In A West Cork Mystery Joe and Miranda, touring around the west of Ireland, stopped to stretch their legs. Leaning against a wall they looked across the vast, rolling, rocky countryside with, in the distance, some woolly inhabitants. One sheep appeared to be heading up a hill, away from the flock. Joe and Miranda lightly speculated that this sheep was determined to find a different, better life. No longer would she run with the crowd.
Most stories begin with a single idea, or incident, that inspires the writer. Some of these ideas are better expressed in the short story.
So at last I got around to gathering together some of these bits and pieces that I’ve jotted down over the years. (I was pleased to rescue the earliest of these from an old laptop that was, surprisingly, still working.) There’s no central theme but – as you might expect – there’s a bit of Jersey nostalgia in there among what is a fairly random collection. Fourteen stories in all and you might like a few.
Not a long read and priced accordingly – £0.99 or $0.99. Available to download now by clicking here for Amazon UK or here for Amazon.com, paperback to follow.
Let me know what you think.
socialbridge said:
Congrats, oh prolific one.
Look foward to a deep immersion.
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Roy McCarthy said:
Thank you Jean – they won’t take you long 🙂
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Letizia said:
How wonderful; I love short stories! You must have been delighted to find some of your old writing on that laptop.
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Roy McCarthy said:
Thank you Letizia (and for the RT). Yes, I knew it was somewhere and it was the longest of all of them. Delighted to rediscover it.
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ihatemoneylaundering said:
Perfect timing, Roy – I’ve downloaded it as holiday reading for next week! Love the cover…
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Roy McCarthy said:
Thank you Susan, no money back no guarantees…
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diannegray said:
Well done Roy – I love short stories xxx
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Roy McCarthy said:
Thank you Dianne. Maybe you’ll work on another collection sometime? Yours are awesome.
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diannegray said:
Thank you so much, Roy. I’m going to update mine soon – I just need to get myself into gear 😉
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Jill Weatherholt said:
Excellent news, Roy! Congratulations!
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Roy McCarthy said:
Thank you Jill, they’ve been hanging around for long enough but there’s no point in writing stuff without it being read.
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Jane Fritz said:
Hurray, a new Roy McCarthy book! I can’t wait to dig in. 🙂
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Roy McCarthy said:
Thank you Jane 🙂
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Ali Isaac said:
Congratulations, Roy! A great cover and title, all the best with it! 😊
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Roy McCarthy said:
Thank you Ali 🙂 Funny how I’ve always hit on titles and gone with them without a further thought.
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Browsing the Atlas said:
This is wonderful! Can’t wait to read it. ;). I love it when I stumble upon some of my old writings. Some are really good. Others— meh. What usually surprises me is that I don’t remember writing most of it.
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Roy McCarthy said:
Thank you Julie. I know what you mean. Sometimes I’ll read something and think ‘that’s good, who wrote that? Oh…’
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Andrea Stephenson said:
Congratulations Roy and good for you in making sure those stories see the light of day, I’ll be sure to download a copy – great title.
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Roy McCarthy said:
Thank you Andrea, appreciated. Yes it was never planned as a collection but it seemed sensible to sweep together a few odds and ends.
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Britt Skrabanek said:
Awesome, awesome, AWESOME! Congrats, Roy! Just downloaded, but I will warn you I have a giant stack of library books sitting on my dresser that I must tackle first. I will definitely read though…yay!
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Roy McCarthy said:
Thanks so much Britt. That ‘s one good thing about books, they always wait for you.
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Janna G. Noelle said:
Congrats! That’s a great cover. Speaking of cover images, I see you changed the look of your blog a bit.
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Roy McCarthy said:
Thanks Janna, hope you’re well. The blog theme needed refreshing even though it’s updated sporadically these days.
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chattykerry said:
Hi Roy, I put a comment on your blog yesterday to congratulate you – perhaps I forgot to send it? Anyway I bought the book this morning and was delighted to see my name inside. I am really touched that I inspired your writing. Thank you!!!
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Roy McCarthy said:
The first one doesn’t seem to have come through Kerry 😦 but I appreciate you downloading it 🙂 Funny how apparently little things can stick in the mind when major events can quickly be forgotten.
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chattykerry said:
That is so true. It was all the everyday things in Egypt that fascinated me not the major, political stuff.
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candidkay said:
You are so much more prolific than me! Congrats on another book:). I hope you popped the bubbly.
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Roy McCarthy said:
Thanks Kristine 🙂 This one was really just gathering together some stuff written over several years. But I am in the process of editing a sixth novel which I’m pretty happy with.
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candidkay said:
Gathering still takes time! Applauding from across the pond:).
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Minuscule Moments said:
Well done Roy, the cover looks amazing too.
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Roy McCarthy said:
Thanks a million Kath. Yes, whatever about the writing I believe in investing a bit on a professional cover. hope you’re well.
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Minuscule Moments said:
I purchased your book but it will take me awhile to get to it I have quite a pile to read at the moment. Gosh I love my kindle app as ordering the paperback is expensive postage etc to Australia. Have a wonderful day Roy.
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Roy McCarthy said:
Ah thanks Kath. It’s in bite-sized pieces when you get to it. You have an amazon.au don’t you?
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Minuscule Moments said:
yes but the postage is till outrageous. Its okay I do prefer to hold a book in my hands but if I can’t order it from my local book store I buy it as a kindle. Look forward to reading it Roy.
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Naomi Baltuck said:
Wow! I can see you’ve been busy! Congratulations, Roy. I look forward to reading this.
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Roy McCarthy said:
Just a collection of bits and pieces really Naomi, worth 0.99 I guess though. Honoured if you were to read them.
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roughwighting said:
Roy, as a release from the horror of the US elections, I finally sat myself down and read your wonderful collection of stories in The Aspiration of Sheep. THANK YOU for your writing, your words, and your voice. I just wrote a review on Amazon. Well done, my blogging friend!
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Roy McCarthy said:
Ah thank you Pam, that is so kind of you. Really appreciate it and pleased you enjoyed. (Review yet to appear but I’ll look forward to it 🙂 )
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roughwighting said:
I just checked and I don’t see it either, yet I received a confirmation from Amazon yesterday upon receiving it. Huh, hope it doesn’t take long for them to put it up. Here’s what I wrote:
5.0 out of 5 stars Short Wise Wonderful Stories of “Life” in Ireland, and in All of Us, November 11, 2016 I enjoyed each of Roy McCarthy’s sweet (sometimes saucy, sometimes sad, always revealing) stories about …. well, about little and about everything. McCarthy is self-effacing about these stories in his introduction, yet I found each one touching; each one is different from the other, yet they all meld into a melody of everyday life that is universal for us all.
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Roy McCarthy said:
That is beautiful Pam – and could only have been written by a talented writer. Thanks so much.
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roughwighting said:
Flattery will get you…everywhere. No, I had to laugh when I read your story about the woman with (she thought) tinnitus. I live with the condition (too much flying with an injured eardrum) and checked my purse just in case. Ha ha. Funny story you wrote there – hope it was fiction!
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Roy McCarthy said:
I’ve experienced it (though fortunately rarely) for many years and it’s no fun. I can’t, for the life of me, remember where I got the idea for that one.
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roughwighting said:
Perhaps the story ‘rang’ in your ears, unbeknownst to you. 🙂 But seriously, that’s the best part of writing, I think. Not knowing what to expect when pen flows on paper.
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