https://www.ctomahony.com/blog daily 0.75 2025-09-26 https://www.ctomahony.com/blog/lu4up36mjl64qa2z4zovdmxzb5qjfu-a7wts-c2lnl-pxxcr monthly 0.5 2025-09-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65038b387956fc28c741c143/39c25db5-cbbe-4f2f-a48b-786b7f74573a/IMG-20250829-WA0004.jpg Blog - Autumn Catch-Up & Announcement! - It’s one of my favourite times of year. I love the colours of the falling leaves, the crisp air, and even the colder weather—it puts me in the mood to curl up by the fire with a good book! Traditionally, the autumn equinox is a time of taking stock—of the harvest that’s been gathered, the work that’s been accomplished, and those last few tasks that need to be completed before we nestle in for winter. I live in the countryside, and have been foraging sloes for gin, which we’ll enjoy over the winter. The jars sit in a cupboard alongside the blackberry vodka I made a few weeks earlier, and I take great satisfaction in seeing them all neatly lined up. But as a writer, the fruits of my labour are far less tangible. How do you measure the year’s work? By completed projects, or only by those that have been published? What about works-in-progress, outlines, proposals, applications, and all the rest? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65038b387956fc28c741c143/36894cde-d70b-4b65-a233-c4e568d99204/Hazel.jpg Blog - Autumn Catch-Up & Announcement! - Not everything has come to fruition yet, but there are still some things I can celebrate with you! I started the year on a high: a short story of mine was published in The Garden anthology in late 2024. Then, after dabbling with interactive fiction and doing a course on game writing with the Irish Writers Centre, I made a Twine novella called Canvas Keepsakes, which featured in the 2025 Spring Thing Festival of Interactive Fiction. In April, I travelled to Belfast to attend Eastercon in person for the first time, and it was just amazing. I bought my weight in books, admired the beautiful artwork on display, went to some wonderful panels, *reconnected* with old friends, and was lucky enough to make some new ones. And somehow, in all of that, I failed to take a single photo!! I had been planning to write a blog post about the trip—but what’s a blog post without pictures, I asked myself? The task soon fell by the wayside, and here we are, almost half a year later, and I haven’t updated the blog at all. *sigh* https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65038b387956fc28c741c143/75638e62-1fd2-4c52-85ae-b60bdb257dc3/Book.jpg Blog - Autumn Catch-Up & Announcement! - So, what have I been working on all this time? Well, I’ve been putting the finishing touches on my fantasy novel, with a view to sending it out into the world soon. The prospect is both exciting and terrifying! The story is close to my heart, and so I can’t help but feel protective of it—but it’s time. I’ve also been working on a new project, which I hope to announce soon! In other news, The Garden anthology has now been released as an audiobook! I can’t tell you how amazing it is to hear my story, ‘Fruit of the Earth,’ narrated. Karen Frantz did a fantastic job—she even pronounced all of the Irish names right! It’s available on Spotify, Kobo, Google Audio, Libro.fm and Audible. The print edition can be purchased directly from the publisher, Sans. PRESS, as well as from a number of other retailers listed here on Books2Read. Next month I’ll be attending Octocon in Dublin, and I’ll try my best to take some photos this time! I hope to see some of you there, and wish you all a very happy equinox. https://www.ctomahony.com/blog/lu4up36mjl64qa2z4zovdmxzb5qjfu-a7wts-c2lnl monthly 0.5 2025-09-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65038b387956fc28c741c143/b941595a-89e4-423a-97a8-cc6d9665f6d6/Caoilfhionn+7+%27TheGarden%27+Anthology+-+%27Fruit+of+the+Earth%27+short+story+book+launch+9th+Nov.+2024+Chapters%2C+Dublin..jpg Blog - New Short Story! - I’m so excited to have my short story ‘Fruit of the Earth’ featured in the new Sans. PRESS anthology, The Garden! I’ve been writing for a few years now, but this is actually the first story I’ve had in print, so it was amazing to attend the launch at Chapters in Dublin yesterday and see the finished product on the shelf. And it’s so pretty!! The cover artwork by Laura Kavanagh is stunning—it was actually my original inspiration for the story, a dark tale of sibling rivalry in a fantastical setting. There will be another book launch at Milseán Market in Limerick on November 23rd, but the anthology can also be purchased directly from the publisher here: https://www.sanspress.com/shop https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65038b387956fc28c741c143/9262539b-b6e3-4b17-8bb8-531c308a1f1e/IMG-20241109-WA0023.jpg Blog - New Short Story! - This has been the highlight of a really good year for me. A few months ago, I received an Agility Award from the Arts Council, which allowed me to take some time to focus on my novel and attend a writing retreat at Notre Dame Kylemore (which was amazing, I would absolutely recommend this!). All the same, the day-to-day of writing life hasn’t changed—it’s still me sitting down with my laptop every day, writing words, drinking too much coffee, and getting mostly rejections if I’m honest So to any fellow emerging authors out there waiting for their first acceptance, just keep doing what you’re doing! Persistence for the win. https://www.ctomahony.com/blog/lu4up36mjl64qa2z4zovdmxzb5qjfu-a7wts-hec5t monthly 0.5 2024-11-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65038b387956fc28c741c143/3bcf9332-ccc9-4d08-aefb-fdf32dc6f12c/Smaller5.jpg Blog - Funding Opportunities for Writers in Ireland - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.ctomahony.com/blog/lu4up36mjl64qa2z4zovdmxzb5qjfu-a7wts monthly 0.5 2024-05-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65038b387956fc28c741c143/025157e6-c6eb-4abc-bf0f-3b6e81d27bca/4.1.jpg Blog - New Year’s Resolutions - I was having a pretty productive run—in November I attended a WORD regional meeting at the Waterford Gallery of Art with over twenty local writers. We discussed some of the challenges we’ve been facing and what kinds of supports we could use. A list was then drawn up that could be forwarded to our local arts officer. Lia Mills spoke about Irish Pen, an organisation dedicated to the preservation of freedom of expression for all writers. After the meeting a handful of us went for coffee at the Granary café. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65038b387956fc28c741c143/1da4ae55-ff35-4b2f-8d8b-45154981f568/4.2.jpg Blog - New Year’s Resolutions - I have to say, it is so so nice to meet with other writers in person. Writing can be a very solitary practice, and while that’s fine most of the time, I do love being able to connect with other writers for support and tips! After the meeting I went and bought myself a copy of the Irish Writers Handbook at the Book Centre Waterford (my happy place. The building is a former Savoy cinema dating back to 1937. I’d recommend checking it out for the architecture alone, but also booooooks, and a Leonidas counter). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65038b387956fc28c741c143/3a5fdebe-7d33-4dd3-9132-9200a437a6df/4.3.jpg Blog - New Year’s Resolutions - I also signed up for a week-long morning write-along on zoom, facilitated by local writing coach Margaret O’Brien. I felt great about getting some writing done first thing every day. It was all going so well until Christmas, when I found myself busy boiling puddings and visiting relatives (and taking a well needed break, to be honest!). Now I find it’s mid-January and I don’t know where the time went! I managed to submit a piece of flash and enter two competitions, but it’s honestly been a sluggish start to the new year. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65038b387956fc28c741c143/33fd1708-d4b8-4e6e-95d8-7d1c894833ff/4.5.jpg Blog - New Year’s Resolutions - I came up with all kinds of plans and timetables to achieve my goals for 2024, all of which I’m already behind on! But that’s okay. It’s important to have some time for reflection and realistic goal setting. I think so long as I’m chipping away, however slowly, I’ll get there eventually. Besides, it’s not just about the end product, it’s about the process, too. https://www.ctomahony.com/blog/lu4up36mjl64qa2z4zovdmxzb5qjfu-p54bj monthly 0.5 2024-05-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65038b387956fc28c741c143/c7d81830-26af-47d5-8413-6b3ec93adc77/20231029_131745.jpg Blog - Waterford Writers Weekend - I had a wonderful time at Waterford Writers Weekend this year! The highlight for me was a short story writing workshop facilitated by the very talented Patrick Holloway. He touched on a lot of elements of the craft, but the key takeaway for me was that you need to know what you’re trying to say with your story. I know this might seem obvious, but when I get an idea for a story it’s usually just a glimmer of a character, or a place, or a situation. Deeper themes don’t always reveal themselves until the second or third draft, at which point I might have to do some cutting to bring just one theme to the fore. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65038b387956fc28c741c143/f3590f63-a97a-4ebe-b30b-49236518002b/20231029_105907.jpg Blog - Waterford Writers Weekend - After the workshop I was inspired to go home and dig out an old story to see what I could do with it (a horror story—which seemed right given the time of year!). This was after going for coffee with some of the other writers on the course, which was a real pleasure. The life of a writer can be a little isolating at times (particularly in recent years when so much of the rest of our lives has gone virtual). It was so nice to be able to chat with other writers face to face and share the highs and lows! https://www.ctomahony.com/blog/lu4up36mjl64qa2z4zovdmxzb5qjfu monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65038b387956fc28c741c143/8d9e021c-cdb8-4491-8e74-5e7caca99ee5/20231007_150718.jpg Blog - Octocon 2023 - What a fab day at Octocon, the National Irish Science Fiction Convention! I was only free to attend on the Saturday (), but it was so nice to meet some friendly faces and talk science fiction/fantasy. The guest of honour was Sarah Rees Brennan – she wrote one of my favourite reads: In Other Lands, and it was such a treat to get to meet her in person! I am very, very excited for her next novel Long Live Evil, which will be published by Orbit in July 2024. Listening to Sarah’s talk was definitely the highlight of the con for me, but there were so many! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65038b387956fc28c741c143/4394ebd0-3a4b-4d0b-8500-8fece08ba679/20231008_194521.jpg Blog - Octocon 2023 - We enjoyed some really great panels and workshops. I tried my hand at lockpicking, and despite the excellent teaching of TOG, Dublin’s Hackerspace, I failed to unlock even the most basic plastic padlock, shattering any illusions I had about ever being a super sneaky rogue. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65038b387956fc28c741c143/af7f349b-8d2b-490a-869a-eb1b30e8ce70/Smallerlock.jpg Blog - Octocon 2023 - I then tried my hand at a crochet workshop facilitated by the fabulous Kat Dodd, which went a little better for me. I topped the day off with a Glasgow in 2024 gin tasting, which was basically lovely people plus free booze, so an absolute win. Their science fiction & fantasy inspired gin can be purchased from Pixel Spirits for UK delivery only. Aside from being delicious it comes in a really, really pretty bottle. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65038b387956fc28c741c143/2853c6af-f9f8-46ad-b213-37e00193818b/20231018_145553.jpg Blog - Octocon 2023 I’m sad the convention is over, but looking forward to next year! My next outing will be Waterford Writers Weekend, where I’m hoping to meet some fellow local authors. Blog post to follow https://www.ctomahony.com/blog/nlmzdrfxqasw3epkmwt2hzmg7swee3 monthly 0.5 2024-05-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65038b387956fc28c741c143/7b142465-b2b5-45c7-b726-2c5c403a74e7/20230926_175047.jpg Blog - Shiny New Website! - It’s been an exciting year writing-wise! My fantasy novel is really taking shape, so I decided it’s the right time to launch a website! You can check back here for news on upcoming publications and events, or check out my social media pages to see what science fiction and fantasy books I’m reading, what board games I’m playing, and for occasional pictures of my cat. I’ll be live on KCLR 96FM later this evening for anyone in Kilkenny who wants to tune in! Una Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh will be interviewing me just after 6pm on her new arts show. If you’re a writer and want to meet me in person, there’s a new writers salon here in Kilkenny on the last Wednesday of every month at 10.30am in The Book and Coffee Shop on William Street. Their next gathering is tomorrow, September 27. 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