Happy World Book Day and Happy World Obesity Day! As an author and an avid keto dieter, I’d love to share with you my novels that feature fat-shaming and body horror as part of the plot. Fat shaming is a topic close to my heart since, back in 2020, I had clinical obesity with a BMI of 31. By following a strict keto diet combined with intermittent fasting, I am currently 3 and a half stone (20 kgs/ 48lbs) lighter than I was in 2020. I keep the weight gain off by eating a mostly low carb diet and I’ve been off chocolate and baked goods permanently since December 2022. But this doesn’t mean I don’t struggle, and so weight gain and body image issues are topics that I explore in my books.

Matthew’s Twin, book 3 of my Belfast Ghosts trilogy, sees main character Matthew fat-shamed by his girlfriend Sonya, because of his large abdomen. But, all is not as it seems in this body horror novel.

In The Blue Man, book 1 of my Belfast Ghosts trilogy, Sabrina feels insecure about what her best frenemy, Megan, might think of her two stone weight gain, as Megan is judgemental about the girls in their friendship circle who are larger in size.

The Buddha’s Bone is a psychological novel featuring Kimberly, an English teacher in Japan who makes derogatory remarks about her roommate’s larger size.

Obviously the weight issue aspects of my books listed above are tangential to the main plots, so whether you’re celebrating one of these events today, both, or neither, my books are still worth checking out if you’re a fan of ghost horror or psychological fiction.

Posted by on March 5, 2026 in Writing.

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About Leilanie Stewart

Leilanie Stewart is an award-winning author and poet from Belfast, Northern Ireland. She writes ghost and psychological horror, as well as experimental poetry. Her writing confronts the nature of self; her novels feature main characters on a dark psychological journey who have a crisis and create a new sense of identity. She began writing for publication while working as an English teacher in Japan, a career pathway that has influenced themes in her writing. Her former career as an Archaeologist has also inspired her writing and she has incorporated elements of archaeology and mythology into both her fiction and poetry. In addition to promoting her own work, Leilanie runs Bindweed Anthologies, a creative writing publication with her writer husband, Joseph Robert. Aside from publishing pursuits, Leilanie enjoys spending time with her husband and their lively literary lad, a voracious reader of sea monster books.

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