with Daithi Kavanagh
We are delighted to welcome author Daithi Kavanagh to Omnimystery News.
Daithi's new first in series mystery is The Gun (Tirgearr Publishing; September 2014 ebook formats) introducing Garda Detective Tadgh Sullivan, who leads a special unit that investigates politically motivated crimes.
We asked Daithi to tell us more about how the book came to be written, which is the subject of his guest post for us today.
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Photo provided courtesy of
Daithi Kavanagh
I started writing in 2012. I went back to adult education having found myself unemployed due to the recession in Ireland. I hadn't completed my Leaving Certificate (U.S. High School Diploma) having left school at fifteen, so I saw this as an opportunity for me to complete my education. I passed the Leaving Certificate in September 2014 (a great achievement for me). During my time at school I had a great interest in English and my English teacher Jim Maguire encouraged me to write. I wrote a few pieces and from these got the idea to write a book. I had been feeling frustrated with what was going on in Ireland in relation to the collapse of the economy and how this had left many ordinary people in a precarious situation through no fault of their own. From this I started writing The Gun. In the beginning I used to give what I had written to Jim to check and then after a while just went with it myself.
I did most of my writing of The Gun in bed! I find that it is an escape from the hustle and bustle of family life and for some reason my thoughts seem to flow there. In the summer I have a little place in my garden that I can sit in and I find that my writing flows there too. I would hand write it the book and when I had written a certain amount my wife Caroline would type it and we would keep it up to date every day. We then proof read it about four times and Caroline sent it to every publisher she could find. Eventually Tirgearr Publishing contacted me and I signed a contract with them which is a dream come true for me. The Gun was published on 30th September 2014 and is the first in a series called The Tadhg Sullivan Series. I have just completed and submitted my second book in the series called The Brotherhood where Tadhg is in pursuit of an evil cult called The Brotherhood. The Brotherhood is due for release in May 2015. I have started on my third book in the series.
In the opening chapter The Deerstalker comes into possession (by chance) of a gun and as the gun played a central part in the story this is where I got the name from.
Tirgearr Publishing designed the cover which I am really pleased with and which I think captures the essence of the book very well.
I read a lot of Nordic Crime thrillers which built up my interest in that genre. In the era that I grew up in the Garda Siochana (Irish police force) dealt with a lot of political crime and that is where the character of Detective Tadhg Sullivan came from. His nemesis The Deerstalker was an ordinary Joe Soap who became embittered and twisted because of the situation he found himself in with his children emigrating and the dire financial situation he found himself in. I also go into the past of the characters and tried to flesh them both out to give the reader an understanding of why the characters are the way they are and hope this comes across in my book.
I set The Gun mainly in my home town of Wexford. I was born in Wales but my family moved to Wexford Ireland when I was seven. I have grown to love this town with its beautiful narrow streets, quay front and numerous beaches. But mainly it is the people who make a town and I love the Wexford sense of humour and have gotten to know a lot of Wexford characters over the years. It gave me great pleasure to have my book set in my home town.
Overall writing The Gun has been a great experience for me and a huge learning curve and to have my book published is a huge honour. When I started my second book The Brotherhood I felt I had learned a lot from writing The Gun and my confidence as a writer has grown. I would say to anyone who wants to write a book to keep going no matter what and to believe in yourself. Never give up, It is never too late to start.
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Daithi Kavanagh lives with his wife and two teenage children in Trinity, Wexford. Up to 2012 when the recession hit Ireland, he was making a living as a musician. He then went back to adult education and completed his Leaving Certificate in 2014. He is now studying for a degree in Culture and Heritage Studies at Wexford Campus. He plays guitar and sings in many of the pubs in his hometown of Wexford, where he is often joined by his two children Ella and Rory, who play fiddle and flute. In his spare time he likes to walk his two dogs with his wife Caroline.
For more information about the author, please find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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The Gun
Daithi Kavanagh
A Tadhg Sullivan Mystery
Debt was hard … Death was easy …
Garda Detective Tadhg Sullivan leads a special unit that investigates politically motivated crime. A man known only as The Deerstalker is a cancer who has infected the Irish political system.
Sullivan teams up with journalist Helen Carty, and together they try tracking down the mysterious killer. Carty adds to Sullivan's problems, when he finds himself falling in love with her. And further complicating things, he starts losing trust in his partner, Detective Pat Carter, who appears to be on the side of the Garda Commissioner, who Sullivan is rapidly falling out with.
Sullivan's case is further thrown into confusion when a copycat killer, Tommy Walsh, is shot dead by the CIA. When the CIA discovers that they've killed the wrong person, the two agents involved — Simon, who has become disillusioned by his time stationed in the Middle East, and Joey, a psychopath who confuses zealotry with patriotism — are also in pursuit of The Deerstalker.
Sullivan finds himself in a race against time, if he is to arrest The Deerstalker before the CIA take him out, and use his death as a pawn in a political game of chess.
Who will win out in the end?
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