The Rock of Achill, a sweeping romance set in mythical Ireland, takes place in the early-nineteenth-century, where Donn, an adolescent boy, joins Irish knights and escaped rebels as they set sail to restore an ancient kingdom and secure funds to recover his family land. Leaving new love, Bridget behind on Achill Island, newly knighted Donn faces legendary creatures, preventing the recovery of the lost treasures of the Tuatha de Danann. In the chaotic time of Europe’s struggle for liberty during the Napoleonic age, Irish rebels battle Barbary pirates and faerie guardians.
Driving cross country back to South Dakota in 2013, author Jim Sheehan began weaving his initial idea about the protagonist. In high school, he had a knack for writing love letters and combined with pride for his Irish heritage, he set out to write a book as an ode to his family history.
He says, “I believe the Irish-American market is underserved, despite the huge population, so I saw that as a fun opportunity. Where is the Irish Disney Princess? The book uses many real historical figures and events and I mixed them with some fictional characters and borrowed Irish mythology, reshaping it to tell a compelling story. I abstained from writing a book that is centered around the historical difficulty between the Irish and English.“
The reader will find themselves on the North African coast, Lanzarote, Hy-Brasil, Gorias, Portugal, and many different locations in Ireland. A romance wrapped in a Napoleonic Age mythological adventure, it’s an exploration of desperate dreamers, living in an extraordinary reality. The recently released book was published by Newman Springs Publishing, September 14, 2020 available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook and at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Booktopia, and more.