At a recent town wake, I realised that we are a populous that truly believes in the reunion with loved ones after death, sincerely and with great depth. We attend church in this country primarily for christenings, weddings and wakes, outside of those circumstances few venture. When we do, the silences, the responses and mutterings [...]
Something I realised when I arrived home after a much-needed break in Munich, an old habit of mine that was washed aside with all the troubles of the day. I was sitting in an underground station after a glorious day at the zoo, having bated breath in seeing for the first time silvery gibbons, elks, [...]
A friend dropped by the other day and said, ‘Emer, please too many big words.' Honestly? The very last thing I'd seen my book as was wordy, a slice of dramatic flare alright but big words? I believe in the use of my own voice, in dialect and terms distinct to a locality. As a [...]
I want Our Diligent Souls to be read by the masses, only natural that. But it is outside of my control at this point, apart from driving traffic to my site. What I've spent, I've spent as it were, and although there were costs, the past four years has been the most significant of my life. To keep that a secret is simply not cool; to gagged what it has given me in respect of my own self-development is immeasurable. It justifies the time spent and more even if the book falls flat on its face, and that is the truth. It is motivation, discipline and a serious commitment that brings a novel from its conception to the market that should go without saying, but it is a mindful and rewarding process beyond anything I can ever describe. Writing a book as not a hobby, but how much richer might my life might have been if I’d set to it with my earliest ambition, it’s impossible to say, but hey, there is no time like the present. It was an articulated lorry of an honours degree for me, weighing in at a full-time, four-year process between proofreading, submissions and the eventual preparation for self-publishing which was intense. But bring it on, that’s all I can say?
Author Emer G. M. Lawless 