I am an award-winning short story writer, born and brought up in north Belfast.
I am married to media producer, Raymond McCullough, have four children and live in Co. Down, Northern Ireland.
'Belfast Girls' is my first full-length novel.
<p>Terrified California residents face the shocking dilemma of yet another serial killer roaming freely in their neighborhoods. However, this time it is an evolving serial killer anomaly that relentlessly searches for, hunts down, and ingeniously traps his victims before unleashing his fiery rage. Always two steps ahead of the cops and fire investigators, the killer hones in on the next sinful target leaving a trail of bones and ashes behind as evidence. It rocks the criminal justice system to the core as a string of arson murders hits inside their turf.</p><p>Vigilante detective Emily Stone hunts serial killers and child abductors, covertly and under the law enforcement radar, with her intrinsic skills of criminal profiling and forensic investigation. With Stone’s toughest case yet, the arson serial killer immediately crosses her radar and sends her into the dark territory of a lethal pyromaniac’s mind – to the point of no return.</p><p>While following the clues of the relentless firebomber, Stone grabs the attention of a government anti-terrorist organization called GATE that oversees all law enforcement cases across the U.S., which now focuses their sights on her proven abilities. They have very specific plans for her, whether she likes it or not.</p><p>Everything teeters on the edge of reality, as Stone must battle for her life between a hired assassin and an arson serial killer. Lines are drawn on both sides of the law. Friendships and lovers are tested.</p>
I have won awards for short stories and poetry and really wanted to write a full length novel based on the changes I have seen over recent years in my home city of Belfast.
<span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em><strong>Comment from Malachi O’Doherty, bestselling writer, journalist, TV personality, Writer-in-residence at the Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen’s University Belfast: </strong></em></font></span><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em>Gerry McCullough combines a fierce and tight narrative drive with humour, imagination and lust. What more do you want?</em></font></span><br /><p style="line-height:100%;margin-bottom:0cm;" class="western" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em><strong><br />Comment from Sam Millar, bestselling author of ‘On the Brinks’ and ‘The Dark Place’: </strong></em></font></span><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em>Gerry McCullough’s story-telling ability to keep all the plates spinning is impressive. Effortlessly, she takes your conscious mind out of your own world …smoothly and expertly, with page-turning ease.</em></font></span></p> <p style="line-height:100%;margin-bottom:0cm;" class="western" align="justify"><br /></p> <p style="line-height:100%;margin-bottom:0cm;" class="western" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em><strong>Comment from Charles Bane Jr., Poet, USA:</strong></em></font></span><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em> This is a brilliant story, and could only be written by someone of Joyce's blood … The description…is stunning. Brilliant, Gerry. Utterly brilliant.</em></font></span></p> <p style="line-height:100%;margin-bottom:0cm;" class="western" align="justify"><br /></p> <p style="line-height:100%;margin-bottom:0cm;" class="western" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em><strong>Comment from author T. MacKenzie:</strong></em></font></span><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em> This is truly a book about Ireland itself, not just friendship, love and suspense … it is true literary fiction, not just fiction. It has a VERY wide range of appeal.</em></font></span><span style="font-family:'MS Gothic', serif;"><font size="2"><em> </em></font></span><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em>Seamless intro of major characters, the fleshing out/explanation/background just the right balance, touch. You cover so much ground in that first chapter, effortlessly. The swift, brutal injection of action so soon into the story works so well. HAD to turn the page . . . no going back. Your writing, your pace, just about flawless.</em></font></span></p> <p style="line-height:100%;margin-bottom:0cm;" class="western" align="justify"><br /></p> <p style="line-height:100%;margin-bottom:0cm;" class="western" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em><strong>Comment from Mark R. Trost, author of ‘Post Marked’:</strong></em></font></span><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em> You have a manner with words that moves the eye around each description. I can feel your characters. I can hear them speak. Your atmosphere is tangible. I think that is so difficult. I congratulate you on it…when a writer takes the care to add the emotional, societal, and physical atmosphere the reader can engage on an emotional, physical, and spiritual level. And then you have art.</em></font></span><span style="font-family:'MS Gothic', serif;"><font size="2"><em> </em></font></span><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em>You provide that atmosphere. It’s difficult. It’s an achievement.</em></font></span></p> <p style="line-height:100%;margin-bottom:0cm;" class="western" align="justify"><br /></p> <p style="line-height:100%;margin-bottom:0cm;" class="western" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em><strong>Comment from Amelia O., author of ‘A Certain Date in the Diary’</strong></em></font></span><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em>: If you only have time to read one book properly it’s this one. An award winning read.</em></font></span><span style="font-family:'MS Gothic', serif;"><font size="2"><em> </em></font></span></p> <p style="line-height:100%;margin-bottom:0cm;" class="western" align="justify"><br /></p> <p style="line-height:100%;margin-bottom:0cm;" class="western" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em><strong>Comment from author John Burns:</strong></em></font></span><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em> You have an (seemingly) effortless pace which carries the reader onwards at a right rate of knots. You are also good at distinguishing between your several characters, making the storytelling clearer. And you are never at a loss for a sudden plot switch. I like the way you let Belfast emerge as a character in its own right, never making a big deal about it. </em></font></span></p> <p style="line-height:100%;margin-bottom:0cm;" class="western" align="justify"><br /></p> <p style="line-height:100%;margin-bottom:0cm;" class="western" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em><strong>Comment from author S.C. Thompson:</strong></em></font></span><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em> A great opening set piece, aglitter with high fashion . . . and intrigue most foul! "Belfast Girls" reveals insight nuanced characters struggling with contemporary challenges as the gritty plot unfolds.</em></font></span></p> <p style="line-height:100%;margin-bottom:0cm;" class="western" align="justify"><br /></p> <p style="line-height:100%;margin-bottom:0cm;" class="western" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em><strong>Comment from author C.J. Cronin</strong></em></font></span><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em>: I think this book is a great one. The story is moved along a nice clip: depictions of the characters set against an Irish cultural background, blend well with the tone of the narrations. Quiet on the surface, something uneasy is lurking underneath and compelling readers to move on.</em></font></span></p> <p style="line-height:100%;margin-bottom:0cm;" class="western" align="justify"><br /></p> <p style="line-height:100%;margin-bottom:0cm;" class="western" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em><strong>Comment from author James MacPherson:</strong></em></font></span><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em> Belfast Girls was all glamour and beauty at the start - mixed suddenly with Ulster Fry and Soda Bread, and the bhoys with the guns - a great story, with everything that’s beautiful and ugly about the Province, running through it. The opening was not quite what I was expecting, but tense and then explosive at the end.</em></font></span><span style="font-family:'MS Gothic', serif;"><font size="2"><em> </em></font></span><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em>Then back in time to pre Good Friday, and the innocence of youth, against the backdrop of sectarian hatred, showed the reader expertly, the transition</em></font></span></p> <p style="line-height:100%;margin-bottom:0cm;" class="western" align="justify"><br /></p> <p style="line-height:100%;margin-bottom:0cm;" class="western" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em><strong>Comment from author Graham Barrow:</strong></em></font></span><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em> There is always something instantly appealing about a story that promises several strands of story lines that weave together into a complete and compelling narrative cord.</em></font></span><span style="font-family:'MS Gothic', serif;"><font size="2"><em> </em></font></span><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em>What immediately strikes me about your writing, Gerry, is the love of words and the understanding that good writing must have a rhythm to it in order to maintain interest - which yours does abundantly well.</em></font></span><span style="font-family:'MS Gothic', serif;"><font size="2"><em> </em></font></span><span style="font-family:Arial, serif;"><font size="2"><em>These chapters read with the effortlessness that suggests that a great deal of effort has gone into writing them.</em></font></span></p>