Hello dear voyager and welcome,
I’m so glad you’ve steered your way here. This page will tell you about me, about this Substack publication, and about my books.
About Me
[For official bios see my Website Media Page here]
I’m Orna Ross, award-winning Irish novelist, poet, and founder of the Alliance of Independent Authors.
I was born and raised in the south-east of Ireland, in a loving home complicated by alcoholism, and a wonderful country tainted by patriarchal theocracy. I survived it all, including convent boarding-school, by taking to books and dreaming of becoming a writer.
Decades on, thanks to my dear readers and indie writer friends, here I am: living the dream in lovely St Leonards on Sea, a creative hotspot in the south-east of England.
I share my beach life with ‘The Hub’, husband of 40+ years (so far, so fair!), along with our grown-up daughter and son, who live and work close by.
About ‘Tidings’
Tidings is my Substack blog and newsletter, where I:
write and share my most recent writings and recordings (open to all).
gather my keenest readers for exclusives and to support my work and enjoy extras and exclusives (paid).
explore creative living and creativism — what it is to bring the creative process to everything in life (some open posts, some paid).
host Indie Author Lab LIVE online—a monthly workshop for writers who want to publish their own books, the creative way. Built around my book Creative Self-Publishing and presented in association with the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), the London Book Fair, and Author Nation. (paid.)
Enter Anywhere
I write long and I write short—novels that take years, poems that arrive in a breath, and essays from the in-between. You’re unlikely to want it all—and no need. Dip in where you’re drawn. Skip lightly over the rest. Dive deep or take a paddle in the shallows. All my thanks to you for being here in whatever way is right for you.
Emailed Once Monthly
I post twice a week, but my work lives in the app except for one email a month, a roundup and reminder, which will arrive to your inbox around new moon time.
FREE
- Go Creative! Podcast
A Monday motivator about applying the creative process to everything. For readers who like to learn from the past and believe a better future is possible
- Serialised fiction
Friday fiction spot in which I’m serialising my next novel in instalments. For readers who like true-life historical fiction, slow reads, Irish settings—and being close to a work as it’s being made.
- Poetry Picks
Inspirational poetry in text and audio: one from me, and one from another Substack poet on a similar theme. For readers willing to be moved by a few well-placed words.
PAID
- Reader Club
Everything deepens inside the inner sanctum. Paid subscribers get early access to each new book, with sales discounts and other exclusive offers. There’s also a member-only chatroom and a monthly live creative salon where we set our creative intentions for the month and chat about what’s going down, from the creative perspective, with a particular focus on banishing block and fostering flow.
- Indie Author Lab Online
Monthly workshop offering space for creative reflection, focus, and forward motion, designed around your current writing and publishing challenges, refreshed by the best thinking from the global indie author calendar, and led by me here on Substack. Based on my bestselling book Creative Self-Publishing and Go Creative! Planners for Authors.
- Chat: Creative community
Reader Club and Indie Author Lab members get access to my chatroom. Some people are chatty. Others lurk. All are welcome.
