Book Jacket

 

rank 1823
word count 27176
date submitted 02.04.2010
date updated 12.04.2010
genres: Fiction, Harper True Life, Comedy
classification: universal
incomplete

Home to roost and other stories

JDP Mac Namara

'Home to roost,' is a collection of 'nearly true,' stories about twenty characters from the authors childhood in Erris in the far west of Ireland.

 

‘Home to Roost,’ contains 20 stories about people from Erris on the western edge of Ireland..

It is a mysterious land alive with legends, preserved and embellished by its uniquely independent people. To know them, you need to know the country.

Erris has vast stretches of unspoilt bog land, golden beaches and coves, secluded bays, crystal clear streams and lakes magical landscapes and spectacular cliffs.

Gaelic is spoken by some as their first language but when strangers are around the craic is in an English which can be pure poetry.

Erris is a land of turf smoke, good strong tea, Guinness, Whisky both legal and illegal, soda bread and warm hospitality.
Nearby Knock has an international airport and even Belmullet in the heart of Erris has a death defying airstrip for bold private pilots.

The main highway has improved thanks to the European Union and there is a fine golf links and a luxury hotel in Belmullet. However, most of all, Erris is the sum of its people who haven’t changed much thank goodness. Long may they thrive and I hope you will enjoy meeting a few of them in the following pages,

 
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tags

a good read, a tast of the west, a touch of blarny, easy read, every one based on true stories. a jolly good readand, full of turf smoke pipe smoke an...

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22 comments

 

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ezenwa wrote 397 days ago

hello how are you?

Robert Craven wrote 1026 days ago

poignant and warm about a dying culture, excellent read, one for the fireside with a pint and a toastie with cheese.

gets my vote

Rob

mvw888 wrote 1133 days ago

A touching collection of recollections. Whether they're fully true or not, transported me to another place and time. Strong characterization, interesting observations. Well done.
---Mary
The Qualities of Wood

Luk7 wrote 1138 days ago

Home to roost and other stories - Back again and read 'The Rivals' this time. Another great story, and again I could hear the voices of these characters loud and clear. Fantastic stuff.

Linda Lou wrote 1148 days ago

hullo JDP. what great stories about a land which we, well at least I, can only imagine. verg good. already shelved and backed. Please take a look at my book and thanks for that.
Linda Lou Long
Southern dis-Comfort
http://www.authonomy.com/ViewBook.aspx?bookid=11421

missyfleming_22 wrote 1155 days ago

I read the first three stories and loved them all. Each one is individual in its style yet I can still tell its the same author for each one. I enjoyed them, you've done a wonderful job!

Missy
Mark of Eternity

Beval wrote 1155 days ago

I've read three of the stories and I'm going to read all the rest. This is a wonderful collection full of charm and humour.
To anyone who has ever set foot in this beautiful part of planet Earth, the sense of place and most of all the sound of the voices is all there.Memories of a conversation that started "Now, if you wanted to be going there, you shouldn't have started here" came flooding back:-))
Backed.

cutley wrote 1155 days ago

A truly delightful collection of wonderfully Irish stories. There are a few problems with apostrophes and that sort of thing, but they can easily be sorted out.

Well done, and good luck.

Charles

carlashmore wrote 1157 days ago

This has a lovely charm to it. Very accessible writing is supported by an array of truly engaging characters in a part of the world I would dearly love to visit. Funny, poignant and expertly crafted, this is a winner of a book.
Carl
The Time hunters

Melcom wrote 1159 days ago

What a great read, love books with short stories that you can dip in and out of. Crossed lines, how funny is that?

Your writing flows wonderfully well, did spot the odd punctuation blip (but hey, we're all still editing ours)

Enjoyable and very entertaining read.

Melxx
Impeding Justice

JDP Mac Namara wrote 1160 days ago
Luk7 wrote 1162 days ago

Just read the one of these so far, very funny and well told. Lovely fresh and original read, and this first story about the phones is a great way in to the times you will no doubt explore further in the other stories.
Noticed the speechmarks not being consistent, but that is easily sorted.
Didn't stop me enjoying it!

Luk7
Pixellated

RichardBard wrote 1165 days ago

You've definitely got the voice down on these wonderfully entertaining stories. Thanks for putting a smile on my face at the end of a long day! Well done. I'm happy to back it.

Richard Bard
BRAINRUSH (2010 ABNA Quarter-Finalist)

lionel25 wrote 1167 days ago

JDP, I enjoyed Crossed Lines. Good mix of narrative and true-to-life dialogue. I hope your other stories are like this.

Happy to back your work.

Joffrey (The Silver Spoon Effect)

soutexmex wrote 1167 days ago

I really like the pitches. This did sell me. BUT, I would break up that long pitch into smaller paragraphs so it reads faster. Being Authonomy's #1 commentator and amateur pitch doctor, trust me, you have mastered this basic sales technique to grab the casual reader. That's how you climb in ranking to gather more exposure and comments to better your novel. SHELVED!

I can use your comments on my book when you get the chance. Cheers!

JC
The Obergemau Key
Authonomy's #1 rated commentator

Barry Wenlock wrote 1168 days ago

Hi JDP -- I read the first story about the crossed phone line and thought it was brilliant. It sounds just like Nepal today, where this kind of stuff still goes on -- in fact we think someone uses our phone line ( and cable TV, and internet, and water, and electricity).
Paddy the Van and his brother-in law must have moved out here!
There are a few punctuation errors, missing speech marks etc. but the writing is polished and captures the 'Irish brogue' and dry wit perfectly.
A real pleasure to read and back.
Best wishes, Barry
Little Krisna and the Bihar Boys

Barry Wenlock wrote 1168 days ago

Hi JDP -- I read the first story about the crossed phone line and thought it was brilliant. It sounds just like Nepal today, where this kind of stuff still goes on -- in fact we think someone uses our phone line ( and cable TV, and internet, and water, and electricity).
Paddy the Van and his brother-in law must have moved out here!
There are a few punctuation errors, missing speech marks etc. but the writing is polished and captures the 'Irish brogue' and dry wit perfectly.
A real pleasure to read and back.
Best wishes, Barry
Little Krisna and the Bihar Boys

ThePauleman wrote 1169 days ago

First of all I love short stories and these are just wonderful.

I especially liked the last two: "Home To Roost" which showed me that home is where the heart is. And "Away With the Fairies" which shoed the power of a good story-teller. And you, sir, are a good story-teller.

One thing that I did pick up on was that in the first book you wrote "The font of all gossip told Ma about a few newcomers one or two who were quite wealthy and would certainly want a phone if they hadn't already got one."
font should be fount as in fountain.

Other than that great beginning, I'll be going back to it again and again to see what you had added. Keep on writing and take care.

Paul

lizjrnm wrote 1170 days ago

I absolutely love this collection! So well crafted and polished each and every story so far! BACKED with pleasure. You are a talented writer!

Liz
The Cheech Room

Mr. Nom de Plume wrote 1172 days ago

Very enjoyable to read. Thanks for sharing. Backed. Chuck (Paperboy Adventures)

JDP Mac Namara wrote 1172 days ago

This is a charming book. I've never been to Ireland but after reading only these first five chapters, I feel as if I've lived there all my life. Your dialogue is great. The stories are entertaining. I've added this to my shelf. Burgio (Grain of Salt).

Burgio wrote 1172 days ago

This is a charming book. I've never been to Ireland but after reading only these first five chapters, I feel as if I've lived there all my life. Your dialogue is great. The stories are entertaining. I've added this to my shelf. Burgio (Grain of Salt).

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