Finding Ireland

Today I welcome Susannah Sharp to Terry's Place. Susannah is trying hard to get motivated to finish the revisions on her first novel, “I Am of Ireland: Saving Loarlis,” a contemporary romance set in Ireland and the first of a series that will alternate between contemporary and historical novels in the same setting. She is a medical transcriptionist by profession and lives in Utah with her husband and the youngest of their three children.

How do you take a city, or even worse, a country and distill all of its history, its culture, its beauty, down to just a few powerful images and then try to share it in words with other people?

This is a question I have been struggling with ever since I started working on my series of novels, and believe me when I say that has been a long time and is still an ongoing effort.

I am getting close to publishing the first novel in an entire series set in County Cavan in Ireland. I absolutely adore Ireland and have been blessed in my life to be able to get there three times (so far!) from my home in Utah. But I’m not Irish and my combined total of a few weeks staying there hardly qualifies me as an expert. Still, though, I want to give as authentic feeling as possible when I write my books. I want people who read my books to believe they’re there. I want them to be transported. I want them to breathe deeply and smell the countryside, even if they’re sitting in an apartment in Ohio.

St. Patrick's Day in Northern Ireland

What I'm reading: The Tycoon's Perfect Match, by Christine Wenger; The Switch, by Sandra Brown

I realized yesterday afternoon that it's St. Patrick's Day today, and I thought it would be appropriate for my daughter, Jessica, to be a guest today. She lives in Northern Ireland, and can offer some insights into how the holiday is celebrated over there. I thank her profusely for stepping in with a post with virtually no warning. Welcome, Jessica!

St. Patrick's Day is truly a world-wide holiday, and here in Northern Ireland we celebrate with the best of 'em. Belfast puts on a big carnival-style parade, complete with floats and musicians. Most people have the day off work and schools are closed. The bars and pubs will be teeming with people, as you might expect. It's a big day out for adults and children alike. And with any luck it won't rain that much. But a little rain rarely dampens the spirits of the locals.

Yes, as you might expect, there is a bit of a political problem with the event. You will always have a small minority of people out there trying to prove some point by being disruptive. However, the police expect that and for the most part, the big celebrations go off without a hitch. I have a few friends who make a habit of trying to catch any "misbehavior" on film, as I know many amateur photographers.

Friday Field Trip - Giant's Ring

Another blog-clone day. Here at Terry's Place, you're going to Ireland. I'm over at Author Expressions again, with my job interview for the hero of When Danger Calls. Pop over and meet Ryan. These pictures will be here when you get back.

Jessica has returned with some nifty shots of Giant's Ring. I asked her to explain it, and this was her response.

It's a late Neolithic or early Bronze age henge monument. The stones in the center are the remnants of a "passage grave"...the entrance to the center, which was a ceremonial site. It's surrounded by the big earthworks about 3.5m high. There's been some archaeological evidence of cremation pits and 3 rings of timber posts (think Stonehenge & Woodhenge, but smaller). The "grave" in the center would have been originally covered with earth.

If you click on the photo, you should be able to view a larger image. Thanks to Ray for suggesting that, and Jess for re-sending them all in a larger format.

For those who might want to know exactly where this is, you can click here. The circle is clearly visible (or should be--I still don't trust links to open the same way for everyone).

Friday Field Trip - Northern Ireland

What I'm reading: Kisser, by Stuart Woods

Today it's my pleasure to turn the Friday Field Trip over to Jessica Odell, who now resides in Northern Ireland. She's giving us a peek at the Giant's Causeway. Take it away, Jess....



The Giant's Causeway is on the north coast of Ireland, in County Antrim. The hexagonal columns were formed by volcanic activity about 60 million years ago.



Local folklore links the Causeway to Finn McCool, a giant who lived on the North Coast. One day he entered into an argument with another giant, Fingal, on the Scottish coast. Insults were fired back, and then Finn began throwing clods of earth into the sea, as to build a causeway. Finn went back home and awaited Fingal. With the help of his wife, Finn conned Fingal and scared him off. Fingal tore up the causeway on his way back to Scotland. Similar volcanic columns can be seen at Fingal's Cave in Scotland.





Now it is a great tourist destination and I picked a good weather day and drove up to the coast with my camera. There are tons of hiking paths along the coast, with lots of great views. Maybe this spring I'll make it the 12 miles from the Causeway to the Carrik-a-rede Rope Bridge!

A Cultural Divide. Or is it?

Thanksgiving is a time to be with family. Although my daughter can't be here in the flesh, she is my guest today. Please give a warm welcome to Jessica Odell; ju-jistu black belt, first reader, brainstorming partner, fight scene choreographer, and supplier of excellent Irish libations.

I found myself moving to Northern Ireland in the summer of 2006, thanks to hubby’s job in the UK military. How we met is another long story, so I’ll just skip over that part. Aside from Mom: The short version? In a bar in Albuquerque, of course.

I live about 10 miles south of Belfast, and before anyone starts to panic, it’s not as bad as it used to be. I was all prepared for severe security warnings, but most of it is common sense nowadays. I live in a regular semi-detached house, in essentially a regular UK-style neighborhood. There’s shopping accessible in the town, a movie theater, a small mall, restaurants, and decent-sized supermarkets within 3 miles. So, what’s the big difference?

Everything and nothing, that’s what. The biggest hurdle (after learning how to drive on the wrong side of the road) was getting used to the language! Now, people here speak English but it’s not like any English I’ve ever heard. The slang terms have completely inundated the language. You might get greeted by, “how’s the craic (crack)?” or “what about yas”? And everything good is “dead on”. Not only do I have to wrap my head around the standard British vocabulary (where the sidewalk is the pavement, and you ask for the toilet instead of the bathroom), I had to interpret all of the local dialects as well! I still can’t understand some of my friends.