I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this event. Was it a book reading? A history lesson? An interview? All of the above? But being from Islandmagee the description had interested me and with lunch included in the price, I decided to take the plunge.I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it. The format was that of an interview with Martina Devlin on the stage at the Black Box flanked only by a screen that was used to project images on as she took us through the interesting stories and processes that lead her to write this historical fiction book, as well as her other NI set book about the Titanic ‘Ship Of Dreams’. Martina has a way with words, a handy trait for a writer, and is incredibly articulate. Which makes this event and her questioning a pleasure to be a part of. She regales us with historical tales of Islandmagee, how her family had a never talked about relative on the Titanic and lets us in on the fact that the book has just been optioned for a movie to be made. She mentions the time she visited Islandmagee and makes mention of a few folk that I would know from round the area that she had spoken too whilst doing her research. It seems an odd thing to combine Historical fact with fiction but she takes us through the process of this and how to balance the two so they compliment each other. A quick Q & A at the end finished off the session nicely so we could all rush back to work while Martina stayed on stage and talked with anyone else who didn’t have to rush on. A great wee event to be a part of and a brilliant use of my lunch hour I have to say. Lets have more festivals run this way please.
