ABOUT THE. EVENT
All welcome to the book launch of the novel BARREN by N Irish author BYDDI LEE in conversation with Derry-based author SUE DIVIN. Published by SEANCHAI BOOKS. Paperback £12.99.
Tickets £4 (includes booking fee, refreshments and £2 off book at event). Doors open from 6:45pm and close at 7:15pm
ABOUT THE BOOK:
BARREN is a transatlantic, historical, mythical and fantasy female-led fictional work.
Two grieving women are connected across time when the forces of nature activate a magical bronze axe they both possess, opening a portal through which they view each other's worlds. When it becomes clear they both need saving, a way must be found to heal the calamities in both their worlds – before time runs out.
In present day California, pregnant Irish emigrant Aisling looks forward to becoming a mother. A sudden miscarriage leaves her devastated, but her unborn daughter's spirit chooses to stay with her offering unheard comfort.
In Neolithic Ireland, huntress Zosime worries another lost pregnancy will diminish her standing in the tribe. When a comet strikes, bringing plague and famine, Zosime embarks on an odyssey to find a way to save her tribe – taking her magical bronze axe which contains the history of her tribe.
The axe is also in Aisling's possession, for both women are from Armagh, separated by thousands of years. When an earthquake activates its powers – suddenly Aisling can see through time and space. Connected to her unborn daughter's spirit and the axe, somehow she can view Zosime's desperate plight. However, the connection means her daughter is trapped between worlds, fading and powerless.
Unless Aisling can trust her new powers and discover the secrets of the axe, her daughter's spirit, Zosime, and the woman's tribe, might be lost forever.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Byddi Lee is based in N Ireland. Author of BARREN (Seanchai Books, 2025), REJUVENATION, a speculative fiction trilogy (first published by Castrum Press, 2020) and MARCH TO NOVEMBER (Sheanchai Books, 2014).
LEE has published flash fiction, short stories and co-edited The Bramley – An Anthology of Flash Fiction Armagh, Volumes 1 and 2. She also writes for stage and screen and is a member of BBC Writersroom Voices 23.
Co-founder of and manages Flash Fiction Armagh, which was shortlisted as Best Regular Spoken Word Night in the Saboteur Awards in 2019.
LEE is an Arts Council Northern Ireland supported writer and holds professional membership at the Irish Writers Centre in Dublin and the Society of Authors, UK.
For more information, please see: www.byddilee.com
**
You may also like the following events from Little Acorns Bookstore (Derry):
Also check out other
Arts events in Derry,
Literary Art events in Derry.
