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Pat Mullan

Pat Mullan

About

Pat Mullan is Ireland Chair of International Thriller Writers and he is a member of Mystery Writers of America. His thriller novels, poetry, and short stories are widely published in the US, Ireland, and the UK.  Recent work has appeared in the anthology, DUBLIN NOIR, published in the USA by Akashic Books and in Ireland and the UK by Brandon Books.  He was one of fifty Irish writers chosen by Oxygen Books in the UK for inclusion in City-Pick DUBLIN, published to mark Dublin being chosen as UNESCO's City of Culture for 2010.  His short story, Galway Girl, was short-listed for the WOW Awards in 2010; it is one of the short stories that form part of his GALWAY NOIR anthology, available on-line from iPulp Fiction.

 
His poetry appears frequently in the Acorn E-zine of the Dublin Writers Workshop.  He has two collections of poetry available on-line, Childhood Hills and Awakening.  Another collection, Knowing, will be available soon.  James Dickey's Poetry: The Religious Dimension is his elegy to Dickey and is available on-line on Amazon Kindle.
 
His novels The Circle of Sodom, Blood Red Square, Last Days of the Tiger and Creatures of Habit are all available on-line.  New thriller coming soon:  Screwed.

The Sons of Godwine: Part Two of The Last Great Saxon Earls

The Sons of Godwine: Part Two of The Last Great Saxon Earls

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<p>Emerging from the long shadow cast by his formidable father, Harold Godwineson showed himself to be a worthy successor to the Earldom of Wessex. In the following twelve years, he became the King's most trusted advisor, practically taking the reins of government into his own hands. And on Edward the Confessor's death, Harold Godwineson mounted the throne—the first king of England not of royal blood. Yet Harold was only a man, and his rise in fortune was not blameless. Like any person aspiring to power, he made choices he wasn't particularly proud of. Unfortunately, those closest to him sometimes paid the price of his fame.<br /><br />This is a story of Godwine's family as told from the viewpoint of Harold and his younger brothers. Queen Editha, known for her Vita Ædwardi Regis, originally commissioned a work to memorialize the deeds of her family, but after the Conquest historians tell us she abandoned this project and concentrated on her husband, the less dangerous subject. In THE SONS OF GODWINE and FATAL RIVALRY, I am telling the story as it might have survived had she collected and passed on the memoirs of her tragic brothers.<br /><br />This book is part two of The Last Great Saxon Earls series. Book one, GODWINE KINGMAKER, depicted the rise and fall of the first Earl of Wessex who came to power under Canute and rose to preeminence at the beginning of Edward the Confessor's reign. Unfortunately, Godwine's misguided efforts to champion his eldest son Swegn recoiled on the whole family, contributing to their outlawry and Queen Editha's disgrace. Their exile only lasted one year and they returned victorious to London, though it was obvious that Harold's career was just beginning as his father's journey was coming to an end.<br /><br />Harold's siblings were all overshadowed by their famous brother; in their memoirs we see remarks tinged sometimes with admiration, sometimes with skepticism, and in Tostig's case, with jealousy. We see a Harold who is ambitious, self-assured, sometimes egocentric, imperfect, yet heroic. His own story is all about Harold, but his brothers see things a little differently. Throughout, their observations are purely subjective, and witnessing events through their eyes gives us an insider’s perspective.<br /><br />Harold was his mother's favorite, confident enough to rise above petty sibling rivalry but Tostig, next in line, was not so lucky. Harold would have been surprised by Tostig's vindictiveness, if he had ever given his brother a second thought. And that was the problem. Tostig's love/hate relationship with Harold would eventually destroy everything they worked for, leaving the country open to foreign conquest. This subplot comes to a crisis in book three of the series, FATAL RIVALRY.</p>

Story Behind The Book

The opening chapter of LAST DAYS OF THE TIGER, titled 'TRIBUNAL' , appeared in the anthology, DUBLIN NOIR, published in the USA by Akashic Books and in Ireland and the UK by Brandon Books. It was selected again in 'City-Pick DUBLIN', published by Oxygen Books in 2010 to mark Dublin being chosen as UNESCO'S City of Culture for 2010.

Media Links

Reviews

<span style="font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;line-height:normal;font-size:small;"><strong>&quot;Pat Mullan's</strong> latest, <strong>LAST DAYS OF THE TIGER</strong>, is a razor blade down the spine.  So fast-paced, expect whiplash.  Grab a copy and clear your schedule!&quot;   <strong>James Rollins,  New York Times best-selling author of BLACK ORDER</strong>.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;line-height:normal;font-size:small;"> </span><strong><br /></strong><span style="font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;line-height:normal;font-size:small;"><strong>&quot;Pat Mullan </strong>is a natural born storyteller with a gripping, engaging style.  He may just be the next big thing in Irish crime fiction.&quot; <strong>Jason Starr, author of LIGHTS OUT.</strong></span><strong style="font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;line-height:normal;font-size:small;"></strong><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;line-height:normal;font-size:small;">&quot;<strong>LAST DAYS OF THE TIGER</strong> bristles with ingenuity, and a plot to kill for ... has all the Irish gifts:  dizzy narrative, sly humor, and marvelous readability.  It rocks!    <strong>Ken Bruen, Shamus and Macavity winning author of THE GUARDS.</strong></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;line-height:normal;font-size:small;">&quot;<strong>LAST DAYS OF THE TIGER</strong> is a tight, intelligent thriller.    <strong>Mullan </strong>writes suspense with an edge reminiscent of <strong>Bob Ludlum. </strong> An author to watch.&quot;   <strong>Cerri Ellis, Mostly Mystery Reviews.</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span><br /></span></span>