Book launch weekend

A brilliant launch weekend for Queens of the Crone Age that started in Kilrush and ended on-stage in Cork.

On Friday 4th, the wonderful Banner Books hosted me in their beautiful bookshop of Kilrush. I read from one of the stories, the Clare-set Biddy Early tale 'Once Upon A Time (There Was A Wise Woman)' and signed books and had very animated discussions about Hags, landscape and elderhood with a fantastic audience.

Next up was Shannon's first literary festival, Aonach na Sionna. I attended Lauren McNamara's poetry workshop there on Saturday, and learned a lot about writing and performing - excellent. On Sunday I gave a 90-minute workshop on Mythological Women: Writing With Lore where the participants generated enough ideas to fill an anthology.

Finally on Cork, I got to put Lauren's performance tips to work in Cyprus Avenue, Cork. It's a gorgeous venue I'd gone to gigs in before - but it was quite something to see the vast array of chairs laid out beforehand and to realise the talk had sold out. Any qualms were momentary; Roy from Seed Talks and Joe who controlled sound and lighting were so helpful. And the audience! Any final nerves dissipated when I saw the smiles. It's so lovely to stand on stage and feel the goodwill flowing from folk who really want to hear all about the Cailleach and her descendants. It was fabulous to see old friends I'd shared residencies with poet Ashe O'Neal and Mary Timmins the ceramic artist. Always lovely to see Conor of the beautifully Gothic Gadai Dubh Books and Valerie O'Brien Director of the National Sculpture Factory.

What a weekend! Thanks so much to everyone who showed up, listened to stories of the Hag, bought books, or wrote about mythological women. Special thanks to writers Maria Beville and Jennifer Lindsay Gray who kept me company throughout.