Twenty years ago, Jo Devereux fled Mucknamore, the small Irish village where she grew up, driven away by buried secrets and hatreds, swearing never to return 
Now she is back and wants to uncover the truth about what really went on between her family and their friends, the O’Donovans, during Ireland’s bitter Civil War. 
The consequences of that division in the 1920s carried down into Jo’s own life, shattering her relationship with Rory O’Donovan, the only man she ever loved and driving her to leave Ireland. 
Now, Jo’s estranged mother has died, leaving her a suitcase full of letters and diaries that may answer questions about the past. 
Was her great-uncle really murdered by Dan O’Donovan, his best friend? 
What would drive somebody to do that? 
And what part did her beloved grandmother play in this conflict? 
Jo's happy life in San Francisco has been unraveling since her friend Richard died last year. So now, much to her own surprise, she decides to stay on in Mucknamore and see if the letters and diaries bequeathed by her mother might provide the key to unlock the truth. 
Over the course of a long hot summer, Jo draws close again to Rory, who still lives in Mucknamore and is mired in an unhappy marriage. As she tells him about their shared family past, they realize their love affair was doomed long before they were born. 
Now that they know, can there be a second chance at happiness? Rory is urging her to rebel, to forget the past and start over again. 
But reading their shared history has made Jo cautious. The strength of her feelings frightens her. Is there any way she can be true to Rory and herself, but also to the family she rejected when she was young and headstrong? 
After The Rising is a sweeping, multigenerational tale set in the 1920s and 1990s Ireland and 1980s San Francisco. It is the first book in The Irish Trilogy, followed by Before the Fall. 
This is perfect for fans of Barbara Erskine, MJ Lee or Anne Griffin.

After The Rising

Literature & Fiction

Ross, Orna

Dramas & Plays

Font Publications

A historical murder mystery of love and revenge against the background of intimate war.
It's August in the long, hot summer of 1995 and Jo Devereux can't believe that she still hasn't returned home to San Francisco, though the time for her to have her baby draws near. 
Why is she staying on in Ireland, in this crumbling shed at the edge of the ocean?
Jo has spent months writing about her great-uncle death at the hands of Dan O'Donovan -- but now she is brought to consider just who led Dan to his grisly murder, by suffocation in Mucknamore's notorious sinking sands. 
Was her beloved Granny Peg really capable of luring him out there in revenge for the killing of her brother? 
Or perhaps for more intimate reasons? Or was her grandmother, as Jo would like to believe, innocent of all?
Combing family letters and diaries for what has gone unsaid, Jo is unprepared for her reaction, as Civil War reaches its peak and she comes to realise the price she, and her people, had to pay for freedom. 
But what does it mean for her relationship with Rory, Dan’s great-nephew, as he draws ever closer? Will her mission to redeem the past turn out to be the key to her future? 
Or is she about to lose out, all over again? 
Before the Fall is a sweeping, multigenerational tale set in 1920s and 1990s Ireland and 1980s San Francisco. It is the sequel to After the Rising
Praise for Orna Ross and The Irish Trilogy
 “A highly ambitious, engaging and evocative novel and a hauntingly captivating read.” — Sunday Independent
 “The sort of massive book you could happily curl up with for the entire winter, an impressive canvas interweaving a contemporary story of love, emigration and loss with the complex world of civil war politics, emerging women's rights and buried secrets. It explores the influence of our families on who we later become, in literary, lyrical language, while still being a captivating read.” —Irish Independent
 “The writer has taken on a tough job - interweaving past and present and making them strike fire off each other... [and] has made brilliant use of original sources, including local historians in Wexford, adding the icing on the cake.” —Evening Herald
 “Epic sweep...ambitious scope... an intelligent book”. — Sunday Tribune
 “A riveting story...vividly brought to life.” — Emigrant Online

Before The Fall

A literary family drama, with a murder at its heart, full of emotional twists and surprises
Will you side with mother or daughter?
When Mercy Mulcahy was 40 years old, she was accused of killing her elderly and tyrannical father. Now, at the end of her life, she has written a book about what really happened on that fateful night of Christmas Eve, 1989.
The tragic and beautiful Mercy has devoted her life to protecting Star, especially from the father whose behavior so blighted her own life. Yet Star vehemently resists reading her manuscript. 
Why? What is Mercy hiding? Was her father's death, as many believe, an assisted suicide? 
Or something even more sinister? 
In this book, nothing is what it seems on the surface and everywhere there are emotional twists and surprises. (“Breathtaking, and I mean literally -- actual gasps will happen” said one reader review).
Set in Ireland and California, Blue Mercy is a compelling novel that combines lyrical description with a page-turning style to create an enthralling tale of love, loss and the ever-present possibility of redemption.
Praise for Orna Ross and Blue Mercy
 “A lyrical, gripping and heartbreakingly beautiful tale of love, loss and the ever-present possibility of redemption.” — WE Magazine for Women
 “Epic sweep...ambitious scope... an intelligent book”. — Sunday Tribune
 “A riveting story...vividly brought to life.” — Emigrant Online

Blue Mercy: A Novel

British & Irish

Poetry for Mid-Winter Whether you're marking the Christian Christmas, the Chinese Dongzhi, the Jewish Hanukkah, the Hindi Makaraa Sankranti, the Irish Mean Geimhridh, or any other mid-winter festival, the hibernal solstice is a celebration of rebirth and renewal. The ever-present potential for beginning anew, as signified by the return of light, is the theme of this chapbook. In it, you'll find twelve poems for this season when the days start to get longer and brighter again. Poems that will encourage you to rejoice, reflect and recharge. Dark nights, lamp or candlelight, and fireside flames in a quiet room provide the perfect conditions for deep and transformative reading. Reconnect with the wonder of the world through the powerful pleasure of inspirational poetry.

Poetry For Christmas: Twelve Inspirational Poems For The Holiday Season

Poetry

"There are sharks out there in the literary waters... This Guide gives you all the skills and information you need to comparison shop. And if you are planning on successfully self-publishing, comparison shopping is essential ~ Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware!  ~~~~~~~ This guide, compiled by the Watchdog team at The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), tells you all you need to know in order to choose the self-publishing pathway that's right for you.   Drawing on recommendations from ALLi members, warnings from our Watchdog Services, other community word-of-mouth and in-depth research, the book compares twenty of the most significant self-publishing (SP) services -- from single service suppliers to package providers; from large big brand names to smaller sole traders; from off-the shelf providers to bespoke services.  We evaluate these players, compare one to the other, tell you what they do and don’t do, what they charge and for what. Offerings are categorised, prices examined, royalty structures broken down, terms and conditions trawled, small print scrutinised, and claims checked against the experience of real-life authors who have actually used these services.   Using these twenty examples, we show you how to do such a comparison yourself: the good and bad signs to look for, the questions to ask. The aim is to demonstrate all the options you are likely to encounter and show which services are doing a good job — and why you might avoid others.   Most importantly, in a landscape where things change rapidly, the Guide provides the criteria by which you can evaluate any SP service.   This book:  ~ Defines the questions you, as an aspiring (or previously burnt) self-publisher need to ask, of any service you are considering and also of yourself. ~ Introduces the basics of self-publishing ebooks and pbooks ~ Tells you the good and bad signs to look for ~ Gives each provider a rating by two different independent assessors.  ~ Offers a resource pack for the indie author, including a Directory of our Partner Members, all vetted by ALLi's Code of Standards.  ~ Demonstrates eight very different pathways to self-publication, including author co-operatives, crowdsourcing and agent assisted self-publishing.  This organic guide to a volatile industry is updated every twenty weeks or so, in both pbook and ebook formats, by ALLi's Watchdog team, so all the information is bang up-to-date.  It provides everything you need to know to harness the creative power and potential of self-publishing.

Choosing A Self-Publishing Service: The Alliance of Independent Authors Guide

Reference

Galley, Ben

Rooney, Mick

Writing, Research & Publishing Guides

EDITORIAL REVIEWS:  SUNDAY INDEPENDENT: One is immersed in this epic story immediately and effortlessly... The main characters are so well-drawn that you feel you have heard about them in your own life. The novel's strength is that it puts culpable, fragile flesh and blood - lots of blood - on a defining moment in Irish history... Of particular delight are the many unexpected twists and turns. When you think you've figured out the secrets, you may have got it all wrong. Orna Ross has written a highly ambitious, engaging and evocative novel and a hauntingly captivating read.   IRISH INDEPENDENT: This debut novel from Orna Ross [is] the sort of massive book you could happily curl up with for the entire winter, an impressive canvas interweaving a contemporary story of love, emigration and loss with the complex world of civil war politics, emerging women's rights and buried secrets. It explores the influence of our families on who we later become, in literary, lyrical language, while still being a captivating read.   EVENING HERALD: The writer is tackling a central theme - and one that's been sleeping quietly during the almost-century since the Irish State's foundation: the ideals and ideas of that time and how they affect the very different Ireland of today. The story-within-a-story - desire, hatred, love and a killing in the Civil War - is loosely based on a Wexford murder of the time and ... is a gripping story. The writer has taken on a tough job - interweaving past and present and making them strike fire off each other... [and] has made brilliant use of original sources, including local historians in Wexford, adding the icing on the cake.    Can we ever remake the past that made us?   When Jo Devereux returns to Ireland after an absence of 20 years, the last person she expects to meet at her mother's funeral is Rory O'Donovan. The bitter conflict between her family and his, full of secrets and silences, was the one constant of Jo's childhood.   Now she's back in village where they both grew up, he's urging her to stay and, to her own surprise, she's tempted. Because of him? Because her life in San Francisco is such a disaster since her friend Richard died? Or because she always swore she'd write a book about it all.   So Jo settles into a shed near the beach and embarks on a quest, uncovering astonishing truths about her mother and grandmother and women's role in the conflict known as "The War of The Brothers", the Irish Civil War of 1922. And also about a killing with consequences that have ricocheted through four generations.   Now Rory, mired in an unhappy marriage, is urging her to rebel again but reading her family history has made Jo cautious. "Rebellion has an energy that sweeps people up," she tells him, "but what happens after the rising?"   Will her exhumation of the past provide the answers she so desperately needs?   AFTER THE RISING was Orna Ross's debut novel. An instant bestseller and universally acclaimed, it has now been reissued by the author.

After The Rising: A Novel (An Irish Trilogy Book 1)

Parenting & Relationships

EDITORIAL REVIEWS:  IRISH INDEPENDENT: "Ross has ... ingeniously knitted a complex tale of betrayal, revenge, suspense, murder mystery - and surprise. One key event pounced on this cynical novel-reader utterly without warning... This is no mass-produced chick-lit. Wild, gamey... John McGahern meets Maeve Binchy."   THEBOOKBAG.CO.UK:  "...I don't often beg authors for a review copy of their book but having read Orna's debut novel, I made an exception. I was keen to see if Orna could maintain the standard with her next book... in fact this book is altogether more skilful ...infinitely rewarding. Pull the delicate strands of the relationships and see how the present mirrors the past, see how history repeats itself. It's superb."   RTE GUIDE: "Crafted with the skill of a veteran and the suspense is built with perfection.  The book is epic and tackles difficult issues with skill and sensitivity [and] the character of Mercy is so compelling and interesting that she stays in your mind long after you've read the last page.  WE MAGAZINE: "As it works towards its startling denouement, this thought-provoking novel will have readers re-examining their own mothers and daughters and appreciating  them in new and unexpected ways. A lyrical, gripping and heartbreakingly beautiful tale."    Will you side with mother or daughter?  When Mercy Mulcahy was 40 years old, she was accused of killing her elderly and tyrannical father. Now, at the end of her life, she has written a book about what really happened on that fateful night of Christmas Eve, 1989.  The tragic and beautiful Mercy has devoted her life to protecting Star, especially from the father whose behavior so blighted her own life. Yet Star vehemently resists reading her manuscript.   Why? What is Mercy hiding? Was her father's death, as many believe, an assisted suicide?   Or something even more sinister?   In this book, nothing is what it seems on the surface and everywhere there are emotional twists and surprises. ("Breathtaking, and I mean literally -- actual gasps will happen" said one reader review).  Set in Ireland and California, Blue Mercy is a compelling novel that combines lyrical description with a page-turning style to create an enthralling tale of love, loss and the ever-present possibility of redemption.

Blue Mercy

Willie Yeats was 23 years old in 1889, when Maud Gonne, six feet tall, elegantly beautiful and passionately political, came calling to his house and “the troubling of his life” began. He spread his dreams under her feet, as they set about creating a new Ireland, through his poetry and her politics, and their shared interest in the occult. Yeats forged a poetic career from his unrequited love for Gonne, his unattainable muse. But as this novel says, “when looked at from the woman’s side of the bedsheet, most tales take a turning, and this one more than most.”Delving deep into their letters and journals, and communications of the family and friends around them, uncovers a story that doesn’t quite fit the poetic myth. Packed with emotional twists and surprises, Her Secret Rose is a novel of secrets and intrigue, passion and politics, mystery and magic, that brings to life 1890s Dublin, London and Paris, two fascinating characters — and a charismatic love affair that altered the course of history for two nations.Praise for Orna Ross and Her Secret Rose “A delicate balance of fact and fiction which kept me riveted from beginning to end.” — thebookbag.co.uk “… Ross has ransacked (her word) the best scholarly sources for her facts and ingeniously knitted a complex tale of betrayal, revenge, suspense, murder mystery – and surprise.” — Irish Independent

Her Secret Rose

Want to know how to make more money from your books without writing another word? Receiving regular royalties is only one revenue stream for your books. There are so many others. ***** “The definitive resource.”***** “Authoritative and inspiring.” If you’re an indie author but haven’t explored the opportunity of selling film, TV, audio and translation rights to your book, you’re leaving money on the table. There are so many other rights that you can sell too, such as video games, merchandising, large print, audio and many more. This book covers them all and shows you how to approach the decision-makers, what they’re looking for, and what to expect when discussing the license or ‘sale of rights’ for your book. It even includes sample contracts that you can adapt for your own use. After reading How Authors Sell Publishing Rights, you’ll know how to pitch, negotiate and close a sale, as well as how to work with literary agents and global publishing companies, how to make the most out of book fairs, and how to keep track of your rights. These days the publishing landscape is rife with fantastic opportunities to maximise the revenue from each and every one of your books. If you’re happy to miss out on other lucrative revenue streams, this book isn’t for you. If, however, you want to learn how to maximise your income as an indie author, you can’t afford not to read this simple to follow guide.

How Authors Sell Publishing Rights: Sell Your Book to Film, TV, Translation, and Other Rights Buyers

Sedwick, Helen

This is not a book about writing or innovation, arts or craft but a guide to being more creative and to applying the creative process to everything. Orna Ross, award-winning and best-selling novelist, and founder of the global non-profit self-publishing association, the Alliance of Independent Authors, has gathered extracts from a selection of her books -- novels, poems and the Go Creative! series into this anthology of inspirations, aimed at helping you to be more creative in everything you do. Ranging widely across her work, this anthology is at once a memoir, a meditation on the creative process, and an eloquent companion to living life as a conscious creator: a creativist. At its core is the concept of creativism, the art of creating more of what you truly want in your life and less of what you don't. Through a blend of stories from lore and literature, from science and psychology, from her students and from her own life, Orna offers enduring wisdoms about creative practice as it applies to life, love and the pursuit of happiness -- including how to foster flow, overcome self-sabotage and enjoy true creative living. Chapters include: "The Seven Stages of The Creative Process"; "How To Create Anything" and "Where The Law of Attraction Goes Wrong" but what makes this volume unique is the stories and poems. Extracts from Orna's novels illustrate creative principles in action in the lives of her characters. And inspirational poems ignite the state of creative presence as you read. The combination of ancient wisdoms and up-to-date creative research equips you for the creative age in which we now live. Guaranteed to inspire and ignite your own creative spark, this compendium is also an excellent introduction to the Go Creative! series, as well as a practical guide to being more creative at work, at home and in everything you do.

A Creativist Compendium: Creative Business, Creative Life (Go Creative)

Religion & Spirituality

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Books by Ross, Orna