Tom Phelan Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

About Tom Phelan

An Irish author, Tom Phelan is a novelist who writes straight from the heart, creating stories inspired by the world around him. Taking everyday issues affecting him and his country, he writes in a style quite unlike any other, immersing the reader in his rich and inventive worlds. This has allowed him to become a bestselling sensation internationally, as his work has resonated on a huge scale worldwide, with readers from far and wide singing his many praises. Knowing each of his characters inside and out, he also manages to deliver fully three-dimensional personalities in each of his stories too. This allows to feel far more tactile, giving them a grounded feel that many writers would otherwise only aspire too. Over the years this has made him one of the most sought after writers of his generation, as he continues to write for many years to come.

Early and Personal Life

Born in Ireland, 1940, Tom Phelan would grow up with a strong passion for the written word, immersing himself in everything literature from an early age. Growing up in Mountmellick, in the county of Laois in the Irish mid-lands, he would experience a rural upbringing on a family run farm there. This way of life and his surrounding environment growing up would also come to inspire much of his later novels as well. Learning about the running of a farm from his father, he would seek to make a livelihood from it in later years himself. As time went on he would also come to write about this, using his experiences here to inspire much of his stories and material.

Not only taking inspiration from the world around him, he would also create many of his characters from people he met over the years. The period in which he grew up would also be something that would feature heavily within his work as time went on too. Harking back to an era during the 1940s, his work would come to capture and crystallize this period as time went on, providing his readers with a snapshot in time almost. Knowing his readers he would also come to find his style writing for them in a way that was extremely direct and to the point, whilst simultaneously being evocative too. With a lot more to come as time goes on, he isn’t stopping anytime soon, as his writing career has a lot more lined up on the horizon.

Writing Career

Bringing out his first debut novel back in 1994, Tom Phelan would publish the book ‘In the Season of the Daisies’, quickly garnering attention for his work. In time he would go on to publish more work, with his original novel being published when he was fifty years of age. Drawing from his early life growing up, he would focus on writing thrillers with strong characters, along with stories about Ireland as a country. This would, in time, then also gain the attention of many reviewers too, as they would garner him with much acclaim and praise for his efforts. Not writing any series as such, he would largely opt for self-contained narratives, with stories that were mainly stand-alone titles.

Following his first book up one year later with his second release, he would bring out the title ‘Iscariot’ in 1995. This would further cement his reputation as an author of much repute, as his audience would grow even more, with it reaching an even wider marketplace worldwide. Not only that, but he would also go on and bring out the novel ‘Derrycloney’ a few years later in 1999, which would be heavily inspired by his own life growing up in rural Ireland. Incorporating a sense of history in to his novels too, Phelan manages to evoke not just a time period, but a feeling for the reader too. This is something that he will continue to do for many years to come, with his profile as a writer constantly building day-by-day.

In The Season Of The Daisies

Originally published in 1994, this would be the first title to come from Tom Phelan as a full-time author. It would establish him for the first time, with this stand-alone novel that would bring him international attention for the first time. Released through the ‘Four Walls Eight Windows’ publishing outlet, this would first be published on the 1st of April. Not being a part of any series as such, it has a self-contained narrative, although many of the themes and ideas Phelan would later come back to.

Taking place in 1921, it sees five individuals mess up an IRA action in Ireland, as everything goes horribly wrong for them. During this Willie Doolin is brutally murdered, whilst his twin brother, Seanie, is effectively beaten and traumatized, as he just narrowly escapes with his life. Then, 27 years later, the night is relived through the character of Seanie Doolin, as he continues to recount the events of that one fateful night all those years prior. Reinventing the story in numerous ways, he brings about a colourful cast of characters, all of whom help to obscure the tragedy of what really happened. Who are these people and how do they really come in to the story? Can Seanie ever overcome his past? What will happen in the season of the daisies?

Lies The Mushroom Pickers Told

Initially released through the Arcade publishing label, this was first released on the 3rd of February in 2015. Working as a thriller novel, it shows how far Tom Phelan has come as an author over the years. It also manages to progress many of the themes and ideas that came before.

Returning home to the Irish village of his birth, Patrick Bracken is a journalist who has returned to Gohen to investigate two deaths from many years before. Having been witness to the murders with his friend Mickey Lamb, they were ruled as accidental, and Patrick believes the whole village is covering them up. Meeting the lawyer Sam Howard who previously took on the case himself, he seeks to get to the bottom of the mystery however he can. Looking at life in the village, truths are learnt as they begin to realize the reality behind some of the lies the mushroom pickers told.