Lorcan Kavanagh

#IrishTalent: Filmmaker turns author as Lorcan Kavanagh signs publishing deal

Irish writer and film producer Lorcan Kavanagh has signed a publishing deal for his debut novel, Texas Dakota. The publisher, UK and France based Crooked Cat Books, penned a four-year, world-rights deal with Kavanagh on the 21st of August.

Texas Dakota follows the exploits of Brolin Walker, and his descent into the dark underbelly of Devils Lake, North Dakota.

When Walker arrives in the Roughrider State, to pay a ransom to recover his stepson’s body, he’s convinced it will all go smoothly. But the body never turns up, and Brolin barely escapes the night with his life. Determined to find out what happened to his stepson, Brolin begins a deadly journey that takes him into an underworld of drug kingpins, addicts, and hitmen, and leaves him scrambling to unravel a dark mystery as shocking as his own past.

The inspiration for the novel came when Lorcan was doing research for another novel and stumbled upon information about the Hells Angels meth manufacture and distribution business running from Texas to North Dakota, and how it was affecting communities in middle America. Texas Dakota focuses on one family in particular.

Kavanagh, who is originally from Dun Laoghaire in County Dublin had this to say:

It had taken me three years to write the novel. When I sent it out to publishers I was not expecting it to find one so fast. The release date is the 12th of May 2017. It’s been a whirlwind of an experience so far but I am enjoying every minute of it.

Kavanagh is currently working on his second novel. A dark tale set inside secretive world of the illegal organ trade. He hopes to be finished by early 2018.

A spokesperson from the publisher added:

Crooked Cat responded to the solid writing and dark themes presented in Lorcan Kavanagh’s Texas Dakota – a brooding slice of American life. We look forward to its release in 2017.

Crooked Cat Books is an independent publisher, set up by husband and wife team, Laurence and Steph Patterson. With a background in fiction and academic writing, they founded Crooked Cat to provide talented authors with a platform to share their work. Due to the high volume of submissions, two editors have recently joined the company. Originally an electronic publisher, Crooked Cat has recently expanded into print.

Crooked Cat has published more than 20 books since 2012, receiving rave reviews and being shortlisted for multiple awards.

Kavanagh is best known in these parts as a producer on Midnight Man, which featured at the 2013 Horrorthon and last year had a US remake.

Texas Dakota is released on May 12th 2017 and will be available for pre-order in January 2017.