The ideas for many of the stories I write come from snippets I hear or read about past events in County Fermanagh. I first heard the tale of the Cooneen or Coonian Ghost not long after my husband and I moved to near Brookeborough, more than a decade ago. Continue reading “An Unbidden Visitor”
Author: Diane Ascroft
How to Publish an Ebook
Publishing your work as a ebook can be a cheap, simple and low-risk way of getting your work ‘out there’, or it can be a complement to more traditional forms. Continue reading “How to Publish an Ebook”
Hold Your Ideas In Your Hands
I’m sure many writers will agree that using a prompt is a great way to develop a story idea and get your writing flowing. So, if a phrase or a sentence or a photograph can stir our imaginations, what about using real objects? Continue reading “Hold Your Ideas In Your Hands”
EKPHRASIS: Saying Goodbye to a Work of Art
The one certainty of a holiday is our having to say goodbye to it. I still remember how, as a child, I used crane my neck and look back at the Rock of Cashel as it receded, its massive grey becoming smaller and paler. Just before it faded to a dot, a sudden bend whipped it from my sight. It was the victory of reality over dream, necessity over wishful thinking.
Continue reading “EKPHRASIS: Saying Goodbye to a Work of Art”
Power-Hose Murals
It’s Tuesday 7th July, probably the hottest day we’ve seen this Summer and I thought this would be a good day to work outside. I have fair hair and freckles – it wasn’t! Continue reading “Power-Hose Murals”
The Genius of William Shakespeare
In a small Chapel in rural Warwickshire a man is buried with three other members of his close family, in front of the altar. There is a rhyme on his headstone containing a curse on those who would disturb his bones. Why are he, and his words, still important today four centuries after his death? Continue reading “The Genius of William Shakespeare”
Pig Shop: Simon Fennessy Corcoran
This week sees the opening of a new exhibition in the higher bridges art gallery, Pig Shop: a collection of new works by artist Simon Fennessy Concoran. Pig Shop invites conversation on the concept of value bestowed upon different raw materials in our economy, lifestyles and art. Continue reading “Pig Shop: Simon Fennessy Corcoran”
New Releases from Conor Phillips
Local singer/songwriter Conor Phillips has gone from strength to strength in the last few years, attracting a strong following with his unique musical style. Learning to run almost as soon as he could walk, Conor began songwriting the moment he first picked up a guitar around four years ago. Continue reading “New Releases from Conor Phillips”
Ulster: My Search for its Spirit of Place
Inspector Celcius Daly stared through the windscreen at the border landscape. The round hills loomed, black and foreboding. The remnants of a British army watchtower were still visible, a shard on the horizon. Daly wondered would he ever lose that prickle of anticipation that signalled he was about to enter disputed territory. Continue reading “Ulster: My Search for its Spirit of Place”
The Mind’s Eye Sees Red
I was paid a visit today by a bird-woman:
a Coccinella magnifica flew into my head
and, instead of bouncing off and flying on,
she alighted, stayed; folded in her real wings. Continue reading “The Mind’s Eye Sees Red”