Tuesday, 26 August 2025

New Books and Titles | Book Launch | Fianna by Susanne Carpenter

Fianna by Susanne Carpenter

– the epic saga continues –

Front cover from the book, Fianna by Susanne Carpenter

Fianna, the second instalment in the Tuath trilogy by Susanne Carpenter will be launched this coming Thursday, 28 August at Chapters Bookstore, Parnell Street, Dublin starting 7pm.

It is a book that has all of the ingredients to thrill and enthral both new and returning readers.

In the year 2027, with the world facing the rapid onset of volcanic winter, the Tuath Dé Danann must travel through time to halt the effects of the ash cloud strangling the planet. Their hopes rest on deploying the Claíomh Solais (sword of light), a powerful laser designed centuries into the future.

They are aided and abetted in their efforts by the McNamara family, with whom they have banded together under the newly re-constituted Na Fianna. The challenges that they face are significant however, especially when faced with opposition from the most powerful people on Earth (past, present and future) and the prospect of having to defend Ireland in the face of invasion.

This is the scene and the setting for the newly published Fianna by Susanne Carpenter, a fast-paced, action-based adventure novel that blends sci-fi, fantasy, intrigue, themes from Irish mythology, and so much more. It follows up exactly where her debut novel, Tuath, leaves off.

Fianna by Susanne Carpenter is published under the imprint of Aos Sí and available to buy online, in print and e-book editions, along with other books in the Tuath trilogy.

Book launch invitation – Fianna by Susanne Carpenter

Sunday, 10 August 2025

New Books and Titles | Fishing in Irish Waters by Trevor Simpson

Fishing in Irish Waters by Trevor Simpson (a blow-in's tale)

– the third volume in the Cornish Fisherman’s Diaries series –

Front cover from the book, Fishing in Irish Waters: A Blow-in's Tale by Trevor Simpson featuring illustration of the author at the helm of his boat
Yet another brilliant book by Trevor. … I wish more fishermen would put pen to paper!Simon Neve

So writes one satisfied reader.

Fishing in Irish Waters: A Blow-in's Tale by Trevor Simpson is the third volume in the author's highly popular Cornish Fisherman's Diaries series of memoirs.

When Trevor Simpson arrived in Ireland in 1967, Dunmore East in Co. Waterford was home to just a few trawlers and some lobster boats. All that was about to change, however. More boats, most of them big trawlers, were arriving in Dunmore. The growth in the fishing industry increased and within the next few years, a great number of boats were purchased and added to the local fleet. Great enthusiasm was shown by fishermen from all around the coast. During this period, Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) was most helpful. Their loan-and-grant scheme made things possible.

"Everyone connected with the fishing was so upbeat and confident in the industry's future. All of these boats joined the growing fleet at Dunmore East, and they were skippered and crewed mostly by local lads. Now, everything has changed. There are no young men down our harbour now."

In this book, Trevor Simpson offers a candid assessment of what has happened and why, charting both the highs and the lows in the rise and decline of Ireland's sea fishing industry. Even though the picture that he paints of the present state of affairs comes across as bleak, it could also serve as a call to action – a question of what could have been or what has yet to come?

"We do have our memories though. Despite the hardships and the dangers, fishing the way that we did it was the best job in the world."

Trevor Simpson is a retired sea fisherman who continues to reside in Co. Waterford, close to where he fished for many years. Prior to that, he fished out of Newquay in Cornwall. Fishing in Irish Waters: A Blow-in’s Tale is his third volume of memoir in the Cornish Fisherman’s Diaries series. He is also the author of Diary of a Cornish Fisherman: Newquay, 1962-1967, published in 2014 and A Cornish Fisherman's Irish Diary, published in 2017.

Fishing in Irish Waters: A Blow-in’s Tale by Trevor Simpson is published under the imprint of The Manuscript Publisher. It is available to buy online, in print and e-book editions, along with other books in the Cornish Fisherman’s Diaries series.

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