Writing.ie - We Have Lift-Off

writing.ie - aka ‘the home of Irish writing online’ - went live over the weekend, hosted by the ever resourceful Vanessa O’Loughlin. The website aims to be ‘a resource that will grow week by week to include all aspects of writing’, and incorporates guest bloggers, workshops and courses, events listings, ‘Meet the Author’ sections, and more.
  Yours truly has a piece in there, an interview with THE BURNING author Jane Casey (right) that first appeared in the Evening Herald. Quoth Jane:

“My husband is a criminal barrister,” she says, “and he always gets very annoyed when you get this incredibly gothic killer with a complex backstory in books and films. He says, and it’s true, that people who kill in this fashion do it because they enjoy it, full stop. So I wanted to write about the reality of what it’s like to look for someone who just likes to kill.”

  For the rest, clickety-click here …
  It’s only fair to say that Vanessa admits that the project is very much in the embryonic phase, but even at first glance the site seems to be top-heavy with women writers - of the 15 authors currently featured, only three are men. A reflection of the fact that women are better at this interweb networking malarkey? A refreshing change from mainstream literary print publications, where men tend to dominate unfairly? Just one of those early kinks that will get ironed out as time goes by? Or a pragmatic acknowledgement that women buy more books, and particularly fiction, than men?
  Pop on over to writing.ie and make up your own mind …

They Say It’s The Hope That Kills You In The End …

… although, in this case, it’s the HOPE Foundation that’s saving lives. Vanessa O’Loughlin and Hazel Larkin curate THE BIG BOOK OF HOPE, an anthology of short stories, memoirs and non-fiction which was launched last week with the aim of raising funds for the HOPE Foundation. To wit:

This book will save lives. To live without hope is the ultimate deprivation. The HOPE Foundation reaches out to the street children of Kolkata, India, on a daily basis: rescuing sick and abandoned children; delivering food and clean water to the slums; providing crèches where destitute and slum-dwelling mothers can safely leave their children while they do what they can to earn money; running its health-care programme, including its new hospital; fighting child labour and child-trafficking; breaking the cycle of poverty through education in its many coaching centres. This extraordinary collection celebrates The HOPE Foundation and hopefully will play a significant role in publicizing and supporting its courageous work. A potent blend of fiction, memoir and non-fiction, the contributions explore the theme of 'hope' and its vital presence in all our lives. With its astonishing range of bestselling authors, political figures, business people and media celebrities, THE BIG BOOK OF HOPE has something for everyone. Alex Barclay, Maeve Binchy, Claudia Carroll, Don Conroy, Brian Crowley, Evelyn Cusack, Derek Foley, Anne Gildea, Brian Keenan, Sinead Moriarty, Denis O’Brien, Joseph O’Connor and over thirty other unlikely bedfellows rub shoulders in this unique anthology the only common denominator being their considerable talent. Buy this remarkable book and help to break the cycle of poverty for the street children of Kolkata. Buy this book and help save lives.

  Declaration of Interest: yours truly has a short story in the anthology, but please don’t let that put you off buying a copy …