The White Devil of Dublin now in Audio Book!

The White Devil of Dublin is now in audio book, narrated by the same brilliant actor who narrated the first book in the series, The Tempest Murders. Jack Nolan makes Ryan O'Clery and The White Devil come alive. If you'd like to listen to the first chapter, follow this link to amazon, where a sample is available. The audio book is available for purchase on amazon, Audible, iTunes, and at other retailers.

If you enjoy the hit television series Vikings as much as I have, you'll enjoy The White Devil of Dublin. The action moves between present-day North Carolina and 800 years in the past, on the eve of the Norman invasion of Dublin. Detective Ryan O'Clery agrees to meet a noted historian claiming to have discovered information about his ancestors, but when he arrives he

finds her murdered and her computer stolen. His investigation will lead him back to 12th century Ireland, to a time of Viking invaders and conquests, to an albino known as The White Devil, and to a secret his family kept hidden for more than eight hundred years. It will also bring him face to face with a serial killer intent on finishing the job he started.

I unexpectedly fell in love with The White Devil while writing this book. And from the fan mail I've received, many of my readers did as well. They laughed, they cried, they fell in love and they suffered alongside The White Devil and the woman he loves... And they were brought forward into the present day to an albino Ryan thought was dead but who is not only alive but is plotting his revenge.

The Magic that is Ireland - Part 1: Dublin

I have been receiving a lot of comments about my blog series regarding Ireland and searching for my Irish roots. I traveled to Ireland recently and plan another trip in a few weeks. I've been asked by numerous people about my trip, so I am starting this series about travel to Ireland - what to see, what to do, and tips on traveling there.

My first stop was Dublin for the simple reason that it's where most international flights arrive. There are some international flights in and out of Shannon on the west coast (Dublin is on the east coast). Belfast, in Northern Ireland, is north of Dublin and I learned that travel there from the U.S. goes through England - either Heathrow (which I understand is a madhouse) or Manchester.

Tips on Dublin

Here are a few tips when traveling to Dublin:

1. Get your money exchanged at the airport. The Republic of Ireland uses the Euro. You can search around Dublin for banks to exchange your dollars, but why waste the time and effort when you'll want to be experiencing Ireland?

2. Take the bus. If you are staying in Dublin, try to choose a hotel that has a free shuttle service to and from the airport. If you don't, I suggest taking the bus. (http://www.dublinsightseeing.ie/airlink/index.aspx) It cost us 6 Euro one-way, which is much cheaper than the taxi's 40 Euro.

Irish terminology: when taking the bus, you'll need to state whether you want a single (one-way ticket) or a double (round-trip ticket).

3. Stay in Dublin's City Centre if you can. You'll be within walking distance of scores of museums, restaurants, pubs, shopping and much more. I used http://www.hotels.com/ and searched on City Centre Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.

4. Note the time you're arriving. Our plane landed at 5:00 AM. By the time we reached the hotel, we were completely exhausted and jet-lagged. But once we arrived, we discovered check-in wasn't until 3:00 PM. We ended up sleeping in the lobby until a room became available. You can remedy this by booking the room for the previous night and making sure there is a notation regarding your arrival time the next morning. You'll definitely want to get at least 2-3 hours' sleep.

5. Learn about Ireland in Dublin. You'll learn the history of Ireland while you're in Dublin; many museums are free and others are a nominal charge. Plan on spending 2 days in Dublin, not counting your day of arrival.

6. But discover Ireland outside of the city. I was surprised to discover that hearing an Irish accent in downtown Dublin was quite difficult. It has become an international city and you'll hear languages from around the globe. So once you've learned about Irish history, get out of the city to a small village (coming up in another blog next week) and that's when you'll discover the real, mystical and magical Ireland.

Things to See and Do in Dublin

1. Make the Hop On, Hop Off Bus your first activity. It's fabulous, and you ride at your own schedule. You can get on at any stop, get off at any stop, and spend as much time as you'd like anywhere. A tour host narrates as you ride so you get a sense of the history and where to go and what to do. It's a two-day ticket for 18 Euro, and well worth it: http://www.dublinsightseeing.ie/citytour.aspx

Below is an example of the tour. I was sitting in the front row on the second level of the double-decker:

2. Tour the Dublin Castle. Take the narrated tour with the guide, and you'll learn a lot of history about the Vikings' rule over Dublin, Ireland's history and the Easter Rising, which led to Ireland's independence from Britain: http://www.dublincastle.ie/visitorfacilities/

3. Kilmainham Gaol. This is where the political prisoners were executed from the Easter Rising. The uprising might have been considered a failure except when Britain executed all the main organizers, their executions led to world pressure and the independence of Ireland: http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/kilmainhamgaol/

4. The Post Office. This was one of the buildings where the Easter Rising took place, and there are still bullet holes in the side of the building from the event. Mounted on the wall are permanent pictures of the organizers of the uprising; these men were the ones executed at the gaol.

5. Writers Museum. If you enjoy reading, you'll enjoy Ireland's authors. I learned a great deal about their backgrounds and became quite fascinated by Oscar Wilde's ordeals: http://www.virtualvisittours.com/dublin-writers-museum/

6. St Stevens Green (http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/dublin/ststephensgreen/) is a public park right in the middle of the City Centre. 

7. Shopping. St Stevens Green is directly across the street from the mall and Grafton Street, which is the main shopping district in downtown Dublin. There are restaurants, pubs and shops for several blocks: http://graftonstreet.ie/

8. The National Museum of Ireland. It is closed on Mondays, but it's free and well worth touring: http://www.museum.ie/en/homepage.aspx

9. The Guinness Museum is not just for beer lovers. You'll definitely want to stop in their pub overlooking the city: http://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en/Index.aspx

If you have traveled to Dublin and you don't see a site posted here that you enjoyed visiting, leave a comment below and let me know what it is and why you liked it.

Next week: Finding Ireland's soul in a small village. Coming up later: why Northern Ireland broke away from the Republic of Ireland.

And for 13 Things Not to Do in Ireland, this is a great read:
http://www.destinationtips.com/advice/13-things-not-to-do-in-ireland/1/

Visit my website at www.pmterrell.com for a list of my books set in Ireland, including my latest, A Thin Slice of Heaven, set in a castle in Northern Ireland.

In Search of the Irish Past - Part 5

Last year my 18th book, The White Devil of Dublin, was released. Writing the book required research into Dublin's history, as part of the plot takes place as the Viking occupation of Dublin was coming to an end, on the cusp of the Norman invasion.

The main character is called Hvitr Bard, which translates to The White Devil, because he is an albino Viking that is both feared and reviled. Prior to the Viking invasion of Ireland, Dublin (or Duiblinn as it was called) was a very small Christian settlement. Duiblinn is translated to The Black Pool, which in turn gets its name from a nearby tidal pool that appears very dark. Around 841, the Vikings came down the Irish Sea between England and Ireland; not only did they raid villages but they also made a permanent settlement at Duiblinn.

The Vikings ruled Duiblinn for roughly three hundred years. In my book I referred to them as Ostmen, which is how the Vikings referred to themselves.

Though we think of them today as pillaging nomads, the Norsemen actually are credited for much of the growth of Duiblinn and by the year 1171, a Norse king, Ascall mac Ragnaill, ruled the city. He and his regime had also established alliances with Scotland. It was in that year that King Dermot MacMurrough of Leinster, along with an army comprised of Norman mercenaries, invaded Ireland in full force.

In the fighting that led up to the capture of Duiblinn, mac Ragnaill fled to the Scottish Highlands and his Viking followers had the difficult choice of fighting the Normans without their leader, fleeing Ireland to avoid torture, imprisonment or death, or moving westward past the River Shannon.

After the Norman invasion, Dublin became heavily populated with people from England and Wales. This was the start of an uneasy conflict between England and Ireland that, in some pockets, still exists today. Over the past thousand years, there have been countless Irish attempts to run the settlers out of their territory and return the entire island to native Irish control.

In a future blog, I'll have more about the history of the Pagans, the Catholic conversions and the Protestant decree under King Henry VIII. In my book, The White Devil of Dublin, I allude to the fact that if Hvitr Bard, The White Devil, were to remain in Ireland under the Normans (provided they did not kill him), he would be forced to renounce his Norse gods and submit entirely to the Catholic faith. Since his Norse gods had existed in his culture far longer than the Christian - Catholic faith, he was not of a mind to do this. But in reality, many Vikings did convert.

Dublin today is the capital of the Republic of Ireland, which gained its independence from England in 1922 and officially became known as the Republic of Ireland in 1949. It was split from roughly 1/6 of the island in the 1922 Anglo-Irish Treaty; that region is now known as Northern Ireland and it is a part of the United Kingdom, still falling under British rule. The reasons for the split will be covered in a later blog but it had its origins in religion and immigrant versus native domination.

Today, Dublin has approximately 4.6 million inhabitants (including the metro area surrounding it), which accounts for most of Ireland's population. However, Galway, on the western side of the island, has been quickly expanding and is considered the fastest-growing city in all of Europe.

From the tiny village of Christian settlers to a city home to the Viking rulers with a bustling port to the capital city of Ireland, Dublin has had quite a history.

I have plans to continue writing about Dublin's history as my second series, the Ryan O'Clery Mystery Series, features Dublin-born Ryan O'Clery. In both The Tempest Murders and The White Devil of Dublin, Ryan's Irish history intermingles with his life in the present-day - and often leads to murder.

Buy The Tempest Murders from amazon by following this link, or The White Devil of Dublin by following this link.

Join Me in a Worldwide Blog Hop

I'm excited to be participating in this worldwide blog hop. I always enjoy meeting other authors and readers and discovering new books. I was nominated for this blog hop by fellow author Susan Whitfield. I've come to know Susan through our involvement in Book 'Em North Carolina; she has participated each year and earlier this year, I had the pleasure of working with her through Studebaker Press.

Among her works, Susan has written a wonderful series called the Logan Hunter Series, featuring an SBI investigator. For those of you who don't live in North Carolina, the SBI is a state version of the FBI - it is North Carolina's State Bureau of Investigation. Logan Hunter, the main character, becomes involved in murder investigations around the state. Susan's writing sucks me in with the very first chapter and keeps me riveted through to the last page.

ABOUT MYSELF

For visitors new to me and my writing, my pen name is p.m.terrell, which stands for Patricia McClelland Terrell. My first book was published in 1984 and since then, I've had 18 books released with more in various stages of the production cycle.

I've written in several genres, including how-to computer books and a how-to marketing book for authors. But my greatest success has come from two historical adventures based on an ancestor, Mary Neely, and my contemporary suspense. River Passage, the true story of the Donelson Party journey west in 1779, won the 2010 Best Book Award. Vicki's Key, a contemporary suspense featuring a CIA psychic spy, was a 2012 International Book Award Finalist and a 2012 USA Best Book Award Finalist. And The Tempest Murders was a 2013 USA Best Book Award Finalist and a 2014 International Book Awards nominee.


ABOUT MY WRITING

The next book that will be released is The White Devil of Dublin, and here for the first time is the cover revealed.

It is the sequel to The Tempest Murders. Detective Ryan O'Clery is an Irishman living in North Carolina when an historian contacts him with information about his ancestors. Convinced she has him mistaken for someone else, he agrees to meet with her - but finds her murdered, her throat slit from ear to ear, and her computer missing. To solve the case, he must find the missing computer and piece together the information she was working on, which takes him back to 12th century Dublin, to a secret his family had harbored for over eight hundred years, and to an albino called the White Devil of Dublin. It will also bring him face to face with a current-day albino serial killer who is intent on destroying everyone Ryan loves.

Below is an excerpt:

CHAPTER 1

1169, The Approach to Duiblinn

The mists swirled about the Viking ship, shrouding their approach in an ashen veil. It seemed as though the clouds themselves were reaching toward the waters, parting momentarily to reveal their advance, silent and evil, an apparition on the deadly sea.

He moved as one with the great ship, his feet spread wide and firmly planted behind the dragon’s head that graced the bow. Atop a platform, he had an unencumbered view of the gray waters; though they roiled and tumbled, the waves crashing against the sides of the vessel, he remained unyielding, secure in his position. He towered above those behind him who worked the sail or labored in the rowing stations. He could feel their eyes upon him.

Though he was a young man, his hair was white and reached nearly to his waist. It was wild at the moment, swirling about his body wherever the wind took it. His eyebrows and his lashes were pale against alabaster skin that stretched over taut muscles. His shoulders were broad and his arms powerful, though he now rested them idly behind his back, his fingers entwined. His thighs were strapping and fought at the fabric that dared encase them, moving effortlessly with the sway and tug of the vessel that was more a home to him than any bed and table.

His eyes were the color of blue ice. The pupils were not black but appeared to lack any color at all. He had been told by his men that when he stood at the bow of the ship as he did now, his eyes appeared nearly completely white and otherworldly, a characteristic that unnerved his enemies.

His name was Baldr but he was known simply as Hvitr Bard, The White Devil.

He preferred the saffron tunic and slightly darker cloak that he currently wore, though he’d discovered years earlier that his wine-colored clothing was best in battle, as it hid blood splatters. He had never been injured himself; his arms were uncommonly long, his frame inches taller than his Norse counterparts; a giant among giants. And among the Celtic people he now approached, he was indeed a goliath. No swing of an arm, even extended with a sword, could reach his torso.

As the mists parted with the first peek of the rising sun, he spotted fishermen along the shorelines and sheep farmers on the hills. As they readied for their day, they stopped to watch the tall, sleek ship slide silently past them.

Gone were the days when necessity dictated a stealthy approach. The Ostmen had ruled Duflin—what the Gaelic people called Duiblinn, or Black Pool—for three hundred years. It was their village now, even if the Celts resented their presence; a bustling, thriving spot along the water that beckoned with good food, strong spirits, and an abundance of women to be had for the taking.

In the distance, he spotted an outcropping of buildings. He forced himself to remain perfectly still, completely rigid. His expression would remain chiseled still as stone. It was an integral part of what made him The White Devil.

The docks were alive with fishermen departing for a day at sea; a cacophony of voices reached his ears as they drew closer still. Women hawked pieces of bread and meat for men who would grow hungry before they would again see these shores. Men shouted to one another, inspecting the nets and tossing them onto the decks, gathering their supplies for the hard hours ahead. In the distance, bells rang, their vibrations echoing in the mists of Eire.

Young boys rushed to greet the Viking ship, eager to assist for a coin, while the Celtic men eyed them suspiciously, warily.

Only then did Hvitr Bard remove his hands from behind his back. He raised one hand, and the rowing behind him stopped. With a gesture only his men recognized, they rose as one and prepared to come ashore.

The sail unfurled behind him as they pulled alongside the docks. Under the expert hands of his men, it would be folded and readied for the next voyage, whenever that should be. At a moment’s notice, they could be called to the north or the south to quell some uprising against them or to settle an old score with either the Celts or the Normans, or simply to raid another monastery or castle.

Standing near the dragonhead at the bow, he loomed above the men on shore, but when he leapt to the dock below, it was with the fluid grace and agility of a smaller, more slender man. He landed on his feet, his knees only slightly bending, before rising to his full height. The crowds parted as The White Devil stepped among them, their eyes wide, unblinking, frightened. The women clasped their hands to their chests, backing away, while the men avoided his path and averted their eyes. Many of them had seen him countless times before and yet each time it was the same: he was feared. And he was reviled.

The White Devil of Dublin is unique because it combines a present-day police investigation with events that transpired in Dublin during the time of the Viking conquest and the Norman invasion. The action moves back and forth between the two periods, unfolding as Ryan puts the pieces together. The reader discovers the secret as Ryan does; a secret his family kept hidden for more than eight hundred years, and which led a present-day albino killer to seek Ryan out from halfway around the world, intent on destroying him.

I enjoy writing contemporary suspense because I love the action and adventure, of propelling a story forward with breakneck speed, and of keeping readers turning the pages as they hurtle toward the final climactic scene. The White Devil of Dublin, like many of my other works, is also considered a romantic suspense and I was as surprised as anyone when I fell in love with the original albino that crossed Ryan's ancestors' paths in the 12th century.

I wrote the story of The White Devil in Ireland first and then went back to the beginning and interspersed it with Ryan's present-day investigation, polishing and blending as both stories come together. Layers of each character are unveiled as their stories intertwine, and I have to admit that I cried some and felt happiness and romance and joy right along with my characters. When I wrote the climactic scene, I knew I had to make it big and I also knew I had to make Ryan face one of his worst fears - that of heights. So the final scene takes place atop a water tower during a storm in which the clouds almost seem to reach to the top of the structure.


NEXT BLOGGERS

Three bloggers will pick up with this worldwide blog tour from here, posting next week, July 21. I hope you'll visit each of them. I'm sure you'll enjoy their books. I highly recommend following them!

Carol Dean Jones: http://caroldeanjones.wordpress.com

Maggie Thom: http://maggiethom.wordpress.com/the-write-to-read/

Bonnie Watson:  https://wisdomnovels.wordpress.com/