erin hart
erin harterin hart
erin hart

News—January 2010



Hello everyone,

False Mermaid Hope you're well and in good spirits... FALSE MERMAID is coming on March 2, so there's LOTS of news to report—a new website and blog, tour dates, a new recording, a course on Irish crime writing, a tour of Ireland in September, Irish festival news—better get stuck into it!

NEW WEBSITE and BLOG

As you might be able to tell from this fabulous new newsletter, I have a rockin' brand-new website, from xuni.com. I'm thrilled about the design, by xuni's creative genius Madeira James, for the way it captures the complex, layered quality of my stories. I've also got a brand-new blog, ARTEFACTS (not a typo—that's the way they spell it in Ireland). It'll feature all the latest on bog finds, random thoughts on writing and publishing, notes and photos from research trips, and reactions to what I've been reading—a regular gallimaufry that I hope will inform and entertain. (Okay, true confessions of a word geek—I've been waiting thirty years to use the word "gallimaufry" in a sentence...)

MODESTY FORBIDS, ETC.

Advance reviews for FALSE MERMAID have been trickling in (from Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Irish America, IndieBound, and various independent booksellers) and so far they've been very kind.

TOUR DATES

I'm working on setting up tour dates for March, April, and May (so far). March will start off with a bang, lots of local events in the Twin Cities, including a launch party at Once Upon A Crime on March 2, and a bash at the Saint Paul Central Library on March 5. After OneBook, OneLakeville on March 13 (see below), I'm off on some road trips around Minnesota with husband Paddy O'Brien and his band Chulrua—(we'll be at the New York Mills Regional Cultural Center on Saint Patrick's Day, March 17), then on to Madison, Chicago, and Milwaukee at the end of March. In April I'll be touring with Chulrua again (Cleveland, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, plus Connecticut, Rhode Island, and possibly New York City and New Hampshire). In late April, Paddy and I will head off to Houston, Scottsdale, San Francisco, Southern California, Portland, and Seattle. In May I'm hoping to tour a bit more around the Midwest. The full story is on the EVENTS page on the website, or you can sign up at BookTour.com for automatic notices when I'll be reading or signing in your area.

Haunted Ground

HAUNTED GROUND FOR "ONE BOOK, ONE LAKEVILLE" IN MARCH

Just a reminder that the community of Lakeville, Minnesota has chosen HAUNTED GROUND for its all-city book club in 2010. The OneBook, OneLakeville committee has a whole slate of great events lined up, including a community potluck, book club reading groups, a panel discussion featuring local mystery-writing stars William Kent Krueger and Mary Logue along with Pat Frovarp of Once Upon A Crime bookstore. There's even a program called "CSI: Lakeville," by Cherie Townsend from the Dakota County Attorney's Office. One Book Logo Finally, I'll be appearing with Paddy and his band Chulrua on March 13 at the Lakeville Arts Center. This should be a terrific evening, with food and music, and chat about HAUNTED GROUND. It's been great working with Luann Phillipich and the OneBook Committee on this terrific project. Check out the OneBook, OneLakeville site.

FACEBOOK AND TWITTER

At long last making appearances on Facebook and Twitter, for those who like to keep up that way... thanks to all would-be friends and followers, and apologies to all who've written me via regular e-mail and have yet to receive a reply; I haven't forgotten about you, just trying to keep up!

S&S AUTHORS REVEALED

No, not revealing photos—thankfully. Just glimpses into the lives of working writers. Check out the new feature at Simon & Schuster's site, in which writers admit their greatest flaws, pet peeves, and ideas of perfect happiness.

BITS AND BOBS...

Spring 2010 will bring the release of a new and long-awaited recording called THE SAILOR'S CRAVAT, featuring Paddy O'Brien (button accordion), Tom Schaefer (fiddle), Paul Wehling (bouzouki), and yours truly singing three songs unaccompanied. More details soon...

Looking forward to teaching a course this spring called "BLEEDING GREEN: Exploring Contemporary Irish Crime Fiction" for the University of Minnesota's Compleat Scholar program. We'll read and discuss six novels representing a variety of styles and sensibilities in the rapidly expanding world of Irish crime writing.

Donegal Door I'll also be escorting a tour called "Hart of Ireland" in September 2010, put together by my friends Brian Nystedt and Kathy Sidla at New Departures Travel. We'll visit some of my favorite places off the beaten path, including exhibitions on gold and other archaeological finds (yes, bog people) at the National Museum in Dublin. Also includes visits to Newgrange and Ceide Fields, among other ancient and historic sites. And of course there will be plenty of tunes along the way. Details are still being finalized; look for booking information soon at New Departures.

In summer festival news, Paddy and I will be at the Rocky Mountain Irish Festival August 28-29 just outside Loveland, Colorado.

That's all the news for now, but there's much more to come.

Keep in touch!

Sláinte,
Erin
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