Crime fiction novella set in Tallaght

By Mary Dennehy

COMEDY sketches, satire, poetry, short stories, horror, weird fiction tales, are some of the genres that Jobstown writer Sean Urell has tapped into over the past 15 years.

A big reader from a young age, Sean (36) never believed that he could be a writer – until he was in his early twenties and his imagination got the better of him.

It was an organic and creative journey for Sean, who started out writing poetry and short stories and now, a crime novella published.

Called ‘The Pact’, Sean’s novella is a tale of revenge set in Tallaght which sees three friends embark on a vigilante mission after the death of a friend.

“The book is set in Tallaght but I’ve changed up the street names and pubs and that.

“I really like writing fiction but as a teenager writing is something I never thought I’d be able to do.”

He added: “I did a part-time course in journalism after college and this was when I realised that I wanted to be more creative, use my imagination – so I started writing short stories, horror and weird fiction.

“I absolutely love it and I think as adults we tend to neglect our imagination, but it’s just like a muscle – if you don’t use it, you lose it.”

After writing ‘The Pact’, Sean’s first novella found itself in a drawer.

However, Sean spotted a call-out by online publishing company Number Thirteen Press for crime novellas and sent off ‘The Pact‘ – which was chosen to be part of a sequence of 13 crime stories.

“I was delighted when I got chosen by Number Thirteen Press”, Sean said.

“I love crime writing, I love the style of it and the hardboiled language of crime writing. 

“I would read a fair bit of crime alongside horror and sci-fi, so the dream is to make a living from writing.

“I work part-time and write part-time but it would be great to make a living out of what I love, even just enough to get by.

“It’s very hard for people to make a living out of writing these day, the books industry has gone the way of the music industry.

“However, I love writing and coming up with stories, so hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to continue.”

Sean’s book The Pact has been written under the pseudonym of Turlough Delaney, which was the name he used when writing his satirical blog.

The Pact is available to buy on Amazon or from www.numberthirteenpress.com