Three Wee Gems is the title of the presentation I will be giving for Books Sandwiched In at Wood Library, Canandaigua, N.Y. 12 noon, Monday, March 14, 2022

Since I am a little squeezed for time this month, I thought I would convert some of my presentations to blogs. This talk highlights three books about Ireland written by New York state authors that I especially enjoyed. All three have a deep and lovely sense of place, rich characters, and engaging stories. In very different ways, they each capture Ireland and the Celtic spirit that I so enjoy, enjoy writing and enjoy reading.

A Sudden Gift of Fate by Mary Pat Hyland, begins with a wedding in Doolin by the Cliffs of Mohr and takes us with the newlyweds to Keuka Lake, NY where they take over a vineyard and winery. Mary Pat and I are part of FLARE and enjoyed an afternoon selling our books at a local winery event called “Read Between the Vines” one day this fall at Vineyard View Winery in Penn Yan. I bought the book that day and marveled over the serendipity of how its settings so matched some of my favorite places. Mary Pat also had an artful way of inserting Irish Gaelic into the dialogue that I especially liked.

Walking Through the Mist by Sinead Tyrone finds us at a concert in Buffalo until the Irish band receives an urgent message to return home to Donegal. I have a personal connection here as well because Sinead and I present and sell books at the Dublin, Ohio Irish Festival. We have stood together, after a day in the book tent, listening to Irish bans on stage. As I remember, one of those bands was the inspiration for the band in her book. Her love for Ireland, Irish music and Donegal comes through as she captures the dynamics of band members trying to work together while balancing their personal lives.

Two Sisters in Ireland by Jeanne Selmer invites us on a trip from Boston to Connemara, a trip that proves transformative. I contacted Jeanne before a trip to Connemara because I wanted information on some of the out-of-the-way sacred wells she features in her book. She captures Connemara beautifully.

I  would like to think that my book Amidst the Stones would sit well with these “wee gems” as well.

Happy reading.