Not long after publishing “Paddy O’Neil’s Trunk”, Borealis Press 2016, I started working on a new book, and I am happy to say that it rolled to a conclusion in 2022. It took what felt like forever to come up with a title, and that only happened as I approached the end of the tale. “Driving the Auburn” covers a lot of territory (puns intended). The Auburn motorcar c. 1932 was one of the cars my traveling salesman father drove as he sold pharmaceuticals back during the Depression. Throughout the writing I had a close sense of contact with him and some of his brothers who became family legends of sorts to my siblings and myself.

The story has a connection to the first novel but it was written as a stand-alone, not as a sequel. In the novel “Driving the Auburn”, family members in 2001 are doing genealogy work and discover that a relative had a connection to the Fenian movement in the 1860’s, to free Ireland. There are hints of espionage and counter espionage, along with shame and fear that information would only bring trouble. Such a revelation might help to explain the seeming lack of stories that elders had passed along over the years. They learn that documents had been sent to the University of Toronto history department, to be opened in the new century, and the full story is about to be publicly revealed.

NFPpublishing accepted the novel and it was published in March 2023 in a print as well as kindle book edition. The novel is available from Amazon directly (just enter the title “Driving the Auburn”) and from the publisher directly with no charge for shipping as per their website.

I enjoyed doing a series of talks when “Paddy ONeil’s Trunk” was published. I’m looking forward to some similar presentations this Summer and Fall for “Driving the Auburn”, to be announced.

It’s always great to hear from readers and if you wish to write, you can email me at: peter@sullybrown.com. There is also a place to respond to any of the blog posts, immediately at the end of an individual post.

Here comes a brief bio.

Peter Sullivan has published short fiction in literary journals including: Imprint, Turtlequill, and the online journal Hektoen International. He is the recipient of the University of Rochester “Human Values in Health Care Award Best Creative Work,” 2008 and again in 2011. He graduated from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York in 1967 and obtained his Master of Social Work Degree from the University of Illinois in 1969. Peter worked for many years as a psychotherapist and was an adjunct professor in the social work program at the Rochester Institute of Technology for several years. He is the father of four adult children and lives with his wife in Bay St Louis, Mississippi, and Rochester, New York.

The following is a brief description of the first novel, “Paddy O’Neil’s Trunk”

It is almost too late for the Donohoe family to learn about their past. The mystery is that so few stories have survived. They had been uprooted suddenly, left Ireland, and survived the harrowing journey to Canada. Later some of them would settle in the States. It is a single page from an old journal that opens a door for the Donohoe descendants, and the path ahead leads to more than an understanding of the family’s past. What they feel is a longing for home. This longing is what they share with those who came before, share in more ways than they can imagine. 

A recent review:

A Compelling family journey where past and present collide May 6, 2018:Peter Sullivan’s tale of an Irish family’s desperate and treacherous journey to the New World provides a heartwarming and sometimes heartbreaking glimpse into the perils that were commonplace to many immigrants seeking a fresh start in North America. He beautifully describes the hopes, fears, and grief that accompanied them. Peter takes you into the bowels of the ship that would be their salvation; and for some their damnation. He has a real gift of prose that helps you feel the struggles and determination of his characters. It is a story that should resonate with anyone that has family roots that reach across the ocean and across time.
The story simultaneously follows a contemporary set of siblings devoted to discovering the lives of their ancestors. They possess all of the foibles and dynamics of any modern family. Interspersed in their discovery is a whisper of mysticism that ultimately brings them face to face with their forebears.
It is a delightful story that fleshes out the skeletons hiding in any family’s closet. As a nation of immigrants it is, in many ways, our story.