Sound the Retreat!

Finding time to write without distractions is a challenge. My children, both young adults, are on their own, so parenting is no longer an issue. The culprits are those dinner plans that creep into an exciting rescue or tender love scene, or the grocery list that competes with my list of revisions. Telephone calls and bills requiring payment derail my search for those perfect phrases. Appointments, laundry, and cats demanding hugs all conspire to thwart the start of a brand-new chapter. What’s a writer to do?

Writing before the rest of the house is up and about usually works—unless I start by checking e-mail or posting "just one excerpt" so I’ll feel like I’ve done some marketing/promo. Another precious block of writing time gone. Combining my periodic hankerings to travel to Ireland with attending a wonderful writing retreat near the West Cork village of Eyeries works even better. I’ve taken refuge at Anam Cara Writer’s and Artist’s Retreat on the remote and beautiful Beara Peninsula several times now. Each time I do, I get more than a month’s worth of writing done in a week, and I’ve found that having no internet access isn’t a bad thing. (Gracious retreat owner Sue Booth-Forbes reports that Anam Cara has gone wireless since my last visit, but I may pretend it hasn’t.)

What can a writing retreat do besides provide reasonably priced relief from mundane chores? That depends on what you want. Whether you’re interested in structured workshops or uninterrupted time to simply sit and think, most offer both. Anam Cara does, though the only structure in which I’m interested is the schedule for Sue’s fabulous meals. Simply leaving my normal environment provides a tremendous boost of creativity, and I know I’ll enjoy wonderful walking paths and vibrant conversations with other retreat residents.
Worried about sitting in that chair all day? Most writing retreats, Anam Cara included, offer fitness equipment, whirlpools, and massage. The Beara Peninsula’s spectacular scenery begs visitors to take a hike, or at least a pleasant walk. No need to recreate the historic march of Donal Cam O'Sullivan Bere (1561–1613), the last leader of the Sullivan clan.

This city girl walked right by a herd of cows (wondering if they’d attack) and happily soaked her shoes on a gorgeous bog dotted with sheep. On my first bog walk, I met a guardian angel border collie who guided me over barely visible paths I never would have found on my own.

I’m off for another working mini-vacation soon. A bus will take me from Shannon Airport to Cork City, where I’ll spend a day raiding my favorite bookstores and finding new music. The shuttle that will take me to Anam Cara will pass dramatic scenery and rustic villages that will bask in Ireland’s summer sunlight well after ten p.m.

And I’ll bask in the quiet.

Book Wenches Interview

My interview with Bobby Whitney, the "Book Wench" who recently gave A Band of Roses such a stellar review, appeared on the BookWenches' site on May 27, 2009. My thanks to Bobby, and to everyone who stopped by!

http://www.bookwenches.com/iviewpatmcdermott.htm

New Reviews for A Band of Roses

Popping in quickly to share excerpts from two 5-Star reviews A Band of Roses received this week.

BD Whitney of Book Wenches Reviews (5/3/09)
says: "A Band of Roses combines political intrigue, adventure, science fiction, and romance into a well-written and fascinating package that will appeal to a wide range of readers. . . the tension pulls so tight that it positively vibrates, and I found myself holding my breath and reading faster to keep pace with the action numerous times."

Denisse Alicea of The Pen and Muse (5/4/09) says: "Pat's work has become one of my favorites and sure fire book to recommend to others. This is an author to keep on your watch lists for more works to come."

Seeking Irish Heroines

Every writer goes about the task of crafting stories in unique ways. For me, the first step is gathering research, a process a lot like setting out the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. I link the straight edges together to form the outline, and little by little, pieces whose shapes and colors fit together just so begin to fill the empty space. I know that with dedication the whole picture will soon become visible.

But wait! Pieces are missing! For a jigsaw puzzle, I usually find them on the floor, or in the hall closet if the cats have been playful. A missing piece in a plot means I’ve hit a spot that requires research. Maybe I need more info on Breton mythology or how fast nuclear submarines travel. I try to find what I need online, or in those notebooks I filled with facts before I started my current WIP (work in progress). When that fails, it’s time to get off my duff and go to the library—unless what I need concerns Ireland.

If it does, I drive to Boston and visit The Aunts. Both have been avid collectors and readers of Irish books for as long as I can remember. Their frequent trips to Ireland over the years have filled their home with other treasures—Belleek pottery and Waterford crystal, copper sculptures and paintings of the Aran Islands—but it’s the books that draw me when I visit.

From Geraldine’s side of the shelves, my choices include poetry, literature, ancient laws and customs, or mythology. Kathleen’s side offers modern history, biographies, politics, and current events. The Aunts’ interests overlap, of course, which is great for me. I find all the puzzle pieces any author of Irish fiction could ever want, as I did while writing A Band of Roses and Fiery Roses.

The Aunts generously share the treasures in their magical library. My current "check out" (pictured) is The Romance of Irish Heroines, an antique whose thick yellowed pages overflow with wonderful old Gaelic names like Gormflaith, Meave, Macha, and Dervorgilla. Pirate Queen Grace "Grainne" O’Malley, the inspiration for my current WIP, is in there, but The Aunts, alas, were born too late for inclusion in this wonderful showcase of distinctive Irish ladies.


Retracing The Aunts' book-hunting footsteps in Ireland is difficult. Many of the bookstores they haunted are gone. Still, I enjoy browsing in Ireland’s bookstores knowing I’m seeing things I won't find in New Hampshire. In Dublin, I’ll make the rounds from Waterstone’s and Hodges Figgis near Trinity College to Eason’s on O’Connell Street, stopping somewhere along the way for tea and a chocolate muffin. I’ve found wonderful bookstores in Cork, Galway, Killarney, and Westport (pictured).

Book hunting isn’t the only reason I visit Ireland. It certainly isn’t the only reason I visit my guardian angel Aunts. It is a great adventure, though, and as they say in Ireland, "Seeking one thing often finds another."