On the evening of Friday 24th July, we were joined in Roe River Books, Dundalk, for the launch of the 2nd volume of Channel The Dark, by Tom O'Connell, author of Lichtenberg; Sean Richardson, who contributed Bradshaw to the anthology; RTE's Teresa Mannion; and Zane Vondracek of Astory Media, who kindly took some wonderful photos and videos.

Writing isn’t just something I do – it’s who I am, what I’m here for, the ultimate trajectory despite everything I undertake in my life. It brings me joy, makes me feel like I have a purpose, a worth. It’s the thing I’m best at and the thing through which I articulate everything about me. All my memories, my actions, my desires, fears, relationships, knowledge, interest, introspection and musing.

I think it's fair to say that billions of people around the world believe they're living in a deterministic universe. "God has a plan", they might say, or "It's God's will", or "that child he allowed to suffer with cancer [if not gave it to the child] is with God now".