Today we have a guest post by the talented writer: Gerard O’Keeffe. Gerard grew up in England with Irish roots and studied Irish literature while living in London. His latest book “The Third Horseman” is based on a true story of horses, heroics and hope in the time of The Famine in Ireland. The book has received ***** star reviews on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.
On Wednesday June 13th we’ll be launching a competition on Facebook. Gerard has generously offered us 15 FREE copies of his e-novel for 15 lucky winners. Added to this, we’ll be offering a FREE silver Claddagh ring to our best entry. Check back here and on our Facebook page for details on Wednesday.
Without any further delay, I’ll hand you over to Gerard:
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As an author undertaking my research for my novel The Third Horseman, I came across the power of the trinity design that is used throughout Irish history. That and the lattice work pattern, of course. So it came as no surprise that these most powerful forms of expression feature in the high quality Celtic jewelry seen here too. As you may know, the lattice stands for a way of both locking in good luck and blocking out bad luck at the same time.
It also shows the river of live and the interlocking and recurring patterns life brings. The trinity has many equally powerful connotations. Obviously, it can have a Christian meaning as the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Predating that time, it stood for the three elements of Water, Earth and Sky. In Irish legend the three is invested with unique protective power. It appears in almost every story, in one form or another.
In my new novel, it is no accident it is called The Third Horseman. On one level this refers to the third horseman of the Apocalypse featured in the Book of Revelation in the Bible. That terrible horse is famine. Of equal importance, the horse has only three riders in my novel: the two Moore brothers and the young jockey Frank Butler. To try to get the animal to win the all important race to save the people from starvation, three things must be done together.
The horse must have his weak legs strengthened by sea water. He must have caolin mud applied to the legs and coffin bones to strengthen them. The jockey must learn to ride him to perfection. Have you spotted my own three fold pattern yet? Here we have the recurring themes of water (seawater), earth (mud) and sky (the jockey is suspended above the earth in order to do his job).
Such symbols are very old but they are relevant today too. I drew heavily on Irish myth and Irish history in my novel to try to add another layer of richness to the reading experience. If you read closely, you will see threes scattered throughout its pages. They have been lucky for me and I hope they are lucky for you too.
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Check back here and on our Facebook page for details on Wednesday.