Author and Irish Echo Editor Charms the Audience on October 15
Roy O’Hanlon spoke at the West Roxbury Branch Library about how he came to write his first work of fiction after thirty years as a journalist. His new novel, The South Lawn Plot, mixes history from yesterday into the headlines of today. The thriller has a number of story lines, including the sudden deaths of priests, schemes of a group of London businessmen in 1607 to realign England politically with Catholic Spain, the threat of nuclear war between the United States and China over Taiwan, and a plan to kill the American president on the White House grounds.
O’Hanlon then recounted how he had always wanted to write fiction, although he had worked for decades as a journalist reporting non-fiction. The South Lawn Plot merges history and fiction, which makes the past more accessible to modern-day readers who may have little interest in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 but who enjoy a good book.
Before O’Hanlon’s talk, Friends co-chair Barbara Van Dyke welcomed the attendees and told the crowd about upcoming library events. The author also signed copies of his book for those in attendance.
