Mount Trenchard

I am writing my first novel, I've been working on it for nearly four months, but the story has been sitting in my head for nearly six years, with a burst of research done two years ago and an absolute necessity to start it this Spring. No wonder it has taken so long - writing fiction is such a different discipline to historic reports, where there's a client, a deadline and a cheque when they're finished. The importance of listening and capturing dialogue is another big difference. My book is set in Limerick, about a 19th century estate, its tenants and landlord, yes, when I said that to my youngest son a few years ago, he looked at me in horror, 'Stop now Mom, nobody is ever going to read it!' He'll see. The story is revealed through a woman making an urgent exodus from New York, arriving in Shannon in 2010. Her story from New York to Limerick, Foynes, Glin Castle and Mount Trenchard reveals intriguing parallels and themes between the 1850's and today. A tenuous love affair with the west begins through her encounters and her efforts at making use of the land around the house. How does she unlock the mysteries of the estate? And what hitherto untold stories of the famine do they reveal?