Are unboxing videos a thing? It’s something I’ve only happened upon recently, but you know what? Why not get in on the action? Here’s my unboxing video for my hardcovers of Pseudologia Fantastica.
The funny thing about the video above is that I chose to do it in the garden to keep my little dude company while he was outside blowing bubbles. He was silent while I recorded it, but then my neighbours came out at the wrong moment, arguing about their baby. I couldn’t re-record the video as you can only unbox once, so they have inadvertently aired their dirty laundry publicly here. They’ll be cringing if they stumble across this video, ahahaha.
Another legal deposit copy posted
I do love using Ingramspark for my hardcovers as they produce quality products with lovely dustjackets. I got two copies: one for my author book shelf and the other for legal deposit at the British library. I may do another video reading at some point from my hardcover, just to show it off. Why not?
Well, it’s officially July, but you wouldn’t know it from the weather. School is out for summer here in Northern Ireland and that means I have seven weeks off from the day job. Does that mean more writing time? We’ll see. The little dude is also off for summer so we’ll be having lots of day trips and getting involved in kiddy activities. Speaking of which, check out the silliness in these photos. I couldn’t resist the lure of an inflatable horse race, even though I wasn’t dressed suitably for such horseplay. At this point in my life it’s safe to say I will never grow up!
I wrote in another post how I think staying young at heart is typical of a creative writing sort, whether that be having a curious mind, or a physically playful nature. I have both. I’m very much motivated by ‘what ifs’.
Anyway, I’m not sure I’ll have much to say in my upcoming posts. We shall see. I could well be away on an adventure of sorts. If so, you’ll no doubt hear about it later. Ta ta for now!
What a week it has been for my second story collection that was published on 20th June. Pseudologia Fantastica reached #66 in best sellers for short stories and #2 in Hot New Releases for the same category on publication day. Summer solstice happy dance!
Most of the publication day sales were in the UK, with a few in the US and one in Canada. I’m always curious about what marketplaces will have more sales. Some of my past publications have done better in the US, and others in the UK. Not sure the difference. I’m no marketing expert; I simply put my books out in the world, promote them and see what works!
The video above is very silly. This was a new idea suggested to me by a friend, who is also an English teacher and creative writer tutor. She said that she often saw books promoted on Tiktok accompanied by a silly dance and found such videos memorable, in terms of helping her to remember both author and book, thanks to the silly dance. So, here’s my version of that, lol. Enjoy the weirdness.
Now that we are on the other side of the solstice here in the northern hemisphere, it’s officially summer. Hooray! I’m not going to think about the days getting gradually shorter, but instead will be optimistic, and focus on how the weather will hopefully be improving. I love working on my laptop at the park. There’s nothing more stimulating for one’s imagination than nature. Writing outdoors is also an opportunity to get some inspiration from random snippets of conversations, or even ideas from things I sometimes see.
With Pseudologia Fantastica published and the latest Bindweed Anthology (Midsummer Madness 2024) out in the world too, I have been focusing on my three ongoing WIPs. I’ve been making slow but steady progress on all three over the past year. A friend recently asked whether I find it hard to switch gears between each manuscript draft, but I told her that I actually don’t feel it’s hard at all. All of my current projects are so different that I find I can easily change between them.
Novel WIP#7 is my ghost horror draft that I’m expanding from a short story idea I had back in 2009. I’m currently up to 46,170 words on it.
Novel WIP#8 is my sequel idea for The Buddha’s Bone, which I’m writing at the request of a few readers who commented in reviews, or messaged me directly, to ask for a continuation of Kimberly’s adventures in Japan. I’m up to 39,180 words on it.
Fiction WIP#10 is a seasonal ghostly short story collection and I’m up to 18,230 words on it.
Do I have any deadlines? Nope. I can’t be bothered putting myself under that kind of pressure, and as my own publisher, I have only myself to answer to. I’m a relaxed kind of boss. I enjoy writing for the process, rather than focusing on the end product. What can I say? I’ve always been a writer, ever since I was a girl of single digits. I have been writing regularly since long before I decided to write for publication. It comes down to this, really: if I didn’t write, I simply wouldn’t be me.
Today is publication day for my second short fiction collection, Pseudologia Fantastica. This collection of stalkers and mythomaniacs comprises two short stories and two novellas. One story was previously published in Scarlet Leaf Review in 2017 and the other three are originals.
Hardcover dust jacket
If you’re one of the readers who pre-ordered the Kindle eBook, then thank you, as you helped my book to reach #9 in Hot New Releases for Short Stories during the past month while the countdown to publication was underway. If you’re going to buy a paperback or hardcover copy today, then hope you enjoy it and of course, please do leave a star rating or short review to share your thoughts afterwards. It really helps my book to reach readers like yourself – and I value every review that folks care to leave. Very much appreciated.
In the meantime, I’ll be celebrating release day later with my family. Bubbly for my hubby and I and apple juice for the little dude in my favourite celebratory skull glasses that I got last Halloween. Wa-hey!
Imagination is key to creative writing. Of course, that goes without saying. You can’t write a short story, poem, or novel without creative inspiration. But, is there more to it; do creative writers fit an archetype? I’m going to generalise here and say, yes. Here’s what I think:
Introverts
The majority of writers that I have met in real life, either as literary friends, or authors I have talked to at book signings, tend to be introverts. That’s not to say that every writer is an introvert; but I would venture as far as to say that being an introvert seems to suit the job. Introverts spend a good deal of time by themselves and often wrapped up in their own imagination. Creative thoughts = plenty of ideas for books.
Young at heart
I think writers are inherently playful types. Let’s face it: we play with words all the time, and the same can be said of physical reality. How many times have you tinkered about with an object to see how it works, all in the name of writing research? Or, I’ll bet you’re a doodler, scribbling drawings in the corners of pages while at a boring day-job conference.
Ha ha, am I right? As for me, I’m definitely the type to tinker with things, and I’m most definitely physically playful. I love any opportunity to get involved in silly games. At the play park I enjoy going down the slide, playing on the swings, or climbing the rope frame, much to the enjoyment of my child. I adore bouncy castles. Before having a kid of my own, I would have looked odd jumping around on one by myself. Now I can look like I’m 40 going on 4 with an excuse, as I can join my son, ha ha.
2011: no excuse to bounce on this inflatable Stonehenge!Continue reading →
It has been a while since I last promoted my occult and ghost horror books, so here’s a silly and spooky promo video for the occasion. Like how parts of me disappear? Lol, I’m being a ghost for the occasion. Not really. In reality, I tried a background remover feature and it green-screened my dress, and my books too, ha ha.
If you’re anything like me, you’ll probably be looking for something spooky for your summer beach read this year. Check out my novels on KU and paperback/hardcover from all major online retailers.
Gods of Avalon Road – (occult/pagan – strictly over 18!) Belfast Ghosts trilogy: The Blue Man, The Fairy Lights and Matthew’s Twin (ghost/psychological horror)
Thanks to everyone who has pre-ordered Pseudologia Fantastica. With 12 days to go until publication, it’s in the Top 10 for Hot New Releases in Short Stories, thanks to your support of my writing. Technically it’s a collection of stories, and actually, only two are short; the other two are novellas. But overall, it will make for a quick summer read at 150 pages in paperback – perfect to bring in your hand luggage!
You can still pre-order the Kindle eBook until publication on 20th June; once published it’ll be available to read if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited, as well as in paperback and hardcover from all major online retailers.
While the final twelve day countdown is on, behind the scenes I’m getting all the legal bits and pieces ready, like registering the ISBNs for distribution and finalising the design of the paperback and hardcover. Hope you’re as excited for release day as I am!
June has barely begun and I find myself sick again. 2024 hasn’t been an easy year for me, health-wise. I required hospital treatment in February for a sudden and quite scary health issue and now a different health issue has crept up out of the blue and steamrolled me flat. I am beginning to ask myself, am I really so out of touch with my physical body?
Maybe the answer is, yes. Life has been so busy that I often put my health needs aside in a bid to manage everything on my plate. Not the best method of management as the setbacks are greater once health fails.
The weather in Northern Ireland has been sunny one minute and torrential rain the next. Since I live close to my doctor, and it was a sunny morning, I decided to venture for a walk to pick up my latest prescription. I am, after all, still trying to keep my weight at a healthy BMI, and nothing is easier to do that than going for a dander. Once out the door of course, the heavens opened right on my head. Typical. Normally a rainy day walk is restorative; but not so when you are ill.
Publication month is finally here. With only 3 weeks left until my next short story collection, Pseudologia Fantastica is published, here is another sample from the third story in the book, A Signature Look.
The collection comprises 4 short stories about stalkers and mythomaniacs. It’s a psychological suspense collection, so quite different from my recent ghost horror novels. One of the 4 short stories, Leah as the Artist’s Muse, was previously published in Scarlet Leaf Review and the other 3 stories are originals.
Pseudologia Fantastica is forthcoming on 20th June. You can pre-order the eBook until then. It’ll be available in Kindle Unlimited, paperback and hardcover. Until then, hope you enjoy the sample readings!
Leilanie Stewart 