Please join me today at Mass Musings, where I am being interviewed about my latest book, Secrets of a Dangerous Woman, the third in the Black Swamp Mysteries series.
Next spring, the fourth book in the series will be released. Dylan's Song has been a departure for me because it takes place primarily in Ireland.
Most people don't realize how far north Ireland is. If you look at a world atlas, you might be surprised to see that Ireland is as far north as Canada. And just as Alaska has times of the year in which darkness pervades and other times where it's light most of the day and night, Ireland is similar.
In January, for example, there can be at most eight hours of daylight per day. I say "at most" because if it's raining or the clouds have moved in, you might not see the sun at all. In the middle of June, however, you might have only 4 to 6 hours of darkness.
Because of the jet stream, however, the island avoids temperature extremes. The summers are generally warm but not hot or humid. And the winters are generally mild, considerably warmer than other countries within the same latitude. Because of the North Atlantic Current, it also remains ice-free throughout the winter months.
I have completed the first in a new series featuring Irishman Ryan O'Clery. The story actually begins in January 1839, in which a freakish storm blew in from the Atlantic, sweeping across Ireland from the west coast to the east. It was known as The Night of the Big Wind. It took place on Epiphany and because some of the Irish people thought the world would end on Epiphany, they thought it was the end of the world when the seas washed completely over the island, sweeping away people, homes, livestock and all they had ever known.
