Self Published- Second Novel

I have just self published my second novel. Like my first it lay in a shoe box for a decade or two until I found the self publishing course. 

HUNTED-In Search of the Cathar Treasure grew out of two things.

1. I had just read about the fifth Crusade in thirteenth century France- the persecution of a group of people called Albigensians   who were deemed heretics by the Catholic Church at that time.

The heretics seemed to me to be a likeable sort of people who eschewed many of the conventional values of the day. They lived a simple  life, They travelled in pairs, worked often as weavers and were taken in by the locals in the Languedoc region in France. 

The Albigensians, known later in history as the Cathars, were deemed to be heretics by the Church in Rome. The heresy hinged upon their principle of Good and Evil. Albigensians believed that the world was the creation of the forces of darkness and that little attention should be paid to worldly authority. This impacted on the power of church and state.

 They found followers, credentes, in the prosperous area of the Languedoc which was at the time a lively hub of merchant trade and politically not under the control of the King of France.

Parallel to the growth of Albigensian doctrines was the rise of the troubadour poetry. It was here that the performance of troubadours thrived.

This novel is set in the Languedoc at this critical period of its history. The main characters are fictitious but references are made to historical figures.

 2. I was taking a creative writing workshop at the time and a character popped into my head or more pointedly to the tip of my pen. His name was Nicolas, he was a troubadour and he was witnessing the burning at the stake of a group of Cathars.

After that the story morphed somewhat and I traced Nicolas's origins back to a scene in Beziers 1209. Here he presented as a child escaping from a burning city that was being sacked by Church and state.

At the sacking of Bezier in 1209, 20, 000 Catholics and Albigensians were slaughtered following the infamous catchphrase attributed to Arnauld Amaury, “Kill them all. God will know his own.”

So began the Albigensian Crusade, 1209-1229 launched by Pope Innocent 111, and led by Simon de Montfort, a skilful warrior under the approving eye of Arnauld Amaury, head of the Cistercian order.

It is a shocking story. 

Later in time it was believed that the Cathars had in their possession the Holy Grail. 

The novel is available on Amazon platforms.

HUNTED- a novel by Cathy Leonard

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catharism

https://www.frenchviews.com.au/my-journal/montsgur-and-the-cathars

 

Encounters with an AI

 It's hard not to encounter AI these days

for he/she/it pops up on every google search.

Competition for Wiki - though not asking for a donation.

Just Trust - Complete Trust.

But when I key in bakeayarn, my blog title,

which to be fair is a bit obtuse 

and has probably led to many misdirected hits

from followers who expect recipes and knitting patterns,

I am surprised at the results.

For AI prefaces its response

in a classic case of prevarication, 

declaring my query as not standard

and qualifying its deliberation

as likely to refer to:

And I find not me, but suggestions

for putting yarn into a low oven to kill off pests,

mostly beetles, and by low does he/she/it mean

near the ground or low in temperature?

(A bit vague to inspire Complete Trust.)

And/or I am prompted to  make a cake with my messy yarn

by winding it in a flat circle to prevent tangle.

Either way, all said and done, it seems that baking yarn, according to AI,

is a method of establishing order and eliminating  problems,

which is not at all what I have in mind when writing a poem,

for throwing up uncertainty,paradox, and creating a certain amount

of obfuscation is indeed the goal of much poetry.

But perhaps by purporting to know it all,

albeit with some equivocation,

while disseminating confusion

AI is a bit of a modern poet after all.

Copyright 2025 Cathy Leonard

God Speed

In memory of Manchán Magan

 

My candle flickers against a backdrop

of white beam shaking its boughs

Trees toss and bow all over Ireland

doors rattle and the wind roars

We are battered by the 99 shades of rain

that he spoke of, 

and still one sun shines

It is no wonder, we say,

for a great soul is passing

His transition would be brief, he foretold

He asked for no blessings the last time he spoke

But here we are

lighting candles, whispering prayers, remembering 

wishing him God speed on his way home

Go dtéir slán,Manchán

Copyright 2025 Cathy Leonard

Overview- Manchán Magan

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/2025/09/14/ninety-nine-words-for-rain-in-irish-could-it-actually-be-true/

Pet Tails and Tales

 

Have published  a little volume about our three pets. The stories are partly true and somewhat embellished.  Sherlock and Molly have featured in my blog over the years and now have a little book of their own.

Gussy gull is at it again! Call the Musketeers!

 Snatching ducklings from the pond is his favourite pastime but the reputation of seagulls is at stake. If only Sally, Ma and Molly, the black red setter would just get off his case…..

 Meanwhile…

 Sherlock, the one-eyed Moggy, is on the lookout for a Forever Home. So long as it ticks all his boxes: ham on demand, turkey slices, unlimited TV viewing time…..

 While…

Curtains, the alpha male ginger, is left Home Alone and has to tackle the burglars himself…

 Enjoy the escapades and wrangles that follow when the three musketeers get going…

Available on Amazon.Pet Tales

Schull-Mizen Peninsula

Here is a short poem inspired by a friend's art collection and written during a short visit to Schull. While it is now a thriving community Schull suffered hardship during the Great Famine years. 

https://skibbereenhistorical.ie/letter-written-by-dr-traill-describing-dreadful-conditions-in-schull-in-1847/

With its well annotated signboards The Fastnet Trails will not only lead you into the hills and glens around the village but also into the past. 

https://fastnet-trails.com/about-us/

  Schull library is also a vital source of information on the history of the area and at the moment is exhibiting the work of local artist Kathleen Kelly Reardon.

Instagram:kathleenkellyreardonart

https://fastnet-trails.com/fastnet-trailheads/schull-trailhead/

 

A CENTURY APART

for Liz

In the past we stood outside a casement window,

opaque, net veiled, set deep in stones

hand cupped and interlaced

light reflecting off limewash-

none penetrating the darkness within

Today we sit inside a casement

before a cosy breakfast spread

bright light from without dappling

teacup and saucer and homemade cake 

and the morning news and a vase of daffodils,

and the promise of Spring

Copyright Cathy Leonard 2025 All rights reserved

OUR SKIES-OUR SAY- NO TO DRONES

It is with alarm that I hear of the expansion of commercial drones across our airspace. 30,000 of them projected to pollute every city in Europe by 2030. And it appears to be a done deal, a question of reaching agreement about regulation- for apparently at the moment there is none. 

I would personally call for a referendum across the country on this issue. 

Our roads, our rivers, our seas are polluted in the name of so called progress and commercial enterprise. It is surely time to call a halt.....

Dublin 15 has been the testing ground for Manna Enterprise and a local petition has been drawn up by their Labour party councillor, John Walsh, to call for action in this area. For further info follow link bellow.

https://www.change.org/p/our-skies-our-say-restrict-drones-in-dublin-15-now

The word manna, by the way, comes from the Hebrew Man hu meaning- what is it? What indeed? 

And the bible describes manna as a divine gift and a symbol of God's provision- a far cry from the take-a-ways projected to fall from our skies in the near future.

Dirge for a lost world

In the time before the drones

we could look up to the sky

and see the sun rising 

and watch the clouds fly by.

In the time before the drones

moon and stars were on display-

gibbous, waxing, waning moods

and night skies' stellar array.

In the time before the drones

birdsong filled our ears

the blackbird, thrush and robin

flutes and trills allaying fears.

In the time before the drone

there was peace over this land

the only drone the sound of bees

sipping nectar from our flowers.

It's too late now to go back.

We have lost that peace and find

that the time before the drone

is a memory lost in time.

Copyright 2025 Cathy Leonard

Four Letters of Love-Review

 

What is it about Rotten Tomatoes, the arbiter of the fate of many a movie? Its verdict on the movie Four letters of love at 39% described as “too introspective and disjointed” (in reference to what exactly? ) is mean spirited  and unimaginative.  

The movie has its faults but the story is not one of them. Williams reminds me of the great South American writers like Jose Garcia Marquez who was hailed as someone who stunned, moved, seduced and transformed with his magical realism. Or consider the beautiful film Like water for Chocolate likewise haunting in its magical realism.

 

This is a love story where characters follow, call it the voice of God, their hearts or the dictates of fate. Apparent coincidence which turns out to be destiny is to the fore, like it was in Hardy’s fiction or in  Greek tragedy. Viewers who consider the plot unlikely or depressing have already failed to identify the genre.

 

The acting like the story is deeply heart felt. The scenery breath taking, though that aspect irritated some viewers as well. No body complained when Skellig Micheal in Star Wars was depicted as a mythical Jedi temple.

 

I concede that the musical score was at times for me intrusive and took away from the narrative. The script has its own musical cadence and did not need such embellishment. Accents were dubious at times and the aran jumpers far too new and gorgeous for 1970s Irish islanders. But these aspects of the production did not take away from the overall effect of the film.

 

It is a step into a world where the dictates of heart and soul triumph, where the human journey is depicted in all its soul searching rawness. It is a film that explores the challenging and tortuous search for love.

 

Come on Rotten Tomatoes let go to the magical realism of it.

Copyright 2025 Cathy Leonard