Born in Waterford, Ireland, in 1981, I moved up to Galway in '88. I attended St. Pat's primary then served a five year sentence at St. Joseph's secondary. 

Not all the subjects made me want to rip fistfuls of my hair out and use them for earplugs. English appealed to me very much. Because — writing. And writing doesn't involve foreign languages or algebra, unless you want it to. Me, not so much.

October 2002 was when my little writing hobby changed the course of my life. I'd begun working on a fantasy called 'Kaddareth'. In the meantime I was doing a creative writing course at Kilroy's College, Dublin. I was asked to present my tutor with the opening pages of a sample novel. Thinking nothing of it, I began.

I wrote through the night. Red Bull cans scattered about my desk lamp. By the time I was done, I was well beyond the assignment's word allowance. The idea was just too vast for a simple 1,500 word exercise. But I liked what I'd written so much that I didn't want to just send it adrift, nor could I whittle it down because the details were just too damn essential to the plot. So I contacted the college the following morning and asked if I could exceed it, just this once — with sugar on top. No such luck, which was perfectly fair (and to this day I'm glad!)

So I put that story to one side, submitted some other 'thrown-together' waffle, and straight-away returned to the other.

That piece was the beginnings of 'The Other of One'. 

 

There are three books in total. But it's not the end. Not yet. I'm just taking a little break from fantasy for a while. I otherwise have my sights set on stand-alone novels in other genres. When an idea strikes, I just get the burning urge write it. Fantasy, Crime, Horror, Thriller, whatever the case may be. The itch just has to be scratched. 

 

I don't do this to get rich or famous. I write because I have to. I love writing. I love the process. The research. I love the idea of creating something from nothing. I love learning. And always striving to improve my craft. 

 

I spend about a year planning a story, then another 6 months to a year writing it. Some authors can spin out two or three books a year. I don't know how they do it. Wish I could do the same but this is what works best for me so I'll stick with it. 

 

I just hope it shows.