Former Northern Ireland First Minister Ian Paisley will not seek re-election in the forthcoming general election. The 83-year-old founder and ex-leader of the Democratic Unionist Party is to relinquish the North Antrim seat he first won in 1970. Mr Paisley announced his decision to stand down in his local constituency paper, the Ballymena Guardian. Famed for his firebrand oratory, Mr Paisley was a founding member of the Free Presbyterian Church in Ireland in 1951. His evangelical theology heavily influenced his political views and throughout the Troubles he forthrightly denounced Catholicism and the papacy.

The Bleeding Hills – A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

The Bleeding Hills – A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

The Bleeding Hills – A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

The Bleeding Hills
By Wilfried F. Voss

Published by
Copperhill Media Corporation
158 Log Plain Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
USA
Copyright © 2009 by Copperhill Media Corporation, Greenfield, Massachusetts

The story you
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January 30th marks an anniversary in recent Irish history that most people living outside of Ireland and the Northern Provinces recognize only through a famous U2 song, Sunday Bloody Sunday. Unfortunately, the song is still misinterpreted as a “rebel song.” Nothing could be further from the truth. The band was aware of the controversial nature of Sunday Bloody Sunday, that its lyrics might be misinterpreted as sectarian, and possibly jeopardize their personal lives.

Sigerson Clifford was an Irish poet and playwright. I took a line from his poem The Boys of Barr Na Sraide, the line that goes “And when the hills were bleeding and rifles were aflame…”, to use it as the title for my book “The Bleeding Hills”. The research for my also revealed that there is not a lot of information available that would describe the person Sigerson Clifford in more detail, and that is the reason I created a web site in the hope that people all over the world find it and possibly add more data.

As a writer you cannot only expect praise for your work, but also criticism. That is just human nature. I have learned to live with criticism, and, knowing that I am not the ultimate source of all wisdom, I am willing to listen and learn as long as the criticism is constructive.

As of today I have finished the last revision of my novel, The Bleeding Hills. The document is converted into a PDF, as is the cover. We’re ready to upload the files to LightningSource.com, an Ingram Books service. Monday is Labor Day, but they will work on the files by Tuesday, and I might receive the proof copy by the end of the week or early the week after. It really goes that fast.

Well, as of today I have submitted my first novel to a professional editing service. My last entry was on July 10, 2009 at which time I was sure I was shortly before publishing. However, I decided to run yet another editing process, and I believe it was well worth the efforts. Since my first draft I had added roughly 10,000 words and another run was necessary. I like the result and, believe me, I am my worst critic. I am counting on the professional editing service to add a little cream on top of the pie.