Discover new books on Goodreads

See if your friends have read any of David Lawlor's books

4 ratings | 4 reviews | avg rating:4.50

more photos (1)

David Lawlor’s Followers (64)

David’s Bookshelves

to-read (13)
currently-reading (0)
read (3)
did-not-finish (0)

David’s Friends (771)

John Ironmonger

999 books | 1,454 friends

Richard Cronin

92 books | 133 friends

Chris Callaghan

247 books | 2,202 friends

K.E. Lanning

148 books | 820 friends

Tim Weed

880 books | 755 friends

Darrell Nelson

166 books | 519 friends

Jessica Burchett

2,196 books | 207 friends

Marie Frey

815 books | 74 friends

More friends…

David Lawlor

Goodreads Author

Born

Dublin, Ireland

Website

http://www.historywithatwist.wordpress.com

Twitter

LawlorDavid

Genre

Historical Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Member Since

April 2012

edit data

David has been a journalist for over 30 years. He has written four historical fiction novels, Tan, The Golden Grave, A Time of Traitors and Patriots' Blood, set in the 1920s during the Irish War of Independence and Civil War, and following the character Liam Mannion.

He has also the author of High Crimes,a modern crime novel set in Dublin and revolving around a stalker and his victims.

David also contributed a short story to the anthology, For Whom The Bell Trolls: 25 Tales of Terror, Triumph & Trolls

David is also a book editor - copy and content editing. Check out http://historywithatwist.wordpress.co... for further information.

He lives in Wicklow, Ireland, with his wife and four children. ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask David Lawlor questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

Wicklow, not Dublin? David, how many anthologies contain your short stories? Historical fiction is outside the scope "Perihelion Science Fiction" ezine, and I am dreadfully overdue in finishing the novels with historical battle scenes (a genre, or world, I can hardly bare to immerse myself in). It's easy to skip the body-chopping scenes is sci-fi, but not in "this really happened" historical fiction.

David Lawlor I've only ever written one short story, Carol, the one in For Whom The Bell Trolls. My third historical fiction - A Time of Traitors - is more a detec…moreI've only ever written one short story, Carol, the one in For Whom The Bell Trolls. My third historical fiction - A Time of Traitors - is more a detective thriller and doesn't include any battles or bloody gore, but is based around historical events. My WIP is wrapped around the Irish Civil War and is particularly tied to an actual ambush - the most famous in Irish history - so I have to be careful with that one and get my facts right. It's tricky getting the balance between action and emotional development. You don't want the action to dominate things, but yet you do need to convey the times as they were. Tricky, but an interesting challenge...(less)

flag

2 likes · like
1 comment

I've been reading your posts for a while now and find you an exceptional writer with a unique voice. You're thoroughly engaging and have a way with adding a personal quality to history. Can you comment on where you learned to write and about your educational background?

David Lawlor Yet again you bombard me with undeserved compliments. Thanks so much, Claire, for taking the time to read some of my posts and to comment. Your encour…moreYet again you bombard me with undeserved compliments. Thanks so much, Claire, for taking the time to read some of my posts and to comment. Your encouragement is a great support. I only wish I could reciprocate to the same extent.

I always enjoyed writing school essays as a teenager. That was my favourite element of my English class. However, other than those fortnightly forays into story-telling, I didn't do any other writing. After leaving school, I did a degree in English and History in University College Dublin, followed by a graduate diploma in journalism.

I'm a production journalist - editing and designing news pages, so, despite being a journalist for 25 years, I haven't written that many newspaper articles (maybe 30 or 40).

I wrote my first novel about 10 years ago. It's a story about the Choctaw indians and the aid they gave to the Irish during the famine.I had always been impressed by the Choctaws generosity and felt compelled to write that story. I though that once I had, then it would be out of my system. The opposite happened. I am hooked on writing novels. If I had the money, I would retire and write my books all day long. Unfortunately, that's not possible, so I squeeze in some writing on my commute to work and on the way home. From time to time, I'll squeeze in a blog post, too.

I didn't take a writing course. I do think though that as we age, we lose the fear of criticism in our writing. I'm fascinated by history and wonder how I would have coped in various eras. History is made by people. That is such an obvious statement, but what tends to be overlooked in studying history, I think, is the humanity of those history makers. I try to get across a small sense of that humanity when I write my posts.

You're a great writer, Claire . . .very spiritual and attuned to those around you. I enjoy your posts. Your writing is precise and evocative, filled with a deep love of your subject. Thanks for giving me such great support. If I can be of any assistance to you in the future, just ask. I will do my very best to help. Take care. - David (less)

flag

1 like · like
1 comment

See all 3 answers from David Lawlor…

Combine Editions
David Lawlor’s books

Average rating: 4.41 · 93 ratings · 40 reviews · 5 distinct works

	The Golden Grave 4.21 avg rating — 33 ratings — published 2013	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tan 4.55 avg rating — 22 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Time of Traitors 4.55 avg rating — 20 ratings — published 2014 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	High Crimes 4.55 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 2015 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Patriots' Blood 4.29 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2017	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by David Lawlor…

152 posts
David Lawlor's Blog

Public Enemy No. 1 and The Lady In Red

You may be familiar with Susan Hill’s ghost story, The Woman in Black, or with Wilkie Collins’s mystery, The Woman in White; in fact, there are many stories of ‘White Lady’ ghosts peppered all across the globe.

But if black and white is a bit too monochromatic for your taste, there’s always The Lady, In Red to fall back on. She’s another type of ghost – said to be a rape victim, a prostitute or a j

Series by David Lawlor

A Liam Mannion Story (3 books)
by

David Lawlor (Goodreads Author)

4.33 avg rating — 60 ratings

David’s Quotes

“A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.”
― Elbert Hubbard

84523 likes

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
― Oscar Wilde

178934 likes

David’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-2) post a comment »

date

newest »

message 2: by David

Jun 09, 2013 12:44PM

Likewise C.J. You are certainly prolific and, no doubt, the Number One grandmother for those 11 eleven grandchildren - especially when it comes to story time. Good luck with your writing. Look forward to staying in touch - David :)

reply | flag

message 1: by C.J.

Jun 09, 2013 12:33PM

C.J. Heck

Hello David,

It's such a pleasure to have you as a friend. I look forward to reading your work. Thank you and best wishes to you with your books.

My warmest regards,
CJ

reply | flag