Finally, the first draft of my book is finished. I won’t rehash the effort it took to get this far, but the work now weighs in at just over 79,000 words – mostly not very good words. Still, the outline is there even if the quality isn’t. I had a conversation with author Mary Morrissy recently – do check out her novels – and am … Continue reading First draft complete, now for a title
Here’s a quick summation of our trip to Paris during the week. We stayed in the Pigalle district, which turned out to be better than expected. The area is full of sex shops and other dens of whatever you’re having yourself, but also terrific cafes, bars and restaurants. Day one we arrived in late afternoon, so after a quick drink in a local bar, we … Continue reading Paris, U2 and us
The one and only time we went to Paris our son was off on a European post-Leaving Cert holiday with his friends. I made the mistake of picking the hotel – right location, but very cramped. We (Trish and our daughter Sarah Jane) spent the week visiting the Louvre and Notre Dame Cathedral, walking the Champs Elysees several times, paying inflated prices for some meals, … Continue reading Paris and U2 here we come
Writing doesn’t come easy to most people and I’m no exception. My blogging goes in spurts, sometimes gushing along at a rapid rate every couple of days; other times weeks can go by before I can rouse myself and pen another blog. I’ve been lucky that some of my more successful blogs took just minutes to write, a torrent of words streaming onto this space. … Continue reading Some good news about my book
Sometimes it’s hard to measure how well you have done in life. You might define success in terms of your career, money in the bank, your stocks or the size of your home. Got a second home? Well you may not rate yourself as very successful unless that second home is in France or Spain rather than Kerry or Donegal. There were times in my … Continue reading I’m a success not a failure
The pain hit me just as I tried to sit on the sand. The second one, more alarmingly, hit me as I tried to stand up, a wrenching tug on my left side that left me stunned. We – Trish, Sarah Jane, her fiancé Tadhg and I – were on a day out in Stanley, Hong Kong, a couple of weeks ago, part of a … Continue reading I travelled to Hong Kong and ended up in hospital
Your face is the first thing other people see when they meet you, which is why facial disfigurement is so devastating. It’s not just the physical difference that sets us apart, it’s also the psychological damage it causes us. That facial difference saps our confidence, fills us with fear, and if we cannot deal with it, limits our horizons. People point and stare when they … Continue reading An inspiring new Katie Piper show
