St. Patrick's Day

     As far as I know, I don’t have a drop of Irish blood in my veins but Ann Malone Kern, the main character in my Malone mystery series, is of Irish descent as is her husband, David. Like me, the Kerns live in Cincinnati, a city where the Irish played an important role. Next to the Germans, they were the largest group of immigrants between 1840 and 1910. 

Cincinnati was a major destination for immigrants from Ireland who left their homeland because, due to the potato blight and resulting famine in their country, they couldn’t pay their mortgages and they were starving. Many were poor, spoke English with a brogue and were Roman Catholic with large families. Some came with nothing more than a few pieces of clothing.

The city offered many opportunities for work on the riverfront, digging for the Miami and Erie Canal and on railroad construction. Although most had hoped to become farmers, with no money and desperate to feed their families, when they arrived in the Queen City, many Irish took jobs that were dangerous and unskilled with low pay. 

Through the years, the Irish have contributed greatly to our city’s growth and culture. During the Civil War, the Irish formed several militia units, which became the core of the Ohio 10^th Regiment. Later, many became policemen and firemen, some were prosperous in industry and others were active in politics.

Today, we have The Irish Heritage Center of Greater Cincinnati. The IHC was founded to promote the Irish Culture through the study of customs, dance, education, film, genealogy, history, language, lectures, literature, music, mythology, poetry, social interaction, song, sport, theater and the visual arts.

 

                               “May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.”

                                        Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

St. Patrick's Day Giveaway

And the winner is:

Kathleen Kendler! 

The main characters in my Malone mystery series, Ann Malone Kern and her sister, Marnie, are proud of their Irish heritage. 

In honor of the Malones and to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, I'm giving away a complete set - all five books - of the series. These are 1st edition, signed, paper copies. 

To be eligible (U.S. citizens only), all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. On March 17th, I'll put all the names in a hat, draw one and post the winner's name here. Please check back to make sure I have your contact information.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Wearin' the Green

Ann Malone Kern, the main character in the first four Malone mysteries, and her sister, Marnie, the protagonist in the fifth (and last) book are of Irish descent but, as far as I know, I don’t have a drop of Irish blood in my veins. (I’m Romanian, Greek and German.)

So why did I choose to write a series about an Irish family? To be honest, I’m not really sure. Maybe because the culture has always fascinated me and/or because the Irish played an important role in the history of Cincinnati, my hometown. Next to the Germans, they were the largest group of immigrants between 1840 and 1910.

Cincinnati was a major destination for immigrants from Ireland who left their homeland because, due to the potato blight and resulting famine in their country, they couldn’t pay their mortgages and they were starving. Many were poor, spoke English with a brogue and were Roman Catholic with large families. Some came with nothing more than a few pieces of clothing.

The city offered many opportunities for work on the riverfront, digging for the Miami and Erie Canal and on railroad construction. Although most had hoped to become farmers, with no money and desperate to feed their families, when they arrived in the Queen City, many Irish took jobs that were dangerous and unskilled with low pay. 

Through the years, the Irish have contributed greatly to our city’s growth and culture. During the Civil War, the Irish formed several militia units, which became the core of the Ohio 10^th Regiment. Later, many became policemen and firemen, some were prosperous in industry and others were active in politics.

Today, we have The Irish Heritage Center of Greater Cincinnati. The IHC was founded to promote the Irish Culture through the study of customs, dance, education, film, genealogy, history, language, lectures, literature, music, mythology, poetry, social interaction, song, sport, theater and the visual arts. And, of course, we have our annual St. Patrick's Day parade downtown.

So, whether you're Irish or not, be sure you're "wearin' the green" today and, if you're in the mood for a mystery, I hope you'll check out my series. (For a limited time, my publisher has reduced the price of all five eBooks to 99 cents each.)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

March News

All writers know the feeling of anticipation that comes when we finally have a release date for our new book. After all, we’ve spent months and months plotting, writing, editing and proofreading our manuscript. Then, we either send it off to our publisher or we begin the process of self-publishing. Either way, it’s a long road.

So, when we finally get to the end of that road, we feel an unbelievable relief but also a lot of apprehension. Will people buy our book? Will they like it? Will they review it? The list goes on and on and I’m not even mentioning the time and effort we put forth to promote our book, which starts before its publication and continues, well, forever.

Which is why I’m thrilled to tell you that this is going to be a very exciting month for me! Here’s a list of this month’s events:

On March 6^th, I will be a guest on author Marilyn Levinson’s blog. My topic is “How one book became a series.” makeminemystery.blogspot.com

March 11^th, I will be signing and selling copies of Marnie Malone, my fifth Malone mystery, at Colerain High School in Cincinnati.

On March 12^th, my post on author Madeline (M.M.) Gornell’s blog will give an overview of my Malone mystery series and, of course, I talk about my new book. https://mmgornell.wordpress.com/

March 13th I'll be featured on author Marja McGraw's blog. "Just in time for St. Patrick's Day."
http://marjamcgraw.blogspot.com/ 

March 14^th is the day that Marnie Malone will officially be released.
Amazon link: http://tinyurl.com/8sd2cz4
Barnes & Noble link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Patricia+Gligor/_/N-8qa?_requestid=305533

Here's the direct amazon link for Marnie Malone: http://tinyurl.com/gnvn4kq 

It’s also the day that author, Amy Reade, is interviewing me on her blog. https://amreade.wordpress.com/category/guest-blogger/

March 20th - author Jacqueline Seewald is interviewing me on her blog.  
http://jacquelineseewald.blogspot.com

March 27 - author Jean Henry Mead has invited me to do a post on Mysterious Writers. My topic is "Why I became a mystery writer." http://mysteriouspeople.blogspot.com

March 17^th – St. Patrick’s Day. I’m including this date because Ann and Marnie, the two main characters in my series, are of Irish descent. And, the holiday has a very special significance in Marnie Malone.

Until next time:

“May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

the rains fall soft upon your fields

and until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.”

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Ann Malone Kern, the main character in my Malone mysteries, is of Irish descent but, as far as I know, I don’t have a drop of Irish blood in my veins. However, we both live in Cincinnati, a city where the Irish played an important role. Next to the Germans, they were the largest group of immigrants between 1840 and 1910.

Cincinnati was a major destination for immigrants from Ireland who left their homeland because, due to the potato blight and resulting famine in their country, they couldn’t pay their mortgages and they were starving. Many were poor, spoke English with a brogue and were Roman Catholic with large families. Some came with nothing more than a few pieces of clothing.

The city offered many opportunities for work on the riverfront, digging for the Miami and Erie Canal and on railroad construction. Although most had hoped to become farmers, with no money and desperate to feed their families, when they arrived in the Queen City, many Irish took jobs that were dangerous and unskilled with low pay.

Through the years, the Irish have contributed greatly to our city’s growth and culture. During the Civil War, the Irish formed several militia units, which became the core of the Ohio 10^th Regiment. Later, many became policemen and firemen, some were prosperous in industry and others were active in politics.

Today, we have The Irish Heritage Center of Greater Cincinnati. The IHC was founded to promote the Irish Culture through the study of customs, dance, education, film, genealogy, history, language, lectures, literature, music, mythology, poetry, social interaction, song, sport, theater and the visual arts.

Cincinnati's Irish Festival

And the annual St. Patrick's Day parade!

   “May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.”