Dave Rudden's off to Fantasycon!

Props to the guy ahead of me at boarding who answered the attendant's 'have a nice flight' with 'you have my word.' If he isn't also going to #fantasycon he SHOULD be.

Off to my first #Fantasycon and can't wait to meet you all! It's my first one, so please do say hi - I want to hear about your books/pets/special interests/beard routines. My wife says every time I leave the house I come back with 5 new friends, this weekend I say those are ROOKIE NUMBERS

My epic fantasy SISTER WAKE is just FOUR reviews away from fifty reviews on Amazon - (apparently an important milestone, according to the Great Algo - pictured below) So if you have read and enjoyed, throwing up a rating or a review would be incredibly helpful! www.amazon.co.uk/Sister-Wake-...

Got a teenager interested in books? I'll be doing a panel and workshop tonight with Steve McCarthy, Clara Kumagai, Alison Weatherby and Steve Ellis, moderated by Kevin McGahern! There's a special discount too - tickets half-price just for today. Details below! www.eventbrite.ie/e/plot-twist...

We've already had some brilliant donations in, so let's keep this going, please do spread the word!

This is true of teaching too - obviously there's a baseline, but when I worked as a teacher it was fascinating to watch which petty behaviour had become a teacher's rage button. (Mine was swinging on your back chair legs. Even now it makes my blood boil. Why? I have no idea)

Great news. Ireland’s libraries are one of the best parts of our society. (And I’m not just saying that because I’m married to a librarian) #SpeirGorm

My five year old has the soul of Orson Welles. We were outside school and he 'put a kiss in my pocket for later.' Extremely touched by this, I gave him two back. He dug out the second one, THEATRICALLY CRUSHED IT IN HIS FIST and said 'one is enough.'

Courtney Smyth's gorgeous THE UNSOLVEABLE CASE is being launched 2m in @hodgesfiggis.bsky.social at 6pm by a bevy of cool authors (including me) talking all things SERIES - what we love, what we hate, how we plan. Come along, ask questions, pick up this lovely book! @cswritesbooks.bsky.social

Why, yes, I would like to be traumatised at the bottle bank, thanks lil spider friend.

Trying something new to offset the normal emotional downturn I get after handing in a huge project. Instead of immediately starting another huge project, I have decided to paint a Green Tide Ork army. oh no

TY @daveruddenwrites.bsky.social 🙏 'Because they're very clever and inclusive folks, they're now offering some fantasy events for those of you who might like to use a dragon as a murder weapon Check out www.murderone.ie for my events (world-building workshop Fri Oct 16th & a panel on Oct 18th)

Some news! My first middle-grade LitRPG - DUNGEON DEFENDER: LIVE, DIE, RESPAWN will be published by @scholasticuk.bsky.social in July '27! If your kid has ever wondered who lights all the candles in a video game dungeon, or thought about what their boss music would be, this is the book for them...

An occupational hazard of research is finding details that inspire new books. Like finding out the Dublin franchise roll (1468 - 1512) records female apprentice armourers, butchers, justices, tanners and vintners. Does Sister Wake need a sidequel about a female armourer in a world of Celtic-kaiju?

This Friday, @tramppress.bsky.social are launching the new collection by the stellar Roisin Kiberd. Come raise a glass, hear the always excellent Elaine Feeney, and celebrate the work CMAT called 'so unbelievably good and relevant to our collective interests ... run don't walk to get it...'

You know you've married the right person when you tell her you're worried you were a lil much at a party the night before and her response is 'stop it, you're a gas bitch.'

Sister Wake by @daveruddenwrites.bsky.social

So much of that show lives in my head rent free, but very high up there is in Daddy Dropoff where Bandit commits so hard to a 'slow motion' bit that he whangs his head off a door, then says 'okay, we lost some time from the slow motion but I think we can make it.'

Discworld series animated in the style of Klaus. The 'main character' would be Ankh-Morpork and its modernisation - so lots of Vimes, but also the 'industries' books, and even threading in like adaptations and tweaked versions of arcs like Equal Rites, Mort, Reaper Man, Masquerade, etc

Folks, I devoured LOCAL GODS by @melindasalisbury.bsky.social, and you should let it devour you too. Come celebrate its terrible awakening at Chapters this Thursday...

Due to late paperwork and shenanigans my Mythmakers workshop for aspiring authors aged 9 - 12 was moved to this Tues the 11th of August, and so some spaces have opened up - check out the link below if you'd like to book! libraries.dlrcoco.ie/events-and-n...

Such a gorgeous event, and I have to say, the Irish fantasy writers and readers have been so welcoming to both me and Sister Wake - it's really appreciated! It's also inspired me to trek to my first FantasyCon in October, so watch this space, if you're going I'd love to meet you and nerd out!

Excited to be at @omahonysbooks.bsky.social in Limerick tonight with @sarahreesbrennan.bsky.social, @rflong.bsky.social and @daveruddenwrites.bsky.social. These two books are available in the shop and online 🔥

Come listen to some very smart authors! (and also me)

Join us at O'Mahony's Booksellers, Limerick July 30th 6.30pm to celebrate the best in Irish fantasy fiction, featuring @daveruddenwrites.bsky.social @davidgreenwriter.bsky.social @sarahreesbrennan.bsky.social and me! Tickets are free but limited. www.eventbrite.ie/e/irish-fant... And running out!

@daveruddenwrites.bsky.social You kindly reposted my cat/cancer fundraising video in June – I'm back, slightly sweatier, to ask if you'd do the same now we've finished? We're €1,638 off 1st place and Luna 🐈‍⬛, who contributed 0km, would appreciate the support. Thanks! bsky.app/profile/bren...

Sarah - 'Oh okay I might actually watch this McGregor fight.' Me - 'What are you going to do for the rest of that minute?'

If you've got a writerly kid who needs a fun day out, check out my one day writing camp MYTHMAKERS in Deansgrange Library - full of everything a budding author needs! I'm running one on 23rd of July and another on the 20th of August, booking details below... www.dlrcoco.ie/dlr-events/e...

Reposting b/c broken link! Just a few tix left for my Dalkey Book Festival events 2m, so if you're after a monster-making workshop (families) world-building masterclass (16+) or a panel with Naomi Ishiguro, Brian Franklin, Jan Carson and I, grab tix below! www.dalkeybookfestival.org/thursday

Just eleven hours left to throw your support behind our progressive noir ground-level hero neighbourhood builder RPG, NOIR 1933! It's already funded, but we are SO close to the next stretch goal - take a look! www.kickstarter.com/projects/noi...

White folks need to step up and do more to stop and speak out against the ever increasing violence towards POC. We can’t do it alone. Don’t keep asking us ‘how’, google is free.

This is a fantastic cause to support, and they rely primarily on donations and fundraising, so every euro really matters. Also, CAT.

@noir1933.bsky.social 1933 is a gorgeously clever RPG that channels all the fun of 30's pulp but puts the focus squarely on the communities historically left out of that genre. Build your neighbourhood. Fight the system. Build a jetpack. Support below! www.kickstarter.com/projects/noi...

About to jump on RTE Arena between 7.30pm and 8 to talk about STAR WARS, the Disney era, and how many spinoffs are too many... Listen below! www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

For all the tabletop and RPG folks out there, there is an EXTREMELY exciting Kickstarter coming up that you should keep an eye on, featuring some creative contributions from me... www.kickstarter.com/projects/noi...

The Kindle edition of my Celtic kaiju fantasy SISTER WAKE is on sale this month for just NINETY-NINE CENTS. Cheap as chips. Cheaper than chips! And probably more nutritious? I don't know. Please don't eat your Kindle.

It’s profoundly ignorant to suggest that the Pope should be fighting crime on behalf of the Catholic Church. Anyone who was remotely familiar with Roman Catholicism would know that that’s what Daredevil is for

If you're a fan of fantasy, horror and Celtic myth, come to Malahide Library 2m (Sat) at 2.30pm to see myself, Shauna Lawless (The Children of Gods and Fighting Men) Kate Dolan (You Are Not My Mother) and Doctor Shauna Caffrey in conversation, with our books included for attendees!

'Although this is the end of the age of heroes, it's saved its best for last.'

My Luas is rocking from side to side in the wind, and its giving me vague NY subway flashbacks which I do not hate

Less than a week to submit to @ilfdublin.bsky.social's Date With An Agent event, perfect for an aspiring novelist with a manuscript in the chamber! My own agent, the superlative Clare Wallace, will be there, along with some other absolute stars, so do check it out! ilfdublin.com/whats-on/fes...

Some upcoming events this April, from panels discussing Celtic mythology to an IFI panel on how to separate art from the artist and processing your creative heroes letting you down...

I'm always a hair trigger away from emailing Black Library and pitching them a novel, and after seeing this guy it has become a FEROCIOUS NEED

Wrote a scene for SW 2 this week that leans heavily on intense, shrouding mist. Worried it felt unrealistic, then woke up to this. Very much appreciated!

March is full of brilliant new Irish books for young readers of all ages, from toddlers to teens. Check them out! Together let’s help children and teens #DiscoverIrishKidsBooks and see themselves on the pages of the books they read. Please do share these new titles posters widely.

How does he sleep at night?