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J.M Lane
J.M. Lane is an Irish author, poet and award-winning filmmaker from Ennis, Co. Clare. His work spans fiction, poetry and film, with a particular interest in stories that explore the darker edges of human nature. His books include The Raven Chronicles, beginning with Setanta and the Lady by the Water, followed by Setanta and the Hungry Ones and Setanta and the Blood King. His other work includes The Things We Kept and the Irish Gothic crime novel Why the Curlew Cries, out 31 October 2026. His poetry and short fiction have appeared in The Soliloquist, Fresh Words, Flash Phantoms and Ring of Culture, with work forthcoming in Ragaire and Spilled Ink's anthology. He was shortlisted for Wild Atlantic Words, placed fourth at Witty Wicklow, and was longlisted for the Frances Browne Poetry Award. His micro-short film Whose There? has won awards at the Couch Film Festival (Toronto), the Shyena International Film Festival and the Wolf Media Festival. Writing came relatively late. Before it, Lane had already worked as an artist, in social care, digital design, policing and, at one point, as a chimney sweep. He also collected far too many qualifications along the way. Then cancer arrived. While recovering from surgery, he decided there probably wasn't going to be a perfect time to write the books he had spent years thinking about, so he stopped waiting and wrote them. Since then, his books have become Amazon bestsellers in Ireland and the United States, and Setanta and the Lady by the Water received a Five Star Award from the Open Book Awards. His work moves between Irish mythology, crime, horror and ordinary people dealing with things that are anything but ordinary. He lives and writes in the northwest of Ireland, which tends to find its way into the stories whether he intends it to or not.
J.M. Lane is an Irish author, poet and award-winning filmmaker from Ennis, Co. Clare. His work spans fiction, poetry and film, with a particular interest in stories that explore the darker edges of human nature. His books include The Raven Chronicles, beginning with Setanta and the Lady by the Water, followed by Setanta and the Hungry Ones and Setanta and the Blood King. His other work includes The Things We Kept and the Irish Gothic crime...
Setanta and the Lady by the Water A mythic coming-of-age novella rooted in Irish folklore and shadowed grief.
Setanta knows only this: his mother vanished, his father is a ghost of a man, and something ancient is following them. From haunted towns to forgotten hills, they chase the Lady by the Water, a banshee whose song marks the doomed. But when...
A boy of two worlds. A famine that walks. A demon that never died.
Setanta never asked to be the son of legends. His mother is the Morrígan, goddess of battle and fate. His father is Cú Chulainn, the Hound of Ulster. But when famine spreads across Ireland and the dead rise as hollow, briar-filled husks, destiny will no longer wait.
Setanta and the Blood King Setanta thought he understood what monsters looked like. He was wrong. With his father gone and the threat of war growing closer, Setanta is forced to stand on his own. Alongside Fiadh, his fiercely loyal dog, and the formidable Martina, he is drawn into a new danger rooted in one of Ireland’s darkest legends. Abhartach,...
The Raven Chronicles is a dark fantasy series rooted in Irish mythology, following teenage Setanta as he discovers that being the son of Cú Chulainn and the Morrígan is not quite the gift it sounds like.
The old stories have not gone away. They have simply learned how to...
Night Waters I am getting older. My prostate has swollen in sympathy with my belly, So now I drink less water before bed,a peace offering For the body. ...
The blend of Irish mythology, danger, and heart made this book impossible to put down.
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Ronald Betta
The writing is lyrical and atmospheric, steeped in Irish myth and raw emotion.
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Jon Burrows
This takes you to the heart of Irish folklore. Beautifully written. A heartfelt story of love, banshees and fae. I can’t wait to read more from this author. One to watch
On 25 October, I’ll be in Longford for the launch of the Samhain Harvest Anthology at Lyons Bar, 31 Main Street, Longford Town. Two of my poems, Mitóg and Bonfire, are included in the anthology, and I’ve confirmed that I’ll be attending the launch and have put my name forward to read from the book on the day. The launch begins at 3pm in the performance area behind Lyons Bar. There is something particularly nice about hearing poetry read aloud in a room full of people. Poems live differently once...
I’m delighted to say that I’ll be attending the launch of Ragaire Literary Magazine Issue 6 on Friday, 20 November at 6:30pm in The PorterShed, Market Street, Galway. Having work accepted by Ragaire meant a great deal to me, and I’ve also asked to be included among the writers reading at the launch if a slot is available. This one will be especially important to me. It will be my first major literary outing after the surgery I’m currently going through, and I think by then I’ll be more than...
