While Storm Chandra smacked us full in the face here in Northern Ireland on Tuesday, my hubby, son and I hunkered down quite contentedly at home with no work or school to contend with. It’s not the first time that we’ve been hit with an amber warning for ‘danger to life’ amidst wind that causes somersaulting wheely bins, rain that pelts like hail, and flashes of thunder and lightning, but this time we all got a day off from the daily grind.
What does one do when gifted unexpected, and precious, free time? In my case, reading and writing, arts and crafts.
Before I get into that, I’ll mention an article I read a few days ago about whether artists should get paid a basic income, like in Ireland. I doubt writers are considered towards that fund, since it seems that writing is generally considered more of a privilege than a profession; think about how often readers expect to receive an author’s books for free, and you might get the idea. Shouldn’t writers be well paid for their hard work? Society doesn’t seem to think so. To elaborate on my point, let me mention my hardcover books. The majority sell quite well for £18.99 a copy. Of the retail price, I receive about 10% in royalties. Not much of a living, is it? Imagine if writers could apply for a business grant to support their work; this would enliven bookstores with a wealth of fresh voices from diverse backgrounds, rather than the same safe cohort of authors from the same safe socioeconomic backgrounds.
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Leilanie Stewart 
Apologies to some readers and followers of my blog
Today’s post is a message of apology to some readers and followers of my blog. I only just realised yesterday of a mishap, where a number of comments had been left unanswered and pending approval on my website, and I hadn’t been aware of this. Some of the comments had been posted as far back as half a year ago.
The fault is my own; I had set notifications for my website on my phone, and was perhaps relying on this feature too much without actually checking for comments via my email notifications instead. It turned out I had missed many comments by folks who weren’t regular followers; a couple of these included invites to author events and I’m especially regretful about not only those missed opportunities, but the unprofessional impression that some people might have of me after receiving no response to their comments.
As an author, I’m also a business person, and I aim to respond to all legitimate comments on my website and social media accounts as a general rule. Rest assured I am working hard to get back to everyone who commented; I value your messages and I appreciate that you took the time to leave comments for me.
This blog post isn’t an excuse, it’s simply an explanation; what can I say other than offer my humble apology. Sorry.
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Posted by Leilanie Stewart on January 14, 2026 in Random stuff and tagged author followers, blog followers, blog update, reaching new readers, reader comments.
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