Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

St. Patrick’s Day is probably my favorite pointless holiday of the year! There are two basic reasons for this—and neither of them is my rich Irish heritage. (Incidentally, I do have Irish heritage, but considering those people died in the US a century before I was born, I don’t really have a strong attachment to the culture from them.)

No, my real reasons are at least half ridiculous:

1.) When I was in college, I spent Thanksgivings with my aunt. Randomly one year when we got up silly early for Black Friday, we began speaking in an Irish accent. These things only make sense before 5 AM.

2.) I wrote a trilogy featuring characters from Ireland. Over the years, I’ve spent approximately 1,000,000 hours studying Irish language, slang and culture 😉 .

But the real reason I’m extra excited this year on St. Patrick’s Day is because it’s official. After a long journey, that series is now free to be published! So <drumroll>

Saints & Spies is coming this fall!

After the Spy Another Day series concludes, I’ve got another fun adventure on deck. It starts with Saints & Spies, which follows an FBI agent going undercover as a Catholic priest to root out the mob in the parish.

To celebrate, I’m going to share a little “true” Irishness with you.

Eight Myths about Irish Culture and St. Patrick’s Day Dispelled—complete with tips on brushing up your Irish accent and how best to celebrate this weekend!

Irish Potato Candy—real!

Complete with recipe!

Irish Flag Apron—kinda kitschy, but real!

Complete with instructions—and it only cost me $5!

Photos all by me! Okay, and my husband.