Join us today as we're transported to Ireland with author Pat McDermott. She daringly answers the question--what if Brian Boru had lived? Boru is a particular favorite book subject of mine too, so this one really caught my attention. Welcome Pat!
Tell us a little
about yourself.
I’m a New England girl,
a Boston native, though I now live near the New Hampshire seacoast. My
grandparents came from Ireland, and the stories and music I heard growing up
couldn’t help but influence my writing.
Did you plan to be
a writer or did it just happen?
I can recall
writing stories down when I was six, so it just happened at first. My extended
family included some wonderful storytellers, and joining them seemed natural. However,
getting serious about writing did take some planning.
What is your
favorite non-writing pastime?
It’s a tie between
cooking and traveling. I enjoy discovering new dishes, and I have my own
cooking blog. I also have a writing/travel blog in which I describe my visits
to various places, especially to Ireland.
What inspired the
idea behind your book?
The old “what if”
that plagues most writers. I have two aunts who introduced me to the tales and legends of the Emerald
Isle. When I was a teenager, they gave me a copper statue of High King Brian
Boru, and I wanted to learn more about him. Everything I read stated how sad it
was that Brian perished at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 A.D., as Ireland would be a very different place today if
he had survived. I couldn’t help wondering . . . what if he had survived?
Do you have a
favorite character in A Band of Roses?
Who and why?
“Roses” has quite a cast of characters, and I love them all, even the
villains. To answer the question, I’ll choose Neil Boru. Being an adopted
member of the royal Boru clan causes Neil to feel less than worthy of his
station in life. He’s an Air Corps pilot and a warrior sworn to protect his
cousin, Princess Talty. When she comes to harm, he feels a failure. He loathes
himself for falling in love with her, as she is his adoptive cousin and such
feelings are forbidden. Neil’s struggle to choose the honorable path shows a
nobility that transcends bloodlines.
What has been your
greatest challenge in writing A Band of
Roses?
I
found weaving historical details into the story without bogging it down quite
difficult, especially in the chapter where Talty visits Ireland at the time of the
Battle of Clontarf.
Will you share with
us a short preview of A Band of Roses?
A Band of Roses
is an alternate history set in modern day Ireland. The story’s premise supposes
what Ireland would be like today if High King Brian Boru had survived the
Battle of Clontarf. I’ve created an Ireland that’s still a monarchy, one where
the present King Brian is a descendant of the first Brian Boru, and his
daughter, Talty Boru, is a princess in trouble. Talty becomes a pawn not only
in the high-stakes gamble for offshore oil, but in a scheme to seize the throne
of England that escalates into murder and treason. From Japan to California to
an eleventh century Ireland preparing for the Battle of Clontarf, she finds
romance and adventure and brings back a discovery worth more than any oil well.
Yet all she wants is to return to her family and her lifelong friend and
protector, Neil Boru, the adoptive cousin she secretly loves but can’t have—or
so she thinks. Talty’s warrior cousin has a secret of his own, one that emerges
as the Boru clan scrambles to thwart an invasion of Ireland and bring Talty
home.
Is anything in your book based on real life
experiences or purely all imagination?
If only I knew how
a princess and her royal family really live! The completely fictitious characters, settings, and events in A Band of Roses sprang unbidden from a
blend of old legends and actual events, like the Battle of Clontarf. The story opens with English commandos claiming a tiny uninhabited
island hundreds of miles off the Irish coast. Sounds ridiculous, but it
happened, though I tailored the facts to fit the story.
What kind of
research was involved for A Band of Roses?
Lots of reading and a little
travel. Whether I was
writing about Japanese kimonos, attack helicopters, or Irish mythology, I
wanted to get it right. I knew enough about Brian Boru to realize I didn’t know
enough. Digging into his history became an enjoyable challenge, one that took
me to Ireland. Not only did I visit Clontarf, the site of Brian’s battle with
the Vikings and now an upscale Dublin suburb, I also spent a day in Killaloe,
his hometown in County Clare, to see the new Brian Boru exhibit.
Do you have to be
alone or have quiet to write?
Absolutely.
What do you have in
store next for your readers?
In addition to Fiery Roses and Salty Roses, the next two books in the “Band of Roses” trilogy,
I’ve written a ‘Roses’ prequel, a YA called Glancing
Through the Glimmer, which is a paranormal fantasy/sweet romantic adventure
fraught with Irish fairies. I’m happy to announce that the sequel, Autumn Glimmer, is now under contract.
Currently, I’m working on a pure romance set—where else?—in Ireland.
Is there any place
and time in the world and in history that you would like to visit?
I’d love to have my grandparents back long enough to treat me to a tour
of the Ireland of their youth, late nineteenth/early twentieth century.
If you had a chance
to rewrite, is there anything about your book you would change?
Nothing about the plot would change, but I’d still be revising and
editing to get everything just so. Of course, I never would. This is one reason
why writers have deadlines. I recently heard a published author say she still
sees things she’d like to change in books she wrote thirty years ago.
Laptop, desktop or notebook and pen for writing?
All three, though I use the desktop most often. The laptop
travels with me, and I take it to another room when I want to write without the
distraction of checking e-mail and Facebook, etc. And, I always have a notebook
and pen in my purse and in the drawer beside my bed.
A
BAND OF ROSES
by
Pat McDermott
Summary
A Band of Roses is an alternate
history action/adventure story set in modern day Ireland. The "what
if" premise of the story supposes that Irish High King Brian Boru survived
the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 A.D. and founded a dynasty that rules Ireland to
this day.
Irish Crown Princess TALTY BORU,
daughter of the current KING BRIAN, becomes a pawn not only in the high-stakes
gamble for suboceanic oil, but in a scheme to seize the throne of England when
greed prompts England's Regent to claim a tiny Irish island in the North
Atlantic. The theft sparks an international incident that escalates into murder
and treason. Multiple attempts on Talty's life force King Brian to send her
away to protect her, though he unwittingly sends her into further danger.
From Japan to California, Talty must
hide her true identity until her elders can set things straight. She can't
disguise her ingrained training as a one of Ireland's venerable Fian warriors,
however. Her recruitment into a top
secret military project allows her to visit two parallel worlds, one an
eleventh century Ireland preparing for the Battle of Clontarf, the other a
desert inhabited by Bedouin-like peoples. She finds romance and adventure in
these strange places and brings back a discovery worth more than any oil well,
yet all she wants is to return to her family and her lifelong friend and protector
NEIL BORU, the adoptive cousin she secretly loves and can't have—or so she
thinks. Talty's warrior cousin has a secret of his own, one that emerges as the
Boru clan works with England's MI6 to thwart an invasion of Ireland and bring
Talty home.
An Excerpt
The Irish Constitution mandated that the king’s heir must be ready to
accede the throne on his or her eighteenth birthday. Talty was already twenty
and doubted she’d ever be ready. She had so much to learn! Still, an Air Corps
Dauphin flew her from the LÉ Alastrina to Tara Hall’s helipad each
Saturday morning to meet with her father for a review of the week’s events. His
request for a midweek meeting worried her.
Praying that the dark blue of her navy uniform hid the wrinkles in her
skirt, Talty smoothed her pinned-up hair and stepped from the private elevator
to Tara Hall’s fourth floor. The rapid click of her regulation military heels
echoed down the corridor leading to the King’s Chambers.
Though she’d told no one, Talty hated being Crown Princess. The
prospect of spending her life preparing for her beloved father’s death
depressed her. She wouldn’t have to worry about that for years, however. Silver
might speckle King Brian’s russet hair, but he was only fifty, and still strong
and healthy.
She hurried past the reception area, where her father’s no-nonsense
assistant rose from her desk and opened the carved oak door bearing the royal
lion of the Boru clan. With a nod of thanks, Talty stepped into her father’s
chambers.
Where can
your readers find you?
Blogs: Put the
Kettle On, my writing/travel blog, http://pat-mcdermott.blogspot.com/ or Across
the Plain of Shining Books, which features other authors, http://acrosstheplainofshiningbooks.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/Pat_McDermott
Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/Pat-McDermott/e/B002U6E8NW/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
