Bless me, blog, but it's been months since my last posting. This is simply because I have not had the time to update. Apart from preparing and rehearsing for a CHOICE gig at the Dundalk Jail (photo at the end of this post) I was also editing the final draft of my short story manuscript, The Scattering. I am still tweaking a couple of these stories and will soon be looking at proofs. I also managed to seriously sprain my ankle (while jogging all of two yards in my own garden) and this meant everything I did subsequently was soooo slllloooowwww. At least I was able to apply the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair quite successfully as I had no other option to do so. And I got a hell of a lot of book reading done, too. The DT Max biography of David Foster Wallace, being the highlight of said reading.
However, the persistently farcical Irish government does seem to have drawn my attention away from my work - on a rather consistent basis - as I feel I have to protest or comment on their skein of fuck-ups, like the recent death of Savita Halappanavar.
The Scattering will be out in March 2013 and will be published by Seren Books, and can currently be pre-ordered from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scattering-Jaki-Mccarrick/dp/1781720320
Also, some good news for my poetry (which I have been woefully neglectful of lately): I was placed 2nd in the recent Cork Literary Review Manuscript competition and hope this bodes well for my first collection which I am aiming to publish next year:
http://www.worldirish.com/story/16539-winner-of-the-cork-literary-review-poetry-manuscript-competition-announced
In January, I will have a new short play on at Theatre 503 in London, and will post details about this on my blog nearer the time. It WILL be political. And it WILL be about abortion. That's all I'll say for now about that! Meanwhile, I have quite a few books to critique and will refer to these in later posts.
Oh yes, here's a shot from the CHOICE gig at the Dundalk Jail in November.
Please visit and like our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/choice2012
However, the persistently farcical Irish government does seem to have drawn my attention away from my work - on a rather consistent basis - as I feel I have to protest or comment on their skein of fuck-ups, like the recent death of Savita Halappanavar.
The Scattering will be out in March 2013 and will be published by Seren Books, and can currently be pre-ordered from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scattering-Jaki-Mccarrick/dp/1781720320
Also, some good news for my poetry (which I have been woefully neglectful of lately): I was placed 2nd in the recent Cork Literary Review Manuscript competition and hope this bodes well for my first collection which I am aiming to publish next year:
http://www.worldirish.com/story/16539-winner-of-the-cork-literary-review-poetry-manuscript-competition-announced
In January, I will have a new short play on at Theatre 503 in London, and will post details about this on my blog nearer the time. It WILL be political. And it WILL be about abortion. That's all I'll say for now about that! Meanwhile, I have quite a few books to critique and will refer to these in later posts.
Oh yes, here's a shot from the CHOICE gig at the Dundalk Jail in November.
Please visit and like our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/choice2012


You've certainly been busy. Looking forward to reading the short stories as my new year resolution (yes, planning ahead already) is to spend less time sitting in front of a screen and more in front of books.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Books are pure bliss compared to the computer screen. I can't even write NEAR a screen, the engine noises (as I call them) bother me. And I can't even absorb properly words ON a screen, I see them as 2D compared to the comparative 3D sensation of words on paper. Yes, reading is serenity; screen work is 'work'. Keep in touch.
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