Writing About the Irish

Most of my novels have an Irish or Irish-American secondary character, but only one so far has an Irish main character. I have a good amount of Irish heritage, have traveled to Ireland, and find the Irish intriguing. In general, I love their sense of humor and ability to poke fun at themselves. It's refreshing to see people who don't take themselves too seriously all the time.

Irish characters certainly play a part in my Appalachian Roots series, the first four books I published. In Cleared for Planting, Sarah's father is Irish and her mother is Cherokee. That means Luke, Sarah's grandson in Sown in Dark Soil, also has an Irish heritage. In Uprooted by War, Luke's early friend in Andersonville prison is an Irishman, and Luke's daughter Rachel is part Irish in Transplanted to Red Clay.

In When Winter Is Past, Stanton's bond servant is an Irishman, and some of the mountain people in Mountain Mishap have Irish roots. Glenna, Lucas's delightful, tell-it-like-it-is housekeeper in It All Started at the Masquerade, is Irish. The hero, Patrick Murphy, in With Summer's Songs is an Irishman. My traditional publisher said my abundance of Irish characters is one of the things that drew him. He's Irish, too.

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