Irish Tongues are Twistin’ in LORD APOLLO & THE COLLEEN

Lord Apollo & the Colleen is now on the launch pad and nearing its release date of June 15th! Although it’s a sequel to my Victorian romance, Larken, the focus is on characters who were secondary to the plot in the first story. There will be other sequels, so I’ve titled the series Graceling Hall, after the King brothers’ Newcastle estate. Here’s the blurb:

Five years after his supposed death, Theo King has returned to Graceling Hall…but a mystery remains. A stranger is buried in his grave, and nobody knows if his death was accidental…or murder. As Theo resumes his former life, the dead man’s sister shows up on his doorstep to hold him accountable. If he helps this Irish spitfire solve the mystery, will she finally leave him in peace?

There were some challenges in writing Lord Apollo, not the least of which was accurately depicting the Irish accent of Megan Shields. She’s from Belfast, where the residents have a distinctly different brogue than other parts of the country. I listened to a myriad of “Accent Tag” videos on YouTube, which were interesting, but I was looking for more of how Northern Ireland residents phrase things. My search led to some interesting videos, like this one:

However fascinating that interview was, it didn’t help me at all! I found some actors, who’ve studied the dialect:

I also found another wonderful resource, IDEA (International Dialects of English Archive), where I could listen to various regional accents, from all over the world. The link to accents from Northern Ireland is HERE.

I came across a fun blog post HERE, entitled: Belfastisms: My struggle with the Belfast Accent. Oddly enough, a Tripod article about Northern Irish HERE was the most helpful.

All that being said, I couldn’t really write the Northern Irish accents faithfully, because after a while it became exceptionally tedious to read! Don’t worry, though. I left enough Irish flavoring in for fun. ~ S.G. Rogers

Excerpt:

A commotion in the entrance hall drew his attention just then as a young woman remonstrated with the butler to let her pass. Rowe gave Theo a startled glance. “Perhaps you spoke too soon?”

When the argument continued, Theo set down his cup. “It seems Seagate needs help.” Before he could take more than a few steps, however, a dark-haired woman dashed through the doorway.

“Which one o’ ye is Theodore King?” Her Irish brogue was thicker than the froth floating on top of the hot cider.

“Sorry, sir, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.” The butler grabbed the woman by the arm.

“It’s all right. Let her go, Seagate,” Theo said.

“As you wish, sir.”

The woman wrenched herself free from the butler’s grasp and glared at him. “I’ve half a mind to slap ye for puttin’ your hands on me, ye big galoot.”

Theo caught Seagate’s eye and dismissed him with a movement of his head. After the butler left, he bowed to the newcomer.

“Theodore King, at your service.”

“Are ye nigh? My name is Megan Shields, and you’re responsible for the death o’ my brother.”

Startled gasps came from the room’s occupants.

Theo peered at her with dawning comprehension. “You’re Paddy’s younger sister?”

“That I am.”

Lord Apollo & the Irish Colleen is available for pre-order HERE!

Graceling Hall, Book One. Larken

The sole survivor of a train accident, young Larken Burke is dubbed the Miracle Orphan. Four years later, however, her life is far from fortunate. Because of her emotional and physical scars, she believes she’s un-marriageable. With little hope for the future, she agrees to wed a gentleman she’s never met. Unfortunately, his aloof manner proves difficult to take.

Marked by romantic tragedy and the loss of his brother, Brandon King has forsworn marriage. Obliged to take in a ward, he advertises for a mail-order bride to raise the boy. Since the union is to be a marriage in name only, his criteria are youthful age, a certain level of intellect, good breeding, and that the girl shouldn’t be so ill-favored she would embarrass him in society. To his dismay, he gets more than he’d bargained for.

Will it take a miracle for Mr. and Mrs. King to fall in love, or is their marriage another accident waiting to happen? Larken is available HERE.

Tagged: Graceling Hall Series, Larken, Sequel to Larken