The hip has been replaced! Yea, I now have two parallel scars, one on each hip. I am Titanium Woman…though still with a bit of a hobble, but it’s early days yet.

I was supposed have it done in a day, but in the end, I stayed one night in Cappagh National Orthopaedic Hospital because after the operation I kept fainting while trying to walk, but what a lovely stay: I had my own room with fab views over the Dunsink Landfill complete with roaming wild ponies, my own private bathroom, and wonderful staff caring for me. That was some competition for poor Jerry who has had to drive, fetch and carry, soothe, and listen to my mithering ever since. I don’t remember the recovery being such an ordeal ten years ago as it has been this time. I keep trying to run before I can walk and getting tired as a result and quite frustrated. Isn’t one supposed to get wiser as one gets older or is it just more grumpy? I am definitely more grumpy.

Anyway, tis all done and almost dusted and it is time to raise my head above the parapet and start living…and this will be done as next week I go on five-day break with the family in what apparently used to be called the Soviet Riviere in Latvia (Jumala) and, I have…drumroll… a book, Daughters, published on Amazon and Kindle. It’s also my birthday, so how better to start a 64^th year with a new leg, a new grand daughter and a new novel.

I wrote it, and another one, The Residency, nearly ten years ago, enjoyed writing it and, ever since, have been tinkering with them. I also have a book of short stories on the go. But, I have never sent any of these out into the world. Interestingly, after I became Aine’s grandmother last December, I decided that I wanted to get them published so that I had a legacy to leave behind. Maybe, I thought, my grandchildren (if I have anymore) would get to know me through my writing for there will be little else for them to remember me by and I could be dead before I get to know them. I’m afraid I couldn’t be arsed to go through the traditional publishing route, so I spent a little of my hip recovery time getting ready to publish it on Kindle. And so here it is. For Aine, Daughters…welcome to the world.

So, I hear you all clamouring, a novel…how exciting…what is it about? Well, it could be a good summer read. In short, it explores the impact of mother and sibling relationships within a family. It’s about a rather egotistical woman, Gloria, who escapes from apartheid South Africa to London and raises her daughters alone in glorious chaos and drama. One daughter, Rose (aged 20), is a rumbustious chip off the old block, another, Clare (19) is more like her own father and Miranda, the youngest (aged five) listens and absorbs. The main story is set in 2011 when the girls learn the identity of their different fathers. It is a maelstrom of emotion and, I think, the book examines how the actions of one family member can impact and radically change another’s life.

The Residency and the short stories will follow…maybe in line with the dropping of the grandchildren!!!

Note to Readers

Daughters is available from Amazon UK and is available on the kindle. On Amazon, the kindle version will come up, but if you want a hard copy, click on the link to paperback format. On the Kindle, if you do a search, you might see Slainte also on Kindle. It’s a novella I published in 2014 which could do with a lot of editing!!!!! I can’t bear to read it, but I love the characters. Anyway, below is how the kindle edition of Daughters looks.