FEEL GOOD FRIDAYS: Eileen Moynihan

 

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(Editor’s Note…If you’re like me, adjusting to a new, COVID-19 world is a bit stressful. Everywhere you look…radio, TV, newspapers, and even the internet…are stories of the latest stats from around the world. Hospitalizations. Unemployment. Social distancing. How do we keep our sanity in the middle of all the craziness? 

BY STAYING CONNECTED WHILE STAYING SIX FEET APART

For the next several weeks, many of my writerly friends will be virtually dropping by to inspire, uplift, and make us laugh as we look for reminders that even the scariest of times do not last forever. I hope you enjoy this FEEL GOOD FRIDAYS series and if you want to know more about me, Donna L Martin, or my books, check out my Story Catcher Publishing website at www.storycatcherpublishing.com )

 

KEEPING COVID-19 BUSY

by Eileen Moynihan

 

Since the Covid 19 lockdown started, people have been worried about being bored, but I seem to be busier than ever. I have been writing a children’s story for an educational magazine, promoting a book to be published in the near future, doing critiques with my local writers group, and doing poems or stories for the same group. The writers group usually meet fortnightly in the local library, but since we can’t meet face to face now, some of us have met up on Google hangouts.

The lockdown has also coincided with the coming of spring. So it was time to get out to the garden, and fortunately the weather has been good enough to do so. I love weeding as I like being outside, and it is therapeutic to just concentrate on clearing an area in front of you; it is like a form of ‘mindfulness’.

I seem to have plenty to do every day and even went out for a couple of walks this week inside the 2k limit. Besides the beauties of nature in the spring, it was strange to see hardly any traffic, or only an occasional walker, or children playing in front of their houses. It was peaceful and somehow surreal.

I live on the edge of a village by the River Shannon in Ireland. I yearn to go to the sea in this fine weather, because up until about ten years ago I had always lived near the sea. But where I live now is in the heart of the Irish Midlands; so to see water of any kind is a bonus for me. I can just walk down by the Shannon and feel at peace.

I have been shopping in the local town once a week and it is like doing a marathon. I don plastic gloves before I go and make sure there is sanitizer in the car. There are long queues outside the shops with people standing two metres behind each other. This weekend, being a holiday weekend was busier than usual. Eventually, you see your goal, the finger of the shop assistant beckoning you to come in to shop. I take out my long list and my glasses and go up and down the aisles trying to keep my distance from the other shoppers. I stand impatiently at times, while someone dithers in front of the very shelves where I just want to grab my purchase. But I either have to wait, go around another way or come back later. Then when the trolley is full, you realize you have to go to another shop for some goods because the shop you are in doesn’t have them. You wait again for your turn at the check-out, then go to your car and load up all the stuff you have bought. Then onto the next shop to get the other items on your list, and start all over again. Of course, you keep sanitizing your hands or your gloves regularly in the process. As I drive home, I breathe a sigh of relief that I can go back to ‘cocooning’, for another week.

 

Francis

 

One day Frances Darwin finds a bit of torn paper on the ground. This excites Frances as she would love to be a detective. This bit of paper sends Frances on a ‘wild goose chase’ that leads her to find a stray dog called Bouncer. Finding out about Bouncer leads her onto to find his owner, who becomes a big part of Frances’s life. Before Frances knows it she has become involved in an investigation to find out who is dog-napping dogs in the local area. During her inquiries she meets and makes friends with the Randall children Tom and Cindy, who help her capture the dog-nappers. As well as this, Frances’s formidable Gran becomes friendly with Bouncer’s owner, and Mrs Marsh next door makes friends with Hannah Mortimer, a retired teacher. They both had dogs taken, and help with planning to foil the dog-nappers.

Available on Amazon and other online retailers.

 

Eileen

 

Eileen Moynihan was born in Essex England, and grew up on the Isle of Wight from the age of three. At the age of 22 she moved permanently to Ireland, where she lived in West Cork, and more recently on the border of Counties Roscommon and Longford in Termonbarry. For most of that time she was teaching children with Special Needs, and raising her three children with her husband. After taking early retirement, Eileen loves to write books for children. 

After discovering Amazon’s Createspace and Kindle Direct Publishing, she decided to start self-publishing her own books. Then she created her own brand for her books, and so Childhood Books was born.

?Eileen also enjoys writing poetry and short stories and is the chairperson of Longford Writers Group. In 2018, Eileen was involved in a collaborative novella called ‘Let him Lie’ with nine other members of Longford Writers Group.

She has also had short stories published in four anthologies – ‘Ring around the Moon’, ‘Midir and Etain’, ‘The King at the Back of the Hill’, and ‘Home Made’.

Most recently Eileen published her first collection of poetry entitled, ‘Dipping Into The Font’. This was published with KDP under her new brand for adults, ‘Landscape Books’.

Eileen is hoping to publish a new children’s book of poetry soon. It is called, ‘A Posy of Wild Flowers’, and contains poems about wild flowers and trees, alongside beautiful illustrations by her sister, Angela Corkery.

http://eileenmoynihan.wordpress.com/

Donna L

Hybrid award winning author; aspiring sketch artist; and 4th Degree Senior Certified Taekwondo Instructor. Host of BOOK NOOK REVIEWS. Member of SCBWI. Mom to fabulous son and adventurer delving into the tricky world of indie-publishing.

2 thoughts on “FEEL GOOD FRIDAYS: Eileen Moynihan

  • May 1, 2020 at 11:39 pm
    Permalink

    Thank you, ladies, for taking me to Ireland today in your post. It’s someplace I’ve always wanted to go, and today I went, thanks to Covid and your post!

    Reply
    • May 2, 2020 at 4:16 am
      Permalink

      Rinda, aren’t these posts so much fun? Just wait until you see who is up next week…;-)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

      Reply

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