Creative Writing – Curraghmore House. Co. Waterford

 

I love Ireland, especially County Waterford

As a reviewer once said, “Ireland leaps from the pages” of my novels. So when I was invited to host a Summer Series of Creative Writing Workshops in historic Curraghmore House Estate, ancestral home of Lord Waterford, the 9th Marquis of Waterford, I was thrilled.karen-power-author-creative-writing-workshop-portlaw-waterford-ireland

All Together Now Festival.

Last summer, Curraghmore House Estate came to national attention when it hosted the award winning All Together Now Festival.

Creative Writing Workshop Testimonials

Creative Writing Workshop with WIT Creative Computing Students

Recently, I received an invitation from Jacqui Woods O’Brien, Lecturer in BSc(HONS) in Creative Computing at Waterford Institute of Technology to deliver a creative writing workshop to her first year students.

Of course, I said yes immediately. I was intrigued by a course that blends creativity with IT skills. These students are learning all the skills to produce a documentary, short or animated film. Fantastic!

Writing Workshop

Karen Power with some of the WIT Creative Computing Students

Public Dyspraxia Awareness Meeting in Waterford

Thanks to Dyspraxia/DCD Ireland, I will be speaking about dyspraxia, a motor co-ordination difficulty that affects learning and many other aspects of a person’s life in the Waterford Teachers Centre, Newtown Road, Waterford on Tuesday the 29th of November at 7pm.

dyspraxia-awareness

Drawing from my experience as both an adult education tutor and being a parent of a nineteen year old daughter who has dyspraxia, my hope is to share information, tips and strategies that can help parents, teachers, resource teachers, special needs assistants and any other interested parties to support and better understand children, teens and adults with this challenge.

North and South unite for October Baby Loss Awareness Month

TOGETHER WE CAN RAISE €10,000 for Feileacain (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Association of Ireland) and Sands NI (Stillbirth And Neonatal Death Support) in Northern Ireland.

As many of you are aware, I have been invited by SANDS NI to Belfast to highlight International Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Week and to light the candle for the International Wave of light Ceremony on the 15th of October at 7pm to send a light across the world for one hour.
International Wave of Light Ceremony

International Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Week 9th – 15th of October

Some of you may know that our twin baby boys, Aidan and Michael were born and died on the 17th of November 2002. As long as I live I will never forget the pain of losing them. It was indescribable. Twelve years later, I found the strength to write about our babies in my fiction novel Butterfly Barn. I gave this life changing loss to one of my lead characters, Jessie. My hope was that it would somehow shine a light on the deep and silent grief many of us live with. I am overwhelmed by how Jessie’s story has touched the hearts of so many people. One of those people is the owner of this little cutie.

Cobh Library Talk on Saturday the 23th of July from 2-4pm

Thanks to all you readers out there, news of Butterfly Barn & On Butterfly Wings series is spreading. Here’s a pic from Jennifer Murphy Coady who even brought her copies into The Bermuda Bookstore and the manager ordered copies of both books. They sold out and ordered more. It’s more than I could have dreamed!

bermuda

Now I am being invited to give library talks around Ireland and my next stop is Cobh Library this coming Saturday. What a beautiful building!
Cobhlibrarynew_0

Three Sisters 2020 Bid & “Words” at the Arthand

My hope is that the Three Sisters (Waterford, Wexford & Kilkenny) will win the bid to be European Capital of Culture 2020. Our beautiful South-East has for too long been Ireland’s hidden gem.

The Copper Coast

So many people like Sean and Miranda Corcoran who recently celebrated the 3rd Anniversary of “Words At the ArtHand” in their beautiful custom designed Art Centre on Waterford’s fantastic Copper Coast, have committed a lifetimes work to arts and culture in the South-East region.

They have opened their door not just to those interested in art and design but also poets, writers, storytellers, authors and people who just love words.

The Butterfly Barn Experience – 31 March 2016

What a day!

I met a wonderful group of ladies who invited me to Clodagh House, a beautiful old house in the village of Portlaw, Co. Waterford where I hosted the very first Butterfly Barn Experience.
In my imagination Butterfly Barn is a place where people come to rediscover their strengths, try out new things, and have fun. Since I don’t have a physical place, I thought why not bring the concept to other venues and low and behold it happened.

So what did we do all day?

Blogging and my hopes for 2016

Hi All,

So 2016 is just two days away. What a year 2015 has been for Butterfly Barn! Little did I know that Butterfly Barn would bring my family and I on such a wonderful adventure. I have met so many kind and fascinating people who are following their dreams and helping others to follow theirs. It is truly heartening and I am very grateful that my writing has touched people in the way that it has. Thank you for all the social media messages, emails and private messages I receive, your encouragement keeps me going.