Gerry McCullough

Gerry McCullough

About

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.

Divided against Yourselves (Spell Weaver)

Divided against Yourselves (Spell Weaver)

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Description

<h2>Taliesin Weaver thought that he had saved himself and his friends when he defeated the witch Ceridwen. He was wrong.</h2><h3><i>He always thought of evil as embodied in external threats that he could overcome in combat. Soon he will discover that the worst evil has been inside of him all along....</i></h3><p>Tal’s girlfriend is in a coma for which he holds himself responsible. A close friend, suffering from a past-life memory trauma similar to Tal's, is getting worse, not better. Morgan Le Fay is still lurking around and has an agenda Tal can’t figure out. Supernatural interruptions in his life are becoming more frequent, not less so, despite his expectations. In fact, Tal learns that something about his unique nature amplifies otherworldly forces in ways he never imagined were possible, ways that place at risk everyone close to him.</p><p>Tal and his allies must face everything from dead armies to dragons. As soon as they overcome one menace, another one is waiting for them. More people are depending on Tal than ever; he carries burdens few adults could face, let alone a sixteen-year-old like himself. Yet somehow Tal at first manages to handle everything the universe throws at him.</p><p>What Tal can’t handle is the discovery that a best friend, almost a brother, betrayed him, damaging Tal’s life beyond repair. For the first time, Tal feels a darkness within him, a darkness which he can only barely control...assuming he wants to. He’s no longer sure. Maybe there is something to be said for revenge, and even more to be said for taking what he wants. After all, he has the power...</p><p> </p><h2><u>Can Tal stop himself before he destroys everyone he has sworn he will protect? Scroll up to buy a copy and find out!</u></h2>

Story Behind The Book

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.

Reviews

<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! &quot;Belfast Girls&quot; 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>