Friday, March 17, 2017

The Mystery of Ireland by Sheila Connolly




LUCY BURDETTE: Happy St. Patrick's Day! How shall we celebrate? Corned beef? Goofy leprechaun costumes? Shots of Irish whiskey? Or how about, even more fun, a guest post from our friend and Irish expert Sheila Connolly, whose new Irish mystery, Cruel Winter is out this week? Welcome Sheila!

SHEILA CONNOLLY: I was going to put together a short, snappy, chatty post about why I write a mystery series set in Ireland. That "short" part kind of got lost. If you spend any time in Ireland, you'll find that things are slower there, and there are a lot of storytellers, and everyone takes the time to talk. I’ve had a stranger on the street spend fifteen minutes telling me what he likes about the European Union, and another in a pub asked what the Kennedy’s were really like. A very old man told me how my great-aunt Winifred had a new roof put on the Lawless family house to sell it—in 1949. He remembered it well.

When I first saw Ireland, in 1998, I wasn’t a writer. I wasn’t even thinking about being a writer. I arrived in the small town of Leap in a rainstorm, with no room booked for the night, and the first thing I saw was a pub called Connolly’s. It had to be an omen, right?

Put all this together and you'll see why I write a series set in a pub in a small town in the Wild West of Ireland. I learned quickly that pubs are not about drinking, they're about talking.

I made my protagonist a young American woman so she can ask all the stupid questions (yes, the ones that I asked). What do you call this thing? I need to take the bin to the tip? I’ll call you on my mobile. Want a packet of crisps with your pint?

If you go and just sit in a pub or restaurant and listen to how people speak, you realize that the language is soft and it flows. It has inflection and rhythm. People don't say, "Yo, you goin' to town?" They say, “So, you’re after going to the town, then?” It’s no wonder that Ireland has produced so many poets and bards—who were and are important to keeping Irish culture alive. Back before television, itinerant storytellers were welcome guests in rural parts of the country.

How could I not write about Ireland, and that corner of Cork in particular? My grandfather was born there, the last of ten children. Is there such a thing as inherited memory? To me the place felt familiar from the day I arrived. Last year I bought a cottage there, in sight of where my great-grandparents were born, married, raised their children. Every time I turn around in the area I find another relative. It’s the perfect place for a writer, and there are plenty of stories left to tell.

Do you read books set in other countries? What do you expect from them? What things do you like, and what turns you off when you see them on the page?



Readers, don't forget to leave a comment with your email to be entered in a drawing for a signed copy of CRUEL WINTER






Anthony and Agatha Award-nominated and New York Times bestselling author Sheila Connolly writes the Orchard Mysteries for Berkley, the County Cork Mysteries for Crooked Lane Books, and the Relatively Dead Mysteries for Beyond the Page Press. Her new Victorian Village Mysteries from St. Martin’s Press will debut in 2018. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and three cats and has recently bought a holiday cottage in Ireland.



About Cruel Winter:


Snow is a rarity in Maura Donovan's small village in County Cork, Ireland, so she wasn't sure what to expect when a major snowstorm rolled in around Sullivan's pub. But now she's stranded in a bar full of patrons--and a suspected killer in a long-ago murder.

Maura’s been in Ireland less than a year and hasn't heard about the decades-old unsolved crime that took place nearby, let alone the infamous suspect, Diane Caldwell. But the locals have, and they're not happy to be trapped with her. Diane, meanwhile, seeks to set the record straight, asserting her innocence after all this time. And since no one is going anywhere in the storm, Maura encourages Diane to share her side of the story, which she’d never had a chance to do in court.

Over the next few hours, the informal court in Sullivan’s reviews the facts and theories about the case--and comes to some surprising conclusions. But is it enough to convince the police to take a new look at an old case? 

39 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your new book, Sheila. It sounds quite intriguing . . . .

    I enjoy stories set in other countries, especially those that offer readers an honest, realistic look at the country and its people. I like seeing the interactions between people, the difference in the way they express themselves and how they relate to those around them.
    One of my favorite aspects of these stories is when the author describes the place in such a way that I can see in my mind’s eye the place where the story is set . . . .
    [AE215jfe@aol.com]

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  2. Oh, Shelia, I don't know why I haven't yet read this series. I plan on correcting that error soon. Cruel Winter sounds like such a great read! And, I remember reading about you buying the cottage in Ireland. That is a brilliant move.

    My husband has shown some interest in visiting Ireland, and I'm betting that after reading your series, I'll be ready to go.

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    1. Oh, you should! The first time I went, I had no expectations and I hadn't done a lot of research, but I just fell in love with the place. And look what happened!

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  3. Kathy, you MUST read the series! Go back and start at the start to get the full picture. And I'll go to Ireland with you. With a mother's line named Flaherty, I can't believe I haven't gone yet.

    The County Cork Mysteries are my favorite of your many series, Sheila. Congrats on landing them in a new home, too!

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    1. You must go! (No, the tourist board is not paying me.) And you with a family name like Flaherty? I'm going to have to start a writers retreat over there, at the rate things are going. Have you ever heard the song "Nell Flaherty's Drake"? (http://www.celtic-lyrics.com/lyrics/348.html) It's very funny.

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    2. Edith, I can't imagine a better travel companion than you!

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  4. So wonderful to hear of your adventures! Congratulations on your mad success… And you are so brave to start a second life… A double life? And additional life... in a whole new world . Love this!

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    1. It has been so much fun! I started out trying to buy the old family place (which is a wreck with a large manure pile behind it, so bad idea), but even though that didn't work out, the seed was planted. I love that I know people there now, and they even recognize me on the street. And everybody is happy to talk--so there's no shortage of story ideas.

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  5. Congrats on the new book Sheila, you are a very clever writer to take on such an appealing adventure! I too loved watching the progress you made in your cottage....haven't been to Ireland, but need to fix that!

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  6. Sheila, the tourist board should pay you--your Cork County mysteries are great. It's fun tagging along and watching Maura grow into her Irish skin and place. My grandmother was an O'Bryan--but my roots go back to 1766, when an intrepid Irish girl set out for Virginia. One day I'd love to travel there and find where she came from and why she left, but in the meantime, there's Maura! I greatly enjoy books set in other places/cultures. What turns me off is when the setting/characters are pasted over a plot--in other words, the book could just as easily have been set somewhere else for all the authenticity the author brings to the work. Enjoy your cottage (is it appropriate to be green with envy today?) ,-)

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  7. Sheila, I'm looking forward to reading this book! Some of Irish ancestors were from Larne (in Co. Antrim). I've never been there but I love reading about Ireland. Some day I'd like to visit England and Ireland to see where my ancestors came from. Your cottage sounds like such a wonderful place for a writer!

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  8. Sheila, I need to read this book right now! Next month we're headed to Ireland for a 10-day holiday, mostly in Dingle (near where my maternal grandmother was raised) and for the last few days, Dublin. Perhaps I'll read Cruel Winter before I go, but maybe I'll bring it along with me.

    Congratulations on this series and your others as well. Your consistent fine writing is an inspiration!

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    1. Dingle is lovely--I was there with my daughter years ago. There's a wonderful ancient fort overlooking the water. There are also lots of colorful horse-drawn caravans (or there used to be) going along the one and only main road, so if you're driving, you get to enjoy the scenery s-l-o-w-l-y. And don't miss the Gallarus Oratory! (Don't worry, it's tiny.)

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  9. My husband keeps saying he wants to go to the British Isles, including Ireland. And of course I've wanted to go there for decades, largely because of armchair traveling ​through books like yours, Sheila.

    Very much looking forward to this book!

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  10. And the top o' the morning to ye Sheila.
    t
    I'd love to be going to Ireland this year, but it's not in the stars for me, at least not yet. So a grand thing it would be if I had a copy of your book to entertain me up here in the wilds of Western New York, on the edge of the tundra. Would it help you to know I have corned my own beef this week, am ready to start cooking it in a bit, as soon as the fire in the Aga is just the right heat. You're invited to dinner. Bring the family. It's a big brisket.
    aemrn@aol.com

    The reader formerly known as Ann in Rochester.

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    1. Ah, I was born in Rochester, and my father's family landed in New York and headed for Syracuse as soon as they could--that's where he was raised. My cousin still owns the family house there.

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  11. Sure and it's a delight to hear you talk about the old country!
    Éirinn go Brách!
    libbydodd at comcast dot net

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  12. I enjoy reading books with (to me) exotic locations. I love learning about the setting, the food, the people. I makes me feel like I've been on a vacation. Dmskrug3 at hotmail dot com

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  13. Sheila, I loved asking for directions in Ireland. It would always take at least half an hour while I was told about the good bread in the bakery, the music in the pub and who would be playing tonight and many other facts I didn't need. I love it that they have time to make the most of life.

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    1. Oh, yes. On the other end of the spectrum: on my last trip, I was (as usual) lost whilst trying to find Shannon Airport. (My observation: there is no easy way to get there--so far I've tried five different routes.) I stopped at a convenience store in a tiny town and asked, was I on the right road for the airport? Oh, yes, just keep followin' that road there until it ends and then turn left. Then take the Galway Road. Fine, simple--and accurate. But the one thing the man didn't mention was that the "Galway Road" was actually the M7, a major Irish highway.

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  14. Sheila, congrats on the new book! I cannot believe that with all the time I've spent in England and Scotland, I've never been to Ireland!! And County Cork is top of my list! Tell us more about the cottage, and how you like living there part time.

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    1. I just overhauled my website, and I decided to include a blog about the cottage here http://mycottageinireland.blogspot.com/ As if I need an excuse to talk about it! I bought it last June (signed all the paperwork, obtained insurance, etc.), and spent my first real time in it in November, when I furnished it (not hard when you have only two bedrooms, sitting room and everything else room, plus a kitchen and bath) and set up wifi and a satellite dish for the television. (Oh, and made sure the water pump got replaced!) I have a local handyman who is very ambitious about fixing everything, and I know my nearest neighbors. I can even find my way around on the lanes. Note: no lanes have names, and road signs are few and far between.

      But it's an adventure. Everything is new--something I didn't expect to find at this point in my life. I'll be posting on the blog whenever I find something new, or something that I think will be interesting. Like, how many rainbows can you see in a day? A week?

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  15. Sheila, congratulations on the new book! Since I live in Canada, almost all the mysteries I read are set in other countries. Sometimes I want to be a virtual tourist, so a well written setting and atmosphere are very important. I have never been to Ireland.

    My current favourite foreign series is the Dark Iceland series by Ragnar Jonasson. Ottawa is often colder than Iceland but his cold, dark, oppressive and almost claustrophobic winter settings are wonderfully portrayed. And I since was recently there 2 weeks ago after a major snowfall, I can attest that it is also very accurate!

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  16. Hi, Sheila! Have any of your Irish neighbors read your series set in Ireland? If so, what has their response been? How often to you get to your cottage?

    I love when mysteries give you a real sense of place, particularly of another country. The Scandinavian writers are especially good at this, and I also enjoy Jeffrey Siger's Greek mysteries, which are all set on Mykonos.

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    1. A few. My model for the pub owner, Eileen Connolly McNicholl, has read them, and tried to share with the (real) Ann Sheahan across the street at the Leap Inn, but she claimed she didn't like to read. But she did pass the book on to one of her patrons.

      I'm aiming for three times a year at the cottage. I've already got November booked, but trying to figure out a bit of time before that.

      Years ago, before I'd been anywhere, I used to love Mary Stewart's early books, set in lovely places like France and Greece.

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  17. My second trip to Ireland was taken with my mother-in-law who was still doing "research" trips for her travel agency. She was checking out one of these tours where you drive yourself and stay in hotels, not B&Bs darn it. Anyway I was the driver. I had some of the funniest conversations with retired men when asking for directions. Loved it. I could happily return for more stories and conversation.

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    1. That sounds like so much fun! I've tried them all--B&B's, hotels, and more recently, rental cottages (I like to have a kitchen, rather than eat out every night). But finding things there is always interesting. You know, "you turn left on the Bog Road..." Huh? How am I supposed to know it's the bog road? "It's just before the place that used to be a pub, but there's no sign now." Luckily there weren't too many roads, although I went in circles my fair share of times.

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  18. Thank you for your glimpse into Ireland. That is the one place in the entire world that I would choose first. I recently discovered I have NO Irish ancestors at all! How can that be? So until I get to go I am so looking forward to reading your newest book.

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  19. Sheila, the directions sound like what you'll get if you visit rural Maine. "At the corner with the Grange Hall, turn left, and then at the river, go right on Salmon Falls Road until you get the place that used to be the llama farm..." Of course, the Grange Hall is a decaying, unmarked wooden building and there are two Salmon Falls Roads, one on each side of the river.

    I believe the best writing about locations comes from an intimate knowledge of the setting, so hurrah for putting your flag down in Cork. Now I'm dying to read CRUEL WINTER to get the real feel of Ireland!

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    1. I am a shameless tourist. It's such a relief not to have to know everything and to ask all the dumb questions. So of course I had to ask my cousin about the Bog Road, because she was born in the Connolly cottage up the hill. Turns out it's not an "old" road but relatively new (like fifty years? the truly old roads show up on the first maps of the country, the Ordinance Survey maps that link with Griffith's Valuation, which was issued over several years in the mid nineteenth century), and yes, it goes by a bog--which happened to belong to the Connollys back in the day. And there was a pub at that corner, but it closed. It's in the middle of nowhere.

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  20. Happy St. Patrick's Day, Sheila! What a perfect post for today! I'm so envious of how smart you were to set a series in Ireland. I have only been to Dublin but hope to tromp around the Emerald Isle more in the future. Thanks for letting me sate my wanderlust with your series before I get there! Erin Go Bragh!

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  21. Sheila, I loved your orchard mysteries and now I'm ready to read this one.
    Visiting Ireland in 2011, I was the only one ( of 46 ) with no Irish roots but felt very much at home and would like to stay there for long periods of time. Thank you to bring us there with you through your books.

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  22. I have traveled via book to Quebec, well actually Three Pines, and to Paris but have not book traveled to Ireland yet and would love to go have a beer, stout, ale or whatever it's called in an Irish pub ☘️
    annlorwest@gmail.com

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  23. A favorite author but somehow I’ve missed this series. Time to change that!!
    I’m from MN and I LOVE storm stories.

    kpbarnett1941[at]aol.com

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  24. Hi Sheila, Your latest book sounds like so much fun--I like the premise of examining an old case while everyone is trapped in a single location. At least it's a pub! Congratulations!

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  25. I love your blog post, Sheila, and your book sounds really fun. If I could afford to live in a place like that, I think I would like a shot. Does Ireland still give big tax breaks to artists and writers?
    Gsherrell@sbcglobal.net

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    1. So far--any income that comes from an artistic pursuit is tax-free. But you have to live there for a certain portion of each year and declare it your primary residence (can't have your cake and eat it too). Something to think about.

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  26. You make Ireland sound wonderful. I would love to go there someday. In books I am adventurous and want to go anywhere and everywhere. In real life I am like to stay a little more in my comfort zone.

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  27. Oh, this series sounds excellent, Sheila! Right on to the Good Reads list this goes!

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