The cover of THE CURSE OF CONCHOBAR shows Skellig Michael in the background. In 2019, I had the pleasure of visiting Ireland. I only wish that I had the chance to visit Skellig Michael while I was there. This book is set in a distant land across the ocean, a land that would someday be known as New York State, but the cover image depicts Conchobar’s backstory. His homeland is often on his mind.
I wonder why they would adopt me, and Three Fingers answers. Sometimes I forget that he can hear me even if I don’t speak out loud. “They think you are good luck. They’ve never seen anyone that looks like you. You might have noticed you don’t look the same as the rest of us do.”
I look down in shame. “I’m not good luck. I am cursed.”
Three Fingers asks, “Why do you think you are cursed?”
It is one of few facts about my family that I know. Lector Beccán told me that Fionán of Clonard brought me to the abbey. It would seem that my father cursed my mother and her offspring. I don’t know much more than that. The only other thing I know about my mother is that she died when I was born and that her name was Rowsheen. Fionán brought me to the abbey so that I might survive and to hide me from my father. Lector Beccán did not believe in the curse, but I do. It seems that bad things happen to me all the time. Like getting lost at sea, for example. Or falling off the path and smashing my head and getting stung by bees. Bad things also happen to people around me, like the men in my canoe.
The healer places his hand on my shoulder and suggests that I look at it differently. “Don’t you think it is miraculous that you survived being lost at sea? It would appear you have also survived falling off the path. The bees couldn’t even kill you. And, has everyone you know been tragically killed?”
Three Fingers is convincing, but I’m still unsure. I want to believe him. I take a deep breath and try to finish my stew. I’m disappointed to know that I’ll be living among a large family. I wish I could just stay in the healers’ lodge, but I know that I’m in no position to make requests or demands. The one time in my life that I exercised my own discretion, I ended up lost at sea. I had better stick with doing what I’m told.
The cover of THE CURSE OF CONCHOBAR shows Skellig Michael in the background. In 2019, I had the pleasure of visiting Ireland. I only wish that I had the chance to visit Skellig Michael while I was there. This book is set in a distant land across the ocean, a land that would someday be known as New York State, but the cover image depicts Conchobar’s backstory. His homeland is often on his mind.
Here’s a video that will take you there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxU6k...
And here’s a little excerpt from Chapter Three:
I wonder why they would adopt me, and Three Fingers answers. Sometimes I forget that he can hear me even if I don’t speak out loud. “They think you are good luck. They’ve never seen anyone that looks like you. You might have noticed you don’t look the same as the rest of us do.”
I look down in shame. “I’m not good luck. I am cursed.”
Three Fingers asks, “Why do you think you are cursed?”
It is one of few facts about my family that I know. Lector Beccán told me that Fionán of Clonard brought me to the abbey. It would seem that my father cursed my mother and her offspring. I don’t know much more than that. The only other thing I know about my mother is that she died when I was born and that her name was Rowsheen. Fionán brought me to the abbey so that I might survive and to hide me from my father. Lector Beccán did not believe in the curse, but I do. It seems that bad things happen to me all the time. Like getting lost at sea, for example. Or falling off the path and smashing my head and getting stung by bees. Bad things also happen to people around me, like the men in my canoe.
The healer places his hand on my shoulder and suggests that I look at it differently. “Don’t you think it is miraculous that you survived being lost at sea? It would appear you have also survived falling off the path. The bees couldn’t even kill you. And, has everyone you know been tragically killed?”
Three Fingers is convincing, but I’m still unsure. I want to believe him. I take a deep breath and try to finish my stew. I’m disappointed to know that I’ll be living among a large family. I wish I could just stay in the healers’ lodge, but I know that I’m in no position to make requests or demands. The one time in my life that I exercised my own discretion, I ended up lost at sea. I had better stick with doing what I’m told.