Tim Wendel

IRISH FALLS. That's the title to the stand-alone sequel to REBEL FALLS, which won the 2025 Boyd Award from the American Library Association. Again, this book will be released by Three Hills, an imprint of Cornell University Press. 

As with most university presses, a review process is required for new titles, and that's what has been unfolding in recent weeks. In the end, IRISH FALLS passed with flying colors. In fact, one reviewer wrote, "All I have is praise for this story."

While waiting on the reviewers, artist Amy Foster did a map for early in the novel. The one here details the Fenian Brotherhood forces invading British Canada in July 1866. Their goal was to seize land just west of the Niagara River and exchange it for free territory back in Ireland. That's the backdrop Rory Chase, Mr. Douglas, and staff at the Cataract House find themselves in. They will be joined by a new character, Thomas D'Arcy McGee, the poet-politican who's trying to hold Canada together.

Work has began on the cover and we will have a reveal soon.

A week after accepting the W.Y. Boyd for historical fiction, I drove to Ottawa to visit the Canadian Museum of History.

There I spoke with curators Lauren McCoy and Tim Foran about the assassination of D'Arcy McGee. (Thanks to both of them for their time.)

Who was D'Arcy McGee? Today he's remembered as the prophet of confederation in Canada. He was a politician and poet, and he helped bring the nation together in mid-1860s. Without him, Canada, at least as we know it, probably wouldn't exist. He's become a major character in the novel I'm currently finishing, which is tentatively entitled A POET'S WAR.

McGee was born in Ireland. In fact, he was a member of early independent groups there before moving to Canada. But when he arrived in Montreal in 1857, he fell in love with his new home and the possibilities there.

The Irish fought on both sides during the Civil War. They demontrated courage at Antietam and Gettysburg. When the war ended, many turned their attention to the dire situation in their homeland. A group called the Fenian Brotherhood formed, which eventually invaded British Canada. Its goal was to seize land there and exchange it for free tracts back in Ireland. I know it sounds far-fetched, but it's true.

McGee, who had won a seat in Parliament in Ottawa, was critical of such efforts. For that he was assassinated by a Fenian conspiracy shortly after he gave a memorable speech on the House floor, which solidified Canadian unity. 

That's the backdrop for the new novel, which is slated to be released in Fall 2026 by Three Hills/Cornell Press. And that's what led me to Ottawa and the insights I found there.