Ghosts and Psychics In Ireland

When I began my novel, A Cry From The Deep, I had no idea that my characters would includ ghosts and psychics. It was the land that spoke to me, as well as my protagonist, Catherine Fitzgerald, a scuba diver on assignment to cover a treasure hunt, who took me in this direction.

I’be been blessed with much travel, so it’s not surprising that the places I’ve been end up in my stories. My husband, Rob, and I visited Ireland in 2006 and to say that I was blown away by its beauty is an understatement. 

Ireland is so much more when you see it for yourself. I tried to capture what I saw in my novel, A Cry From The Deep, when Catherine Fitzgerald sees the land for the first time.

“As if the drive wasn’t challenging enough, she also had to contend with the distraction of the picture postcard scenery. Though the skies were grey, the greens of the landscape were unlike anything she’d ever seen. It was as if God, the artist supreme, had selected every green paint available on the market and then some. There was kelly green, avocado, forest, willow, apple, lime, and mint. One green flowed seamlessly into another as it marched over the hills and into the beyond. She passed thatched cottages behind old stone fences, neon coloured pubs by the roadside, and new mansions set back on large properties. She even welcomed the times she had to stop to let farmers cross the road with their flocks of sheep. The gentle landscape was a welcome contrast to the frenetic pace of New York.”  from A Cry From The Deep

Because A Cry From The Deep, is a time slip story of a love so powerful it spans several lifetimes, it had to have ghosts and psychics. When Catherine Fitzgerald, about to join an underwater hunt for one of the lost ships of the Spanish Armada, buys an antique Claddagh ring, she is troubled by nightmares and visions that set her on a path to fulfill a promise of love made centuries before. Set in Provence, Manhattan, and Ireland, this romantic mystery exposes not only two women’s longings, but also the beauty of the deep, where buried treasures tempt salvagers to break the law.

Thanks again,  Siggy. I know you love Ireland as well. 

Diana Stevan 

For more about me, please visit me at http://www.dianastevan.com; 

https://twitter.com/DianaStevan, or my Facebook author page at https://www.facebook.com/dianastevan.author  

The link to my book title is http://amzn.to/1Lmx7nq.

Travels with a Blue Vase

For as long as I can remember I have loved to travel. My father traveled in
his work and frequently took us along. My mother said I was born with the
“go” gene. I also loved to draw. I was the one who drew pictures of Mickey
Mouse for my friends, the one the teacher called on for bulletin boards.
Even though my first love was art, I studied nursing in college. These were
the turbulent Kennedy years, and a bomb shelter had been built next door.
Later, when my children were in school, l wanted to be home on holidays
and summer vacations so I returned to school and became certified to
teach art.
When I began, I longed to go where they great artists had gone, lived and
painted. In 1994 I had a chance to go to Provence in the south of France to
paint. I visited the studios of Monet, Cezanne and Renoir, the scenes
painted by Van Gogh and Matisse as well. I took with me a blue plastic
vase so I could enjoy fresh flowers in my room. Sometimes it got into my
pictures. I filled a sketchbook, and I was hooked. Each winter I saved my
pennies, and every other summer I traveled and painted.
Many years and multiple sketchbooks later, I sat beside a lady from London
on the plane. She looked at my sketchbooks, noticed the blue vase and
suggested I put them all together in a book and call it Travels with a Blue
Vase. I had my title.
I decided to narrow the scope of my various travels to the Mediterranean
area: Provence, Italy and Greece. Because I am a foodie and love to paint
food, I included illustrated recipes from those countries.
Shortly after I began, I lost my daughter. I had retired from teaching to care
for her at home so I was at loose ends. I volunteered to do art with several
special needs groups, but it wasn’t enough. Putting together this book gave
me a focus, a reason for being. I relived each place I had been when I
made these sketches, and it made me happy.
When it was finished, I combed the bookshelves of stores and libraries to
find similar books and their publishers. I talked to authors and editors
before I sent a proposal to two of them. After six months I had two very nice
Travels with a Blue Vase
rejection letters so I decided to publish it myself. After all, our lives are
getting shorter every day.
Travels with a Blue Vase: A Mostly Mediterranean Sketchbook has
done very well. I’m not looking to become rich or famous - I’d just like to
share the beauty I see around me and the gift from God I’ve been given.
A second book came easily as I learned the modern technology of
computers. I called it More Travels with a Blue Vase: Paris and Beyond.
Currently I’m working on a third in the series. It encompasses England,
Scotland, Ireland and Wales. I have much of it done. I just need to take one
more trip...

Mary Ann Miller
Member of www.NLAPW.org, Jacksonville branch
Her book is available on her website and also at the Cummer Museum in Jacksonville, Fl