Virginia’s Devaney back with new children’s novel

A Virginia man has penned a heart warming story of adventure, friendship, love and overcoming adversity.

The Orion Disc by Patrick Devaney charts the adventures of Mousy Mickser a timid teenager, who’s daily school life is made miserable by a pair of bullies.

Things change for the better when his Granddad Jimmy gives him an ancient disc to be used together with gentle spells to undermine troublemakers attempts at mischief. The Orion Disc possesses one more spell, the powerful ‘Fire Spell’ which Mickser and his grandad seek to gain by visiting Hag’s Mountain.

“It’s a mixture of magic and realism. When it’s dealing with the school situation it’s very realistic,” explains Patrick in the writing room of his Virginia home where he lives with his wife of 53 years, Cheryl.

Cheryl, originally from Finchley, came over to Ireland on a month’s holiday and never returned.

“Pat was brilliant, he would teach me about birds and all sorts - he was mad about nature. We would go out for walks, looking at hare droppings, grouse droppings,” she says with a laugh, “Unusual date, jumping drains in the bog.”

Its appropriate that nature should play a central point in his debut novel, Rua the Red Grouse, published back in 1987, which was published by initially the Irish Peatland Conservation Council, and picked up by another publisher. It was illustrated by none other than Don Conroy.

The Orion Disc is far from Partick’s first literary endeavour. He has two books of poetry, four novels for adults, and ‘The Orion Disc’ is his fifth for teenagers.

Patrick, who is originally from north Roscommon, recalls of his first book for teenagers, Rua the Red Grouse: “I started off writing about the grouse from the human viewpoint and wasn’t getting anywhere. Then I decided to switch and write the novel from the point of view of the grouse - and that was the first one I got published. That made all the difference.”

This latest book was published by Author House, and its settings may well be familiar to Cavan readers. Hag’s Mountain, Sliabh na Callaighe in Irish, which is one of the names by which Loughcrew is known is where Mickser and his grandfather must venture to if they are to secure the most powerful spell.

“Which you can actually see it from certain parts of Virginia. And then a lot of it would be set at our local lake here.

“There’s a lake in the story with islands, and definitely that was in the background.”

Patrick reports The Orion Disc has been well received so far.

“It’s actually got fairly good reviews from American publishers. They seem to be quite pleased with it.”