Caiseal Mor

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Caiseal Mor


Influences Irish folklore

Official website http://www.mahjee.com

Caiseal (pronounced Cash'l) is Gaelic for "stone fort". Caiseal Mor is a bestselling fantasy novelist. He is an Australian of Irish decent. Irish folklore is an inspiration for his works. Mor also composes and records music, with eight albums so far and another four on the way over the next year. He is well known for his lavish book and album covers, usually designed by himself. As a child he was diagnosed on the autistic spectrum, which was kept a secret from the wider public until disclosed in his autobiography A Blessing and a Curse; Autism and Me (2007).

Recurring themes in Mor's novels includes religion, theology, gods and deities, kingship and ancient times. His books are set in Ireland, Scotland and a personal interpretation of the Celtic Otherworld which he refers to as the Far Country.

Caiseal shares his life with his partner; the portrait artist Helen Wells. Helen produced the cover of Caiseal's autobiography, A Blessing and a Curse, and is a featured artist on Caiseal's album The Well of Yearning (2006). They are currently collaborating on a number of projects, including a series of trance albums. The first of these; ‘Divine Passion – Rain Water’ was launched on November 23 2007.

He is currently working on his much-awaited next novel- “Lady of the Lamp” (to be published in May 2008).

Caiseal makes tribal style drums from recycled materials, and holds workshops on trance drumming using these musical art objects. Below is the short bio from his blog, reproduced with permission;

Caiseal Mor squandered his youth in the town of Woop-Woop, Queensland. (Woop Woop is a mythical town from Australian folklore.) Diagnosed as autistic at a young age he struggled to be "normal" and failed spectacularly. At twenty, after years of trying to fit in, he got it into his head to run away and join the circus. Within a year he’d moved into a damp share-house in North London. It was during his stay in England he first encountered eccentricity as a way of life and this experience inspired him to cut a path somewhat at odds with the establishment. When his working holiday visa expired he returned to Australia intending to study. A degree in theatre arts proved to be an excellent preparation for the life of a ne’er-do-well. Nevertheless, for a short while, he managed to secure paid employment as a high school teacher. His first novel, "The Circle and The Cross, was a bestseller when it was published in 1994. These days he's kept busy as a writer, sculptor, musician and traveller. Caiseal is currently living on a precarious income somewhere in the wilds of Eastern Victoria. His life is blessed by the presence of his best friend, Helen and an assortment of inquisitive marsupials. His new official website may be found at www.mahjee.com.

1 Book titles
2 Music and spoken word CDs
3 Autism
4 External links

[edit] Book titles

[edit] Fantasy fiction

[edit] The Wanderers

The Circle and the Cross (1999)
The Song of the Earth (2000)
The Water of Life

[edit] The Watcher's trilogy

The Meeting of the Waters (2002)
King of Sleep (2002)
Raven Game (2003)

[edit] Other fantasy fiction

The Tilecutters Penny (1998)
The Harp at Midnight (1999)
Carolan's Concerto (2001)

Wellspring Trilogy

Well of Yearning (2004)#1
Well of the Goddess (2005)#2
Well of Many-Blessings (2005)#3

[edit] Non-fiction

Scratches in the Margin (1996)
The Moon on the Lake (1995)

[edit] Other books

Caiseal and his partner, artist Helen Wells, are currently producing a book on dreadlocks

[edit] Autobiography

A Blessing and a Curse; Autism and Me (2007) published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers , due out May 2007

[edit] Music and spoken word CDs

The Well of Yearning (companion to Well-Spring Trilogy )
Beautiful Hands (Celtic Harp)
Divine Passion-Rain Water (Creative Trance)

[edit] Autism

Caiseal Mor's autobiography, A Blessing and a Curse; Autism and Me , published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers due out May 2007, reveals his autistic childhood and diagnosis on the autism spectrum.