Susan Lanigan graduated from a Masters in Creative Writing in NUI Galway. Since then, she has had short stories published in The Stinging Fly, Southword, The Sunday Tribune, the Irish Independent, Nature, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and Mayo News. She has been thrice shortlisted for the Hennessy New Irish Writing Award and longlisted and shortlisted for the Fish Short Story Contest, the Bristol Prize, the Raymond Carver Short Story Award and other competitions.
In her own words, she says that:
“I write mainly historical fiction, my particular interest being World War One and the surrounding period. I have a burning desire to rip through the saccharine, sentimentalised, packaged narratives of this era, and tell powerful stories that will keep any reader enthralled.”
She describes her current published books as:
“My first novel White Feathers, a tale of passion, betrayal and war, was selected as one of the final ten in the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair, 2013, and published in 2014 by Brandon Books. The book won critical acclaim and was shortlisted for the UK Romantic Novel of the Year Award in 2015.”
“My second novel, Lucia’s War, also concerning WWI as well as race, music and motherhood, was published in June 2020 and has been named as the Coffee Pot Book Club Honourable Mention in the Modern Historical Book of the Year Award.”
Where to Find Susan?
You can find Susan on her website https://susanlanigan.com
You can also find Susan on Twitter @susanl_author
Books.
Unfortunate Stars.
“A story within a story, a moment between two wars. A harrowing read, but a gripping one.” – Kathleen Jowitt, author of Speak Its Name
Czechoslovakia, 1938 – Friedrich Pflommer, a married man with two children, has fallen hopelessly in love with the most unsuitable person possible – the young, volatile Kai, an exchange student living under his own roof. As Nazi forces gather on the border, Friedrich is playing a high-stakes game and risks losing everything.
France, 1915 – as a young lieutenant in wartime, Friedrich is badly injured during a failed counterattack, but a meeting with an Englishman during battle changes the course of his life.
Unfortunate Stars is a short story of romantic love and deep friendship between men, of what it is to surrender to our own truth, and to live that truth even in the hardest of circumstances.
Lucia’s War.
London, 1950. Soprano Lucia Percival has overcome racism and many obstacles to become a renowned opera singer. She is now due to perform her last concert. But she has no intention of going onstage. A terrible secret from her service during the First World War has finally caught up with her.
London, 1917. Lucia, a young Jamaican exile, hopes to make it as a musician. But she is haunted by a tragic separation that is still fresh in her memory – and when she meets Lilian, an old woman damaged by a similar wartime loss, she agrees to a pact that could destroy everything she has fought so hard to achieve.
From the Western Front and the mean streets of Glasgow, to black society in London, Lucia’s story tells a tale of music, motherhood, loss and redemption.
White Feathers.
What do you do when forced to make an impossible choice?
Eva Downey jumps at the chance to attend finishing school, especially as she is about to be pushed into marriage by her overbearing stepmother. At the school she finds kinship, and, unexpectedly, love. But when war breaks out in 1914, her family are pushing her into giving the man she loves a white feather of cowardice, because he refuses to enlist. Eva’s decision will have devastating consequences for her – and everyone around her.
Shortlisted for the Romantic Novel of the Year Award in 2015, White Feathers is “a beautiful, complex and engrossing book with a strong romantic and idealistic heart.” – Ivan O’Brien, The O’Brien Press.
Where to Buy?
You can find links to every place possible to purchases Susan’s wonderful work on her webpage, we have included just a few below, in case you cannot wait.
© Cobh Readers & Writers 2020
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