 Ever
since HAUNTED GROUND was first
published
in 2003, I’ve had great pleasure meeting and corresponding with people
from all
over the country and all over the world. Even after all this time, I
confess I’m
still a little stunned— and incredibly honored to have been
nominated and selected for
a number of awards.
I'd like to offer a sincere and grateful thank
you to all the wonderful
readers, booksellers, librarians,
and fellow writers who have helped to make this such an incredible and
rewarding trip!
THE LATEST NEWS...
NEW
WAYS TO COMMUNICATE
::: I'm
now on  Facebook and
Twitter,
for
those who'd like to keep up that way... Bear
with me while I figure
all this out!
06/29/09 ::: You can now join
an Erin Hart Fan Club
at GoodReads—sort
of an online book club
about my work!
Thanks a million to the wonderful Cassie for setting it up. I'll check
in with the group as often as I can...
06/02/09 :::
Just
saw the new cover design and sample layout pages for FALSE MERMAID—will
post visuals as soon as I can. It's looking great! See more on the News page..
06/02/09 ::: FALSE MERMAID BOOK TOUR -
MARCH/APRIL 2010
It's never too early to plan tour dates! Please contact Erin or
Heidi Richter at Scribner for
information on setting up a book tour event for March/April 2010...
03/01/09
:::
FALSE MERMAID is
now in the copyeditor's hands, and publication is scheduled for March
2010. In this story—as
everyone must know by now—Nora
returns home to Saint Paul, Minnesota to re-open her sister's
unsolved murder...
The story is also set partly in southwest Donegal. Here's a link to
some pictures of the actual place in Ireland that stood in for my
fictional abandoned village. Port, Co. Donegal is
an actual place, just north of Glencolumcille. The name means
'Harbor,' but in the story I've changed the name to Port na Rón, which means 'Seal Harbor.'
 LISTEN to this wonderful rendition of "An
Mhaighdean Mhara," sung by Máire Brennan (of Clannad),
Máiréad Ní Mhaonaigh (of Altan), and Máiréad
Ní Domhnaill.
The story of a fisherman marrying a sea maid is common in the oral
tradition in Ireland and Northwestern Europe. This version come from
the singing of Áine Uí Laoi, Dobhair Láir, Gaoth
Dobhair, Co. Dhún na nGall, who learned it from Síle
Mhicí Uí Ghallchóir. Síle called the song
"Amhrán Thoraí" and knew many more verses to it. The song
is a conversation between the sea maid and her daughter, Máire.
The sea maid has left her family and returned to the sea after finding
her magic cloak (or sealskin in many versions) stolen from her by the
fisherman. As long as she is without her skin, she cannot return to the
sea. The song figures in FALSE MERMAID
(coming in March 2010!)
 08/01/07 ::: BIG NEWS FOR BOOK CLUBS
LAKE OF SORROWS
is officially out on
August 7, 2007 in trade paperback
format—a special book club edition!
I hope to be visiting with lots of book clubs (either in person or over
the phone) this fall and winter. More details here...
You should be able to find the new edition of LAKE OF
SORROWS at your local
independent bookstore, at most chains, and online. And if you need a
signed copy, just check in with my local bookstore, Once Upon A Crime in
Minneapolis, and we'll get you fixed up.
CHECK BACK AGAIN ::: Check back
often for more news
and an updated list of readings
and appearances. Or if you’d like to
receive notice of the next book or the next tour stop in your city, you
can
sign up for the mailing list.
NEW
RECOMMENDED READING PAGE
::: A
wonderful reader suggested that I post a page to let people know what
I've been reading, listing a few favorite books, etc. So
here it is! I've also listed some favorite movies and actors, and will
keep adding to this as I try to burn through the TBR. God help me if it
turns into a blog! Recommended reading...
LIKE IRISH MUSIC? ::: Fans
of Irish traditional music
can find out more about my husband, button accordion player Paddy
O’Brien, at his
band websites, Chulrua and The Doon Céilí Band,
and more about Paddy and his amazing tune collection (500 jigs and
reels) at tunecollection.com.
MUSIC DOWNLOADS ::: While
I'm still listening to my favorite old LPs, the rest of the world is
downloading and carrying around music in tiny little iPods and MP3
players. If you'd like to hear Paddy, you can download his music from
lots of different sites, including:
itunes.com
| calabashmusic.com
| emusic.com
and many others
as well. Look for a song called "The Wounded Hussar" from Paddy's album
Stranger
at the Gate and you can
even hear
me singing!
Thanks to the marvels of even more
modern technology, you can also now order Paddy's CDs from him at his band website.
THE
BOG CONNECTION ::: There’s
been a lot of publicity recently about two bog
men found not long ago in the Irish midlands. The BBC
and PBS/Nova
have both done fascinating documentaries about the pair, known as
Clonycavan
Man and Old Croghan Man. Both seem to have been victims of ritual
sacrifice.
As
it turns out, I have a family connection
to Old Croghan Man...
In
the spring of 2003, as HAUNTED
GROUND was being published in Britain and Ireland, I was
finishing up
work on LAKE OF SORROWS and wishing
for a few more real-life details
about ancient bog remains. I knew some of the corpses found in bogs
were
believed to be Iron Age sacrifices—that’s actually what LAKE OF SORROWS is all
about.
Then
a friend sent along a newspaper
story about a recent grisly discovery
on an Irish bog—a body that museum experts figured to be around 2,000
years
old. The body that came to be known as Old Croghan Man was discovered
in County
Offaly, only about a mile from where my husband Paddy was born. I knew
he’d
be interested, so I started reading the piece aloud. It happened to
mention the
name of the local man who’d found the body:
“When
he
stepped out of his mechanical digger and close to the body, farmer
Kevin Barry
particularly noticed the fingernails were still intact.”
Paddy’s
head shot up. “Did you say
Kevin Barry?” he asked. I checked the name again—yes, Kevin Barry, from
just outside the village of Daingean. Paddy said, “I think that fella's
my
cousin.”
We
were on our way to Ireland, so of
course we phoned up Kevin as soon as we landed in Offaly. He very
kindly took us out to
the site and described in detail exactly how he'd found the
2,000-year-old corpse.
And
of course all those details about Old Croghan Man—right
down to his braided leather armband—went
directly into LAKE OF SORROWS.
Update 6/21/06
::: Iron
Age men found buried in peat bogs are on exhibit at the National Museum
of Ireland in Dublin. The display, 'Kingship
and Sacrifice: An exhibition of bog bodies and related finds,'
was officially opened this week by Arts Minister John O'Donoghue. The
ancient remains were found in a preserved state in 2003 at Oldcroghan,
Co. Offaly, and Clonycavan, Co. Meath. The exhibition explores the
theory that bog men were victims of sovereignty and kingship rituals
during the Iron Age. Objects on display include horse trappings,
weapons, feasting utensils and textiles. Admission to the Museum on
Kildare Street is free.
And
now for all those who've just been dying to know...
Q:
I am going crazy trying to
figure out how to
pronounce the name ‘Aoife.’ Please help!
A: It’s
actually pronounced ‘EE-feh’!
Any time you see the letters A-O-I in sequence, at least in Irish,
it’s pronounced as a long ‘E’ sound. Check out other strange words and
expressions in the pronunciation
guide and glossary.
Thanks
again for visiting—slán go
fóill!
P.S.
I’d love to hear your feedback
about this site...
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