Deborah O'Toole | Reedsy Discovery

posted an update3 months ago

3 months ago

I've been lax in making blog entries for the past few months, mainly because I've been writing and pulling together "Limb of Iniquity." Because the book is the last part of the Collective Obsessions Saga, I'm being very methodical to tie-up loose ends and providing final resolutions to all of the main characters. At this point, I predict I'll be finished with "Limb of Iniquity" by summer 2025. In the meantime, "Hearts in Sorrow" (prequel to the Collective Obsessions Saga) was released by Club Lighthouse Publishing today. The book is available at Amazon (Kindle and paperback), and at the Club Lighthouse Publishing website (multiple formats). It is also available as a paperback at Barnes & Noble. Thanks to Terrie and James at Club Lighthouse Publishing for the book cover, which I love. The photo depicts the back cover, spine and front cover of the book. Nine down, one to go! https://deborahotoole.com/books_sorrow.htm

I've been lax in making blog entries for the past few months, mainly because I've been writing and pulling together "Limb of Iniquity." Because the book is the last part of the Collective Obsessions Saga, I'm being very methodical to tie-up loose ends and providing final resolutions to all of the main characters. At this point, I predict I'll be finished with "Limb of Iniquity" by summer 2025.

In the meantime, "Hearts in Sorrow" (prequel to the Collective Obsessions Saga) was released by Club Lighthouse Publishing today. The book is available at Amazon (Kindle and paperback), and at the Club Lighthouse Publishing website (multiple formats). It is also available as a paperback at Barnes & Noble.

Thanks to Terrie and James at Club Lighthouse Publishing for the book cover, which I love. The photo depicts the back cover, spine and front cover of the book.

Nine down, one to go!

https://deborahotoole.com/books_sorrow.htm

posted an update8 months ago

8 months ago

Just received a publishing contract for my novel "Hearts in Sorrow" (writing as Deidre Dalton). Look for it by the end of the year, coming from Club Lighthouse Publishing. :) https://deborahotoole.com/books_sorrow.htm

Just received a publishing contract for my novel "Hearts in Sorrow" (writing as Deidre Dalton). Look for it by the end of the year, coming from Club Lighthouse Publishing. :)
https://deborahotoole.com/books_sorrow.htm

posted an updateover 1 year ago

over 1 year ago

Club Lighthouse Publishing just released "In the Shadow of the King." :) https://clublighthousepublishing.com/productPage/Details/627

Club Lighthouse Publishing just released "In the Shadow of the King." :)
https://clublighthousepublishing.com/productPage/Details/627

posted an updateabout 2 years ago

about 2 years ago

"In the Shadow of the King" is complete, at last! Final stats: 672 pages; 260,767 words. https://deborahotoole.com/king/index.htm

"In the Shadow of the King" is complete, at last! Final stats: 672 pages; 260,767 words.
https://deborahotoole.com/king/index.htm

posted an updateabout 2 years ago

about 2 years ago

I finished editing the first draft of "In the Shadow of the King" late this morning. The process took me two weeks of all day into the night work, but I'm happy with the results. The process eliminated 799 words, and lessened the page count from 675 to 673. I'm off to round two, which includes reading the book all over again to spot any remaining errors. https://deborahotoole.com/king/

posted an updateabout 2 years ago

about 2 years ago

I finished the first draft of "In the Shadow of the King" at 1:33pm on 03/03/2023. I wonder what all the 3's are trying to tell me? 😛 The book has 677 pages and includes a prologue, 50 chapters, an epilogue, a cast of characters, Bryan family tree, five appendixes (timeline of Sir Francis Bryan, positions & titles of Sir Francis Bryan, historical timeline of Henry VIII, Tudor Castles & Palaces, and royal household positions), chapter notes & citations, resources & credits and my ending author's note. Next step? Editing the entire lot. I can hardly wait. 🤓😜🤪 https://deborahotoole.com/king/

I finished the first draft of "In the Shadow of the King" at 1:33pm on 03/03/2023. I wonder what all the 3's are trying to tell me? 😛 The book has 677 pages and includes a prologue, 50 chapters, an epilogue, a cast of characters, Bryan family tree, five appendixes (timeline of Sir Francis Bryan, positions & titles of Sir Francis Bryan, historical timeline of Henry VIII, Tudor Castles & Palaces, and royal household positions), chapter notes & citations, resources & credits and my ending author's note. Next step? Editing the entire lot. I can hardly wait. 🤓😜🤪
https://deborahotoole.com/king/

posted an updateabout 2 years ago

about 2 years ago

I'm flattered! My yet as unfinished book is now showing up in a general web search for Sir Francis Bryan (see red outline). https://deborahotoole.com/king/

I'm flattered! My yet as unfinished book is now showing up in a general web search for Sir Francis Bryan (see red outline).
https://deborahotoole.com/king/

posted an updateabout 2 years ago

about 2 years ago

NEW ROYAL WEB I re-vamped the website for "In the Shadow of the King" last weekend with a new layout, colors and design. I prefer it to the old one. https://irisheyes.deborahotoole.com/021623.htm

NEW ROYAL WEB
I re-vamped the website for "In the Shadow of the King" last weekend with a new layout, colors and design. I prefer it to the old one.
https://irisheyes.deborahotoole.com/021623.htm

posted an updateabout 2 years ago

about 2 years ago

SMOKY INSPIRATION When I reach a frustrating impasse with "In the Shadow of the King," I go outside to sit on the back steps and have a cigarette. I know it's unhealthy, but my head clears and then fills with ideas for the next scene 99.9% of the time, thereby allowing me to resume my writing pace. This weirdness occurs three of four times a day, even if it's raining or snowing outside. I think it's because of the sheer size of the book and all of the intricate details I have to track, otherwise I could blow through it at a faster rate. Pure fiction is much easier to write as opposed to peppering the text with real facts from history. https://irisheyes.deborahotoole.com/020423.htm

SMOKY INSPIRATION
When I reach a frustrating impasse with "In the Shadow of the King," I go outside to sit on the back steps and have a cigarette. I know it's unhealthy, but my head clears and then fills with ideas for the next scene 99.9% of the time, thereby allowing me to resume my writing pace. This weirdness occurs three of four times a day, even if it's raining or snowing outside.

I think it's because of the sheer size of the book and all of the intricate details I have to track, otherwise I could blow through it at a faster rate.

Pure fiction is much easier to write as opposed to peppering the text with real facts from history.

https://irisheyes.deborahotoole.com/020423.htm

posted an updateabout 2 years ago

about 2 years ago

"Torn Bits & Pieces" was released by Club Lighthouse Publishing yesterday. The book of poetry is now available in electronic format at the publisher's website, with the paperback edition to follow in the coming weeks. I've never thought of myself as a poet. I'm a fiction writer, first and foremost. I'm not one to follow guidelines well, so the particulars and accepted standards of poetry never appealed to me. However, there was a period during my 20s when I churned out quite a few poems. I shelved them for a number of years, being of the opinion that the collective verses were nothing more than the ramblings of an angst-ridden youth. My thoughts were very dark in those days. Some of the poems are more recent, primarily in relation to my fiction novels. For example, the eight-lined "Collective Obsessions" is the same-named counterpart for the Collective Obsessions Saga (by yours truly writing as Deidre Dalton), while several are the result of a fictional character found in "Bloodlust" (book #2 of the Bloodline Trilogy writing as Deidre Dalton). My "poetry" does not follow the standards in assembly by any measure. I have not sought advice or censure from professional poets, nor have I tidied the language in the poems. No, my work in "Torn Bits & Pieces" does not follow the well-known standards of prose. It's just what it is, without apology and without a false sense of ego or entitlement. https://clublighthousepublishing.com/productPage/Details/612 https://deborahotoole.com/poetry.htm

"Torn Bits & Pieces" was released by Club Lighthouse Publishing yesterday. The book of poetry is now available in electronic format at the publisher's website, with the paperback edition to follow in the coming weeks.

I've never thought of myself as a poet. I'm a fiction writer, first and foremost. I'm not one to follow guidelines well, so the particulars and accepted standards of poetry never appealed to me. However, there was a period during my 20s when I churned out quite a few poems. I shelved them for a number of years, being of the opinion that the collective verses were nothing more than the ramblings of an angst-ridden youth. My thoughts were very dark in those days.

Some of the poems are more recent, primarily in relation to my fiction novels. For example, the eight-lined "Collective Obsessions" is the same-named counterpart for the Collective Obsessions Saga (by yours truly writing as Deidre Dalton), while several are the result of a fictional character found in "Bloodlust" (book #2 of the Bloodline Trilogy writing as Deidre Dalton).

My "poetry" does not follow the standards in assembly by any measure. I have not sought advice or censure from professional poets, nor have I tidied the language in the poems.

No, my work in "Torn Bits & Pieces" does not follow the well-known standards of prose. It's just what it is, without apology and without a false sense of ego or entitlement.

https://clublighthousepublishing.com/productPage/Details/612
https://deborahotoole.com/poetry.htm

posted an updateabout 2 years ago

about 2 years ago

I'm now a bona fide member of the Author's Guild! :) https://go.authorsguild.org/members/7515

I'm now a bona fide member of the Author's Guild! :)
https://go.authorsguild.org/members/7515

posted an updateabout 2 years ago

about 2 years ago

posted an updateabout 2 years ago

about 2 years ago

posted an updateabout 2 years ago

about 2 years ago

posted an updateabout 2 years ago

about 2 years ago

Another word for the books! :)

Another word for the books! :)

posted an updateabout 2 years ago

about 2 years ago

TWO YEARS AGO: I received my first paperback copy of "Mind Sweeper" yesterday. The book is dedicated to the memory of my father, Bernard "Barney" O'Toole. He was a Geophysicist, and his life's work revolved around various types of mining in all parts of the world. I learned much from him about the industry. Of all my books, dedicating "Mind Sweeper" to him seemed the most apropos. Thanks, Dad. https://deborahotoole.com/books_mindsweeper.htm

TWO YEARS AGO: I received my first paperback copy of "Mind Sweeper" yesterday. The book is dedicated to the memory of my father, Bernard "Barney" O'Toole. He was a Geophysicist, and his life's work revolved around various types of mining in all parts of the world. I learned much from him about the industry. Of all my books, dedicating "Mind Sweeper" to him seemed the most apropos. Thanks, Dad.
https://deborahotoole.com/books_mindsweeper.htm

posted an updateabout 2 years ago

about 2 years ago

Hissy snoozing as I watch "Dark Shadows." :)

Hissy snoozing as I watch "Dark Shadows." :)

posted an updateabout 2 years ago

about 2 years ago

Our favorite shower curtain at twilight. It reminds us of Dusty slapping the glass of the back sliding door when he sees Hissy inside.

Our favorite shower curtain at twilight. It reminds us of Dusty slapping the glass of the back sliding door when he sees Hissy inside.

posted an updateabout 2 years ago

about 2 years ago

True story!

True story!

posted an updateabout 2 years ago

about 2 years ago

Another treasure! Amazon wanted $33 (hardcover) or $64 (paperback) for "The Divorce of Henry VIII: The Untold Story from Inside the Vatican" by Catherine Fletcher. I found it at Abe Books for $6.65, a hardcover that was in pristine condition as it had originally belonged to the Rochelle Park Library in New Jersey. Better yet, the book has several references to Sir Francis Bryan. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13167858-the-divorce-of-henry-viii

Another treasure!
Amazon wanted $33 (hardcover) or $64 (paperback) for "The Divorce of Henry VIII: The Untold Story from Inside the Vatican" by Catherine Fletcher. I found it at Abe Books for $6.65, a hardcover that was in pristine condition as it had originally belonged to the Rochelle Park Library in New Jersey. Better yet, the book has several references to Sir Francis Bryan.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13167858-the-divorce-of-henry-viii

posted an updateabout 2 years ago

about 2 years ago

Random Edits The joys of spot-editing! Using the same word in a paragraph let alone in the same sentence is a big no-no. From Chapter 5 of "In the Shadow of the King." https://deborahotoole.com/books_shadowking.htm

Random Edits
The joys of spot-editing! Using the same word in a paragraph let alone in the same sentence is a big no-no. From Chapter 5 of "In the Shadow of the King."
https://deborahotoole.com/books_shadowking.htm

posted an updateabout 2 years ago

about 2 years ago

Kingly Mish-Mash Food is mentioned in certain scenes from "In the Shadow of the King." The meals referred to in the book adhere strictly to cuisine common to the time period (1509-1550). I've gathered quite a few "Tudor" recipes along the way, even making the dish known as Hedgehogs. Read more: https://irisheyes.deborahotoole.com/012423.htm

Kingly Mish-Mash
Food is mentioned in certain scenes from "In the Shadow of the King." The meals referred to in the book adhere strictly to cuisine common to the time period (1509-1550). I've gathered quite a few "Tudor" recipes along the way, even making the dish known as Hedgehogs.

Read more:
https://irisheyes.deborahotoole.com/012423.htm

posted an updateabout 2 years ago

about 2 years ago

Fictional Courtier Satire Another amazing resource found! "The Book of the Courtier" by Baldassarre Castiglione was first published in 1528. Since Sir Francis Bryan was a polished courtier at the court of Henry VIII, I can only imagine he must have seen this work. Even if he didn't, reference to it will find its way to "In the Shadow of the King" at some point. I had a blast parodying "The Book of the Courtier" one morning. The tome itself obviously does exists, but Sir Francis Bryan's translation of it as a gift for Henry VIII in 1529 is purely fictional, as are Bryan's comments (see the cursive handwriting following each point). This is how I relax and have a good time. Read more: https://irisheyes.deborahotoole.com/011423.htm

Fictional Courtier Satire
Another amazing resource found!

"The Book of the Courtier" by Baldassarre Castiglione was first published in 1528. Since Sir Francis Bryan was a polished courtier at the court of Henry VIII, I can only imagine he must have seen this work. Even if he didn't, reference to it will find its way to "In the Shadow of the King" at some point.

I had a blast parodying "The Book of the Courtier" one morning. The tome itself obviously does exists, but Sir Francis Bryan's translation of it as a gift for Henry VIII in 1529 is purely fictional, as are Bryan's comments (see the cursive handwriting following each point). This is how I relax and have a good time.

Read more:
https://irisheyes.deborahotoole.com/011423.htm

posted an updateabout 2 years ago

about 2 years ago

Halfway In There are ten parts, as well as a prologue and epilogue, for "In the Shadow of the King." I started writing Part Six yesterday morning (01/04/2023). Read more: https://irisheyes.deborahotoole.com/010423.htm

Halfway In
There are ten parts, as well as a prologue and epilogue, for "In the Shadow of the King." I started writing Part Six yesterday morning (01/04/2023).

Read more:
https://irisheyes.deborahotoole.com/010423.htm

posted an updateabout 2 years ago

about 2 years ago

Timely Itineraries I found a treasure trove of information in "The Henrician Court During Cardinal Wolsey's Ascendancy C. 1514-1529" by Neil Samman (circa 1988) found via Bangor University in Wales. The document contains complete travel itineraries for Henry VIII between 1514-1530. It has already become very useful for "In the Shadow of the King." Read more: https://irisheyes.deborahotoole.com/122822.htm

Timely Itineraries
I found a treasure trove of information in "The Henrician Court During Cardinal Wolsey's Ascendancy C. 1514-1529" by Neil Samman (circa 1988) found via Bangor University in Wales. The document contains complete travel itineraries for Henry VIII between 1514-1530. It has already become very useful for "In the Shadow of the King."

Read more:
https://irisheyes.deborahotoole.com/122822.htm

About me

Deborah O'Toole is the author of the books CELTIC REMNANTS, THE CRYPT ARTIST, GLINHAVEN, IN THE SHADOW OF THE KING, MIND SWEEPER, and TORN BITS & PIECES. Writing under the pseudonym Deidre Dalton, Deborah is also author of the ten-part Collective Obsessions Saga and the Bloodline Trilogy.

Profile URL

https://reedsy.com/discovery/user/deborahotoole

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