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I’m gradually updating some of my most primitive covers. Thanks to the AI features of Canva, I’m not limited to just photoshopping images. Here are the “BEFORE” and “AFTER” covers of “The Portumna Bridge Troll.” It’s one of my silliest, most fanciful of the Father Declan Supernatural Mysteries.

Last week I wrote “The Boy Bishop,” a flash fiction short story for the LegendFiction group where the prompt was simply “Quilldrake.” Everybody else wrote dragon stories. Mine’s a little different, but they included it in their FREE e-book anthology anyway! There are some really fun stories here, from excellent writers. Check it out! YOUR…

Patron saint of writers. Love this guy!

New cover reveal! I love “The Fairy Queen of Killaloe,” but HATED the cover I created. So thanks to Canva and AI, I have a new one. What do you think? Does it spark interest? Love the salmon! Blurb: Never Bargain With a Banshee! An Irish priest must defend a philandering fiancé from a judgment…

My latest Father Declan Supernatural Mystery Story just went live, e-book and paperback on Amazon. A Christmas Catastrophe! Father Declan travels to the site of a 17th-century massacre to investigate reports of a Wailing Woman apparition that haunts the Tully Castle ruin every Christmas Eve. When his spiritual gift of Insight uncovers a curse involving…

I’m currently about 3k words into my newest Father Declan supernatural mystery novella. Working title: “The Christmas Spirits at Tully Castle.” This castle ruin was the site of a massacre during the 1641 Irish Rebellion in which Rory Maguire, seeking to reclaim lands stolen by England and occupied by Scots, sealed 60 women, children, and…

My 26th Father Declan Supernatural Mystery just went live. It was inspired by my visit to Belleek Castle, Co. Mayo, and the surrounding forest. And yes, there really is a stuffed wolf in Grace O’Malley’s “bedroom.” Thanks to Walter Ryan-Purcell and Walter’s Way Tours for making this memorable visit possible. Also, it was fun to…

I just published another short ghost story! “Daddy’s Girl.” A Ghost Bride at Sligo Cemetery begs Father Declan to help free her grief-stricken father, who has languished earthbound in their family vault for 150 years. But when the priest descends into the cold, damp mausoleum, he provokes an ancient adversary that threatens to make this…

NEW! Released November 9, 2024 Father Declan’s holiday feasting is interrupted by a call to Donegal Town’s Famine Graveyard where dozens of keening zombie ghosts from the Great Hunger cry out for release. But when the spirit of a vainglorious proselytizer stirs the pot, Father Declan and his mission of mercy become at risk of…

I’m going back to Ireland TOMORROW. I’ll post pix as soon as I arrive.

Oberammergau Passion Play 1985. Nine hours of brilliant staging with devoted amateur actors speaking in German. This is the moment Palm Sunday, and all of Holy Week first became “real” to me. Never underestimate the power of the arts to change lives. All reactions: 19Donna Murray, Cindy Hamilton and 17 others

Happy St. Brigid’s Day! Brigid is one of my favorite Irish saints, appearing in more of my Father Declan stories than any other from the Cloud of Witnesses. Last summer I visited her grave in Downpatrick. (Thank you Walter’s Way Tours!) She shares the grave with St. Patrick and St. Columba. Today, I celebrate her…

Feathers Flying! Everything that could go wrong does, when a Franciscan priest attempts to bless a previously desecrated monument to Paddy the Pigeon, decorated veteran of the Normandy Invasion. This whimsical and comedic short story, with just a whiff of the supernatural, is rooted in historical fact and set in Carnlough, Northern Ireland. Paddy the…

The Dangling Steeplejack Entangled in Terror! When a gifted priest discovers a petrified ghost dangling outside Sligo Cathedral’s belfry, he must go to dizzying and dangerous heights to help the frenzied phantom down. Or rather, up. Set in Ireland, the Father Declan Supernatural Mysteries are upbeat, redemptive contemporary fantasy short stories. Some are humorous, and…