Today Brian O’Sullivan is here to reveal his cover for LIATH LUACHRA: THE METAL MEN due for release 16th March.

Before we hand over to Brian, here’s a little about his fourth novel in the Liath Luachra series:

“Everything the Hungry People devour has the taste of ‘more’”!

As the harrowing pursuit of a mysterious raiding party draws to a close, the woman warrior Liath Luachra prepares her war party for one final onslaught.

But out in the Great Wild, even the best laid schemes rarely go as planned. 

The south-eastern forests hide threats more dangerous than raiders, Liath Luachra’s alliances are foundering, and her own personal history risks upending her existence forever.

Just as she faces a challenge her world has never encountered before.

Liath Luachra: The Metal Men is the fourth book in the Irish Woman Warrior Series and continues the story of the traumatised woman warrior’s ongoing efforts to survive in the brutal, world of first century Ireland. The main character – Liath Luachra – is based on a 12th century reference from Ireland’s famous ‘Fenian Cycle’ mythology.  

And now here’s the cover image and we just love how atmospheric it is!

When you come across ‘Irish mythology’ in English fiction, you find a lot of it tends to reflect an Anglocentric interpretation of Irish culture, one that bears little real or meaningful similarity to its supposed source. With most of my own books, therefore, I try to tell Irish stories – in English – from a more authentic ancient Irish/Gaelic slant. In doing this, I not only use the available historical information (and current academic theory) but draw on my own personal Irish language and cultural concepts as well. 

The Metal Men marks a more interesting challenge in that I was keen to present an international incident (occurring in the 1st century) from the unique perspective of the native Irish. When it came to introducing a foreign culture on ancient Irish soil therefore, I attempted to tell the story from a viewpoint of how ‘native’ people in first century Ireland might have viewed that culture and interpreted the behaviour of its people. I don’t think any other Irish author has attempted this before, so it’ll be interesting to see how readers respond.

The cover image doesn’t reflect a particular scene from the story but reflects the overall theme and sense of it. The woman warrior Liath Luachra takes up most of the foreground but, in the background, you can see an islet called a crannóg – a manmade island used by ancient peoples for a number of different purposes. Crannóige (plural) were particularly popular in Ireland, with at least 1,200 identified. Most are believed to date back to the Irish Iron Age and early Christian periods, although many continued to be inhabited or used during the Late Bronze Age right up to the 17th century.

Liath Luachra: The Metal Men, completes a story commenced in Liath Luachra: The Seeking. It will be available through the Irish Imbas Bookshop and through all ebook stores on 16 March 2022.  

– Brian O’Sullivan