“As you journey into Mary Murphy’s new tale, you may just hear a faint cry of a fiddle on the sea wind. She weaves a tale with the same love and magic that generations of Seannachie (storytellers) used to cast spells over their hushed listeners.”
— Will Millar, founder of The Irish Rovers, Canada
“…altogether engrossing. I was immediately transported to the crackling warmth of an Irish hearth fire and to the timeless stories one always finds there.”
— Potpourri Book Club, Corpus Christi, USA
“…enchanting and filled with dreams. It is Mary’s way with words and charming turn of phrase that captivates the reader and compels us to turn the pages.”
— Literary Review, Ireland
$19.95
Story Sample:
Original inside illustration – A Gift of Words – by Fiona Van Housen.
Set in Ireland in modern times, The Emerald Diaries tells the story of how Nora discovers an aged green box in the loft of her newly inherited family farm. Among other items, the box contains diaries written by her departed relatives.
The contents of these diaries carry the reader away on a wild Irish wind, revealing a history of intrigue focused around a powerful heirloom that has been passed down quietly and secretly by her female ancestors. The main character, Nora, is a young writer who discovers surprising connections, relevant to her own life, as she learns about her family’s voyages back and forth to America, unscrupulous characters bent on stealing the heirloom and the drastic measures that her female ancestors went through to protect this device. Ultimately, Nora finds herself in search of the heirloom and the story goes on to tell how she needs this device to overcome family tragedy.
The story will appeal to all readers, including Irish history buffs, who will be intrigued by the ancient stories of this heirloom as well as more recent hardships of Irish Clans, including the potato famine in the 1800’s and Cromwell’s treatment of Irish peasants.Fiction, fantasy, historic references, impish flights of fancy and romance all pleasurably collide in these pages to make for a startling and intoxicating read.
