The Book of Shadows is here – & you’re invited!

September 8, 2016August 31, 20163 Comments

It’s my third book in a 12-month period, and yet holding that initial copy of an actual physical book for the first time never gets old. I’m in the middle of writing the final part of the trilogy, and it feels like a very long time since I thought about/edited/looked at The Book of Shadows – Nine Lives Trilogy 2… and yet, when I received this in the post from my publishers, the very first copy I’ve seen, it all came flooding back.

And so, once again, it’s launch time! The lovely and very generous Sarah Webb is launching The Book of Shadows in Eason’s O’Connell St, Dublin at 6.30pm on Thursday, September 15^th – if you’re nearby and you’re free, I’d love you to be there. If we’ve chatted via social media but haven’t yet chatted in person, so come up and introduce yourself – please don’t be shy!

If you’re battling away at your own manuscript, please keep going and stay strong. The Book of Learning, the first in my Nine Lives Trilogy, was rejected many times and I even shelved it, thinking it was the book that got me my agent. I revived it a couple of years later and it got snapped up, and ended up being chosen as the 2016 Dublin UNESCO Citywide Read for Children.

So believe in yourself, keep going, and trust your instinct. With hard work, determination and a damn good manuscript, you’ll get there.

Interview on Middle Grade Strikes Back

October 6, 2015October 6, 2015Leave a comment

The Black Lotus by Kieran Fanning – ninjas & adventure. Recommend!

A wonderful site, Middle Grade Strikes Back is dedicated to all things middle grade books – and I’m delighted to have been interviewed by the lovely (fellow author) Kieran Fanning!

For those of you who are new to this term, middle grade refers to books for children aged 8-12. It’s an industry term, and you’ll find that although most middle grade authors don’t particularly like the term, it’s useful because it helps publishers, librarians and booksellers categorise the books so it reaches the correct readership.

Thanks so much to Kieran for the great questions – and if you haven’t read Kieran’s great debut (see picture), I highly recommend it. In the meantime, you can read my interview about writing and #TheBookofLearning here!!

Cover Reveal: The Book Of Learning by E.R.Murray

April 15, 2015June 1, 20157 Comments

Here it is, my cover for The Book of Learning – Book One of my #NineLives Trilogy for 9-12 year olds with Mercier Press (August 2015). I’m so excited!

And here’s the blurb…

Sometimes, it takes more than one lifetime to put things right.

After the death of her beloved grandpa, Ebony Smart’s world is turned upside down. Sent to Dublin to live with an aunt she didn’t know existed, she soon discovers that her new home, 23 Mercury Lane, is full of secrets.

Learning that she is part of an ancient order of people who have the power to reincarnate, Ebony quickly discovers that a terrible evil threatens their existence. With just her pet rat, Winston, and a mysterious book to help her, she must figure out why her people are disappearing and how to save their souls, including her own, before time runs out …