows no forgiveness, it does not take long for trouble to arrive at their door ...
Sisters and Lies - Bernice Barrington - 24th March 2016
One hot August night, Rachel Darcy gets the call everyone fears. It's the police. Her younger sister Evie's had a car crash, she's in a coma. Can Rachel fly to London right away?With Evie injured and comatose, Rachel is left to pick up the pieces of her sister's life. But it's hard fitting them together, especially when she really doesn't like what she sees.Why was Evie driving when she doesn't even own a licence?
Who is the man living in her flat and claiming Evie is his girlfriend?
How come she has never heard of him?
The more mysteries Rachel uncovers the more she starts asking herself how well she ever really knew her sister. And then she begins to wonder if the crash was really the accident everybody says it is.
Back in hospital, Evie, trapped inside an unresponsive body, is desperately trying to wake up. Because she's got an urgent message for Rachel - a warning which could just save both their lives . . .
Lying in Wait - Liz Nugent - 7th July 2016
The last people who expect to be meeting with a drug-addicted prostitute are a respected judge and his reclusive wife. And they certainly don't plan to kill her and bury her in their exquisite suburban garden.
Yet Andrew and Lydia Fitzsimons find themselves in this unfortunate situation.While Lydia does all she can to protect their innocent son Laurence and their social standing, her husband begins to falls apart.
But Laurence is not as naïve as Lydia thinks. And his obsession with the dead girl's family may be the undoing of his own.
March 9, 2016
Girl Power Tower!
Thank you The Gutter Bookshop for including RED RIBBONS in this awesome tower of female fiction for #InternationalWomensDay #IWD2016
March 6, 2016
Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase!
It is seldom that I read a novel and want to shout about it from the rooftops, but Black Rabbit Hall is one such book. Beautifully written with overtones of Daphne Du Maurier’s, Rebecca, it pulls you in like a magnet, and at times, it’s as if you’re under a spell.
I preferred the story of the Alton children to that of Lorna, but as the novel progressed, Lorna earned her worthy place within the pages.
An utterly engaging fictional world with wonderfully drawn characters, a great sense of place and atmosphere, whilst peppered with magical prose. This book is laden with family secrets, it has both depth and soul, ensuring you will truly forget about the real world as you get deeper and deeper into Black Rabbit Hall.
A certainty for my favourite book shelf, despite being able to predict some of the secrets before they were revealed, and unusually for me, I will read Black Rabbit Hall over and over again. A modern day classic in my humble opinion, and I don’t say that lightly.
ABOUT THE BOOK
One golden family. One fateful summer. Four lives changed forever.
Amber Alton knows that the hours pass differently at Black Rabbit Hall, her London family's country estate where no two clocks read the same. Summers there are perfect, timeless. Not much ever happens. Until, one stormy evening in 1968, it does.The idyllic world of the four Alton children is shattered. Fiercely bonded by the tragic events, they grow up fast. But when a glamorous stranger arrives, these loyalties are tested. Forbidden passions simmer. And another catastrophe looms...
Decades later, Lorna and her fiancé wind their way through the countryside searching for a wedding venue. Lorna is drawn to a beautiful crumbling old house she hazily remembers from her childhood, feels a bond she does not understand. When she finds a disturbing message carved into an old oak tree by one of the Alton children, she begins to realise that Black Rabbit Hall's secret history is as dark and tangled as its woods, and that, much like her own past, it must be brought into the light.
March 3, 2016
A Date for the Diary in August!!!
I'll be doing a week long Intensive Crime Fiction workshop at the Irish Writers Centre in August.
The course will have places for 12 participants, who will meet daily for two blocks of three-hour sessions (9.45 am – 12.45 pm & 14.00 pm – 17.00 pm). The dates are Monday the 14th August - Friday the 19th August.
The modules within the course are suitable for all writers interested in the genre, including those who have done an introductory course in the past.
Full details to follow, but if you're interested, put a note in your diary!!
Irish Writers Centre, 19 Parnell Square, Dublin 1, t: +353 (0)1 872 1302 e: info@writerscentre.ie Louise Phillips is an author of four bestselling psychological crime thrillers, each shortlisted for the Best Irish Crime Novel of the Year. Her second novel, THE DOLL’S HOUSE, won the award in 2013. Louise’s work has formed part of many literary anthologies, and is the recipient of an arts bursary for literature. In 2015, she was awarded a writers’ residency at Cill Rialaig Artist retreat, and she was also a judge on the Irish panel for the EU Literary Award. Her latest novel, THE GAME CHANGER, was published in September 2015 to critical acclaim, and her first two novels, RED RIBBONS and THE DOLL’S HOUSE will be published in the US in 2016 and 2017.
March 2, 2016
I'm so looking forward to being part of this Career Fair ...
I'm so looking forward to being part of this Career Fair ..1,000 5th Year Students...it should be inspiring!!
February 25, 2016
Designing A Killer Book Cover!!!
Coming up with the right cover design for a book takes more than time, talent, patience and skill, it takes everyone involved having a clear vision for the story behind the cover.Four books in, I realise more than ever, that getting the right cover for your book is critical.......READ FULL ARTICLE on www.writing.ie HERE
February 24, 2016
Dagger in the Library 2016!
If you would like to give me a vote in the CWA Dagger in the Library Award...there are only 3 DAYS left...
You can vote HERE
THANK YOU!
smile emoticon
You can vote HERE
THANK YOU!
smile emoticon
February 18, 2016
The Writing Soul....
Sometimes a writer gets a message like this one, and your writing soul takes a little leap....
Dear Louise,
I am compelled to write a note of gratitude. I have just finished reading all your works, Red Ribbons, just before Christmas, The Dolls House, between Christmas and the New Year, Last Kiss, earlier this month and finally tonight, The Game Changer, a gift from my husband for Christmas.
I thoroughly enjoyed every single page and feel like a fish out of water now I don't have any more of your books to read! Please do hurry and release another book. It was an absolute pleasure reading your work and I look forward to see what you bring us readers next.
I'm a big fan of Karin Slaughter, Chris Carter, Thomas Harris and now your good self. The best of luck with your next project. Every best wish and kindest regards from a very entertained and happy reader.
Dear Louise,
I am compelled to write a note of gratitude. I have just finished reading all your works, Red Ribbons, just before Christmas, The Dolls House, between Christmas and the New Year, Last Kiss, earlier this month and finally tonight, The Game Changer, a gift from my husband for Christmas.
I thoroughly enjoyed every single page and feel like a fish out of water now I don't have any more of your books to read! Please do hurry and release another book. It was an absolute pleasure reading your work and I look forward to see what you bring us readers next.
I'm a big fan of Karin Slaughter, Chris Carter, Thomas Harris and now your good self. The best of luck with your next project. Every best wish and kindest regards from a very entertained and happy reader.
February 14, 2016
March is a busy month for Irish Crime Fiction....
Well March is another busy month for Irish Crime Fiction, and here are some of the publications due out soon….
A SAVAGE HUNGER by Claire McGowanThe fourth in the crime series featuring forensic psychologist Paula Maguire by Claire McGowan acclaimed as ‘Ireland’s answer to Ruth Rendell’ by Ken Bruen.Alice Morgan’s disappearance raises immediate questions for forensic psychologist Paula Maguire. Alice, the daughter of a life peer in the Home Office, has vanished along with a holy relic – the bones of a saint – and the only trace is the bloodstains on the altar.With no body to confirm death, the pressure in this high-profile case is all-consuming, and Paula knows that she will have to put her own life, including her imminent marriage, on hold, if they are to find the truth. A connection to a decades-old murder immediately indicates that all may not be as it seems; as the summer heat rises and tempers fray, can Alice be found or will they learn that those that are hungry for vengeance may be the most savage of all?
PENANCE by Kate O’RiordanThe lives of Rosalie Douglas and her teenage daughter, Maddie, are changed forever when they meet Jed, a beautiful, charismatic young man at Bereavement Counselling. Inexplicably and self-destructively, Maddie holds herself accountable for her brother’s drowning accident in Thailand. Jed moves into their lives and their home. Calming the tensions between mother and daughter. He understands the twisted wilderness of grief. Lover and confidante to a besotted Maddie, gentle surrogate son to a grateful Rosalie – on the surface their lives are transformed. But underneath a deadly and morally corrupt triangle is taking shape…Rosalie commits an unspeakable act which forces her to unravel the truth behind the beautiful stranger in their midst. The truth behind the death of her son. And the true extent of just how far she’s prepared to go – to save what remains of her family.
WHAT SHE NEVER TOLD ME by Kate McQuaileWhat do you do when you find out that your whole life could be a lie?What She Never Told Me pulls you in from the first page in its exploration of love and identity, and the complicated bonds that tie families together. An absorbing read (Karen Perry, bestselling author of The Boy That Never Was)
McQuaile displays great empathy for her characters in this tale of an Ireland where the past can never be left behind (Sinéad Crowley, author of Can Anybody Help Me?
SIREN by Annemarie NearyHE STOLE HER LIFE. AND NOW SHE WANTS IT BACK.Róisín Burns has spent the past twenty years becoming someone else; her life in New York is built on lies. A figure from her Belfast childhood flashes up on the news: Brian Lonergan has also reinvented himself. He is now a rising politician in a sharp suit. But scandal is brewing in Ireland and Róisín knows the truth. Armed with the evidence that could ruin Lonergan, she travels back across the Atlantic to the remote Lamb Island to hunt him down. But Lonergan is one step ahead; when Róisín arrives on the island, someone else is waiting for her…
SISTERS AND LIES by Bernice BarringtonOne hot August night, Rachel Darcy gets the call everyone fears. It’s the police. Her younger sister Evie’s had a car crash, she’s in a coma. Can Rachel fly to London right away?With Evie injured and comatose, Rachel is left to pick up the pieces of her sister’s life. But it’s hard fitting them together, especially when she really doesn’t like what she sees.Why was Evie driving when she doesn’t even own a licence? Who is the man living in her flat and claiming Evie is his girlfriend? How come she has never heard of him?The more mysteries Rachel uncovers the more she starts asking herself how well she ever really knew her sister. And then she begins to wonder if the crash was really the accident everybody says it is. Back in hospital, Evie, trapped inside an unresponsive body, is desperately trying to wake up. Because she’s got an urgent message for Rachel – a warning which could just save both their lives . .
PIMP by Ken Bruen & Jason StarrDEALING… PRODUCING…
ALL IN A DAY’S WORK FOR A DRUGLORD.
OR IN HOLLYWOOD.Ruined and on the lam, former drug kingpin Max Fisher stumbles upon the
biggest discovery of his crooked life: a designer drug called PIMP that could put him back on top. Meanwhile, a certain femme fatale from his past is pursuing a comeback dream of her own, setting herself up in Hollywood as producer of a series based on her and Max’s life story. But even in La-La Land, happy endings are hard to come by, especially with both the cops and your enemies in the drug trade coming after you…
A SAVAGE HUNGER by Claire McGowanThe fourth in the crime series featuring forensic psychologist Paula Maguire by Claire McGowan acclaimed as ‘Ireland’s answer to Ruth Rendell’ by Ken Bruen.Alice Morgan’s disappearance raises immediate questions for forensic psychologist Paula Maguire. Alice, the daughter of a life peer in the Home Office, has vanished along with a holy relic – the bones of a saint – and the only trace is the bloodstains on the altar.With no body to confirm death, the pressure in this high-profile case is all-consuming, and Paula knows that she will have to put her own life, including her imminent marriage, on hold, if they are to find the truth. A connection to a decades-old murder immediately indicates that all may not be as it seems; as the summer heat rises and tempers fray, can Alice be found or will they learn that those that are hungry for vengeance may be the most savage of all?
PENANCE by Kate O’RiordanThe lives of Rosalie Douglas and her teenage daughter, Maddie, are changed forever when they meet Jed, a beautiful, charismatic young man at Bereavement Counselling. Inexplicably and self-destructively, Maddie holds herself accountable for her brother’s drowning accident in Thailand. Jed moves into their lives and their home. Calming the tensions between mother and daughter. He understands the twisted wilderness of grief. Lover and confidante to a besotted Maddie, gentle surrogate son to a grateful Rosalie – on the surface their lives are transformed. But underneath a deadly and morally corrupt triangle is taking shape…Rosalie commits an unspeakable act which forces her to unravel the truth behind the beautiful stranger in their midst. The truth behind the death of her son. And the true extent of just how far she’s prepared to go – to save what remains of her family.
WHAT SHE NEVER TOLD ME by Kate McQuaileWhat do you do when you find out that your whole life could be a lie?What She Never Told Me pulls you in from the first page in its exploration of love and identity, and the complicated bonds that tie families together. An absorbing read (Karen Perry, bestselling author of The Boy That Never Was)
McQuaile displays great empathy for her characters in this tale of an Ireland where the past can never be left behind (Sinéad Crowley, author of Can Anybody Help Me?
SIREN by Annemarie NearyHE STOLE HER LIFE. AND NOW SHE WANTS IT BACK.Róisín Burns has spent the past twenty years becoming someone else; her life in New York is built on lies. A figure from her Belfast childhood flashes up on the news: Brian Lonergan has also reinvented himself. He is now a rising politician in a sharp suit. But scandal is brewing in Ireland and Róisín knows the truth. Armed with the evidence that could ruin Lonergan, she travels back across the Atlantic to the remote Lamb Island to hunt him down. But Lonergan is one step ahead; when Róisín arrives on the island, someone else is waiting for her…
SISTERS AND LIES by Bernice BarringtonOne hot August night, Rachel Darcy gets the call everyone fears. It’s the police. Her younger sister Evie’s had a car crash, she’s in a coma. Can Rachel fly to London right away?With Evie injured and comatose, Rachel is left to pick up the pieces of her sister’s life. But it’s hard fitting them together, especially when she really doesn’t like what she sees.Why was Evie driving when she doesn’t even own a licence? Who is the man living in her flat and claiming Evie is his girlfriend? How come she has never heard of him?The more mysteries Rachel uncovers the more she starts asking herself how well she ever really knew her sister. And then she begins to wonder if the crash was really the accident everybody says it is. Back in hospital, Evie, trapped inside an unresponsive body, is desperately trying to wake up. Because she’s got an urgent message for Rachel – a warning which could just save both their lives . .
PIMP by Ken Bruen & Jason StarrDEALING… PRODUCING…
ALL IN A DAY’S WORK FOR A DRUGLORD.
OR IN HOLLYWOOD.Ruined and on the lam, former drug kingpin Max Fisher stumbles upon the
biggest discovery of his crooked life: a designer drug called PIMP that could put him back on top. Meanwhile, a certain femme fatale from his past is pursuing a comeback dream of her own, setting herself up in Hollywood as producer of a series based on her and Max’s life story. But even in La-La Land, happy endings are hard to come by, especially with both the cops and your enemies in the drug trade coming after you…
