After The Rising: A Sweeping Saga of Love, Loss and Redemption: The Centenary Edition: 1 (Irish Trilogy)

"One is immersed in this epic story immediately and effortlessly… The main characters are so well-drawn that you feel you have heard about them in your own life." - The Evening Herald 

A death in the present—a killing in the past.

After twenty years away, Jo Devereux flies home to Ireland for her mother’s funeral — the mother she hasn’t spoken to for more than two decades. Every minute there reminds her of all the reasons she left and she has no desire to reacquaint herself with her home village. Or with Rory O’Donovan, her lost love.

Then, she reads her mother’s will. Her inheritance is a chest full of letters and journals, written by her grandmother and great-aunt, that answer a long held secret. Who murdered her great-uncle in the Irish Civil War.. and why?  How did what an uprising for Irish freedom and independence degenerate into a bitter civil war where neighbor turned against neighbor, and family against family– leaving a legacy of lies, secrets, and silences for generations to come?

As Jo unearths the bitter, buried history she shares with Rory she finally understands why their love was doomed from the start. But what about now? Can she stay true to both her heart and her heritage? She knows from her own life how the wild energy of rebellion can carry someone away… but what happens after the rising?

Orna Ross is an award-winning Irish novelist, poet, and advocate for self-publishing authors. Born and raised in Wexford, in the south-east corner of Ireland, she now lives in London and St Leonard's-on-Sea, in the south-east corner of England. She writes historical fiction and inspirational poetry, as well as creative publishing guides for authors as Orna A Ross. When she's not writing, you'll probably find her reading.

Tweet her @ornaross
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"My writing inspirations are Irish history, the lives of women and other outcasts, and the mysterious movements of the creative spirit itself. I leap on vision but rely on revision. I agonise over word choices and punctuation. I believe in the magic of two human imaginations intermingling across space and time in a book.

"I know I'm not just a better writer but a better human being for being a reader. For me, literature is a gift, a calling, and our best gateway to a better world."