going live

I'll be chatting with House of Wyrd cover artist Lisa Laughy this Saturday

Dear word explorer,

With mercurial swiftness the signing sheets for my novella, House of Wyrd, arrived at PS Publishing on Friday — chalk one up for the Irish/English postal service acting in tandem (and not in tantrum)!

Sadly, since the Brexit rupture so many services between our two nations have been strained, especially delivery of items between the two territories. We’re now likely to get charged Customs Duty for the most minor of packages, and VAT if it’s a substantial item. I’ve informed my UK friends (except my Northern Irish pals who can avoid all this bother) not to send any gifts as they are simply a pain for either the sender or the receiver.

Ordering journals or magazines from the UK is no longer worth the extra charge (since An Post adds an ‘administration fee’ on top of the customs). It’s a tiresome barrier for international trade.

‘Mail from across the pond’ by Hans Zatzka (Austrian, 1859 – 1945). Perhaps the post is handled in this fashion in the Otherworld, but not in our realm. No doubt that’s Zeus cosplaying as a swan… the delivery is a ruse for him to court this lady.

And what a strange coincidence that I mention Brexit.. on this date ten years ago the UK went to the polls to decide if they would leave the EU.

I won’t rehash the whys and wherefores but I distinctly remember where I was the following morning. My friend Karlin Lillington and I were curating the ‘Image’ programme for the Hay Festival in Kells, and we were all staying in that pretty village in Co. Meath. Many of the guests had travelled from the UK to participate in the cultural festival, so the mood at breakfast was despondent. Since many of my friends work in creative industries, which were overwhelmingly in favour of a continued presence in the EU, the decision to leave the European Union marked a tough period for them.

Brexit created a thorny process of separation for Europe to navigate, but it has been substantially more difficult for Ireland due to the border with Northern Ireland. It remains an on-going point of discussion…

‘In Dublin Bay’, a portrait of Grace Orpen, the wife of artist William Orpen (1878-1931).

Last weekend I had had a long and fun conversation with Lisa Laughy, the talented American artist who drew the cover for House of Wyrd, as well as painting the endpapers for the hardback edition.

Lisa is a traditional wood carver, artist, and illustrator and has a fantastic range of work from sculpture to paintings. Here’s a snippet from her web site:

My creative work is primarily influenced by history – early medieval Irish manuscripts, the Stave Churches of Norway, Viking art, Renaissance geometry, alchemical engravings, and particularly how nature is represented in these historic styles. The animals native to my home in New Hampshire often find their way into my work. I look backward to find symbols and myths – essential elements from our collected human psyche – to employ as filters for my own personal experiences. I have also developed an invented runic alphabet to use as a way to add the texture of language and hidden meaning to my work.

‘Old Woman of the Night’ by Lisa Laughy.

Lisa has a newsletter and a Patreon Page for those who want to keep up to date with her current projects or support her work in a direct fashion. She sends out artwork quarterly to those who pledge at higher levels of her tiered sponsorship system.

Here are the pieces she sent out in February 2026, which were on 4" x 6" watercolour paper using acrylic gouache.

‘Eye Motifs’ by Lisa Laughy.

You can see why I consider myself fortunate to have worked with Lisa. She has a in-depth understanding of mythology and symbols, and can condense ideas into striking visual designs. Since House of Wyrd is an occult mystery using a lot of arcane imagery, Lisa was a perfect match for the material.

Thankfully, Lisa was enthusiastic about my novella, and keen to draw the cover. She was diligent and responsive, and it was a pleasure to work with an artist who was so dedicated to creating an evocative cover.

If you want to know more about the novella, Lisa’s work, and our collaboration, then I’ve scheduled a Substack Live Video with Lisa for this Saturday, the 27th of June at 5 pm (Irish time or Noon EDT).

I will send out a reminder about the Live Video on the day itself, so please forgive any extra emails from me.

Most of you receive these newsletters via your inbox, but the Substack platform includes a lot of extra functionality — Notes, podcasts, video, etc. They’ve even launched a Substack TV App so you can watch their audio/video contents via your TV¹.

If this is beginning to sound like a hassle to you, fret not! You can just use the link and watch Lisa and I gab about our collaboration. There will be a chat function on the live video so you can ask questions.

‘Frage an die Karten’ by Édouard Bisson, 1889.

We’re aiming to converse for about forty minutes, and hopefully we’ll get a couple of questions from viewers during that stretch.

Tech magic will occur after the event and the video will be available to rewatch on our newsletter platforms, so if you don’t catch us live, you can catch up with it later.

I’m hoping to do a mini-series of conversations around the publication of House of Wyrd, discussing the editorial and publication process, so expect a couple of other videos. I’ve a lot of experience interviewing people at events (such as Kim Newman, Rihanna Pratchett, George RR Martin, Posy Simmonds, and Will Simpson), and I love engaging people in meaningful conversation. Hopefully some of you will be able to drop by and listen to Lisa and me chat about writing, art, and design choices!

The book is in the process of being printed currently, so it should be finished and winging its way to readers by July.

Please pre-order the hardcover of House of Wyrd and receive the deluxe experience!

1. The TV app is only available for Apple TV or Google TV atm.