Backstory & Rationale etc.
Short bio:
Martin Connolly is from (near) Belfast, Ireland. He has lived in Japan for well over twenty years. A graduate of Trinity College, Dublin & Queen's University, Belfast, Martin studied Medieval & Renaisance English literature, and Spanish. He has published a number of articles on Arthurian-related literature. Recently, however, he has focused on modern Irish literature, writing on James Joyce, and on Irish poetry. Subculture has also been a topic, namely Star Trek (the Original TV Series), and, before that, Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean. He now holds the title of Professor in the English Department of Tsurumi University, Yokohama, Japan. Martin is married & has two sons. Martin has always wanted to write creatively, and so, since the setting up of Snowchild Press in 2015, he has been able to publish his poems and stories. Finally, another focus has been on music. Martin plays guitar (if not an actual Martin guitar). He has released a digital CD, under the artist name of Machrijam. More can be found out about that at his jazz webpage, which carries numerous reviews of live jazz events, and interviews with artists etc... Click for that.
Martin Connolly is from (near) Belfast, Ireland. He has lived in Japan for well over twenty years. A graduate of Trinity College, Dublin & Queen's University, Belfast, Martin studied Medieval & Renaisance English literature, and Spanish. He has published a number of articles on Arthurian-related literature. Recently, however, he has focused on modern Irish literature, writing on James Joyce, and on Irish poetry. Subculture has also been a topic, namely Star Trek (the Original TV Series), and, before that, Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean. He now holds the title of Professor in the English Department of Tsurumi University, Yokohama, Japan. Martin is married & has two sons. Martin has always wanted to write creatively, and so, since the setting up of Snowchild Press in 2015, he has been able to publish his poems and stories. Finally, another focus has been on music. Martin plays guitar (if not an actual Martin guitar). He has released a digital CD, under the artist name of Machrijam. More can be found out about that at his jazz webpage, which carries numerous reviews of live jazz events, and interviews with artists etc... Click for that.
Message from Martin:
'I have been consumed by writing, or the idea of writing, since my early teens. It was usually poetry that I tried to create. Some of the poems in 'labournight' go back very far indeed. Take, for example, 'The Snowchild', which would later provide the title of the publishing vehicle of all my work. Based on a medieval fabliau, it was both original and an adaptation. (As Eri would be both original and an extended elaboration of a story I had heard.) Anyway, that poem was accepted by a journal in Belfast, and that experience opened the door of possibilities. Yet, it would be a very long and winding road to get into print again. A journal in Tokyo accepted some poems, and they were even translated into Japanese. Yet, was that enough? No. Hardly. I persevered. It dawned on me very late in the day that the world of publishing is a very unforgiving and often cold and uninviting place. I believed in what I was doing, but no-one else seemed to be interested. I gradually came to the startling realization that if no-one was going to help me, I'd have to help |
myself. So, I did. I set up Snowchild Press in 2015, and published Eri, a Japanese ghost story. The writing process of that story was an exploration of terra incognita. It consumed me, drained me, challenged me, shook me. It was an amazing experience: until the very last day of publishing I was still altering words and phrases, re-reading, checking, late-stage proofing, probing, fixing, so that the actual release (on Amazon) became this long-delayed moment of ecstatic relief. (Until I discovered three annoying typos post-release -but soon fixed.) I learnt that this experience of writing requires enormous focus and serious and constant concentration. It encourages intense textual awareness, a faculty already well ingrained from my academic inquiries. I had wondered what if at some stage I had handed over the manuscript to an editor... I can't imagine ever doing such now. I'm in it from the beginning to the bitter end. Snowchild Press is my answer to an indifferent world, but, more positively, it is my way of creating worlds and experiences in words precisley as only I can.
Look favourably on my works, if ye will.' |
News
Recent interview in Book Reader Magazine: see link
Excerpt: Tell us a little about your latest book?
'My most recently published book is my debut novel, The Conjuring Cowboy. It is classifiable as a comedy, a Western, an adventure, a fantasy, and as a literary experiment. It’s about a recently graduated Irish fellow at the end of the 1980s, and the time traveling adventure he gets drawn into. He becomes a magician. And a cowboy. He is not very serious minded, but he discovers that the world is not quite as frivolous as he. And yet, does he really learn anything?'
Excerpt: Tell us a little about your latest book?
'My most recently published book is my debut novel, The Conjuring Cowboy. It is classifiable as a comedy, a Western, an adventure, a fantasy, and as a literary experiment. It’s about a recently graduated Irish fellow at the end of the 1980s, and the time traveling adventure he gets drawn into. He becomes a magician. And a cowboy. He is not very serious minded, but he discovers that the world is not quite as frivolous as he. And yet, does he really learn anything?'
While the author is based in Japan, Snowchild Press is actually based in, and registered in, Belfast. James Connolly is in charge of aspects from that side, including publicity and editorial work. He is a tireless promoter of the enterprise.
Please note that excerpts from the various publications can be accessed on Amazon, via the Look Inside function. Regarding Amazon, reviews are encouraged!
Almost all photos on this website are taken by the author.