Alright, so with the first draft of novel WIP#6 finished, and while I am in full head-rinsing time from my Belfast Ghosts trilogy, I have been re-reading The Buddha’s Bone as I gear up to outline a synopsis and chapter plan for the sequel. Easier said than done. The Buddha’s Bone was published in October 2021, so it has been two years since I last visited my characters.
When I wrote The Buddha’s Bone, I had intended it as a standalone novel. An idea for a sequel hadn’t crossed my mind, admittedly. Since then I’ve had a handful of requests for more of Kimberly’s story; some directly from readers who have DMed me, and a few in the reviews posted on Goodreads and Amazon. If even one person wanted more of a particular story, then that is enough motivation for me to start planning a sequel, but not quite enough to write one. As the author, I have to be excited enough about a story to invest a year, as a minimum, of my time to devote to writing a novel about it. I’m not prolific like a NaNoWriMo writer to crank out 50k words in a month. Reaching above 40k words, the minimum word count of a novel, takes at least 6 months for me, if not more.
Lucky for those readers hankering after more of Kimberly’s escapades in Japan, I have an idea for a sequel that excites me enough to put other novel ideas aside for the time being. Like The Buddha’s Bone, this one will also be a psychological literary fiction book, though I will also be drawing inspiration from Japanese folktales for some of my inspiration, particularly from stories such as those by Koizumi Yakumo (Lefcadio Hearn). Is that enough of a teaser, without bleeding into spoiler territory? Hopefully. Wish me luck with my chapter plan!
Exciting news… After one year and two months, draft 1 of novel WIP#6 is finished. This will be book 3 of my Belfast Ghosts trilogy.
Normally I crank out my first drafts pretty quickly; in around 6 months or so. For a first draft to take me 14 months means it was a lot of work – and this one sure was. I’d say this was the most research-heavy book I’ve ever written, in fact. I am thankful to a few fantastic libraries for providing the relevant books: Queen’s University Belfast and the McGrath library. Nevertheless, primary sources tended to gloss over the specifics. In a nutshell, medieval writers weren’t big on the battle specifics. I’ve groaned about this in a previous post, but I’ll say it again; as much as historical gaps are good for a writer, giving free reign to the imagination, I want there to be much more authenticity in my work, even though it is a ghost story, not historical fiction. How to accomplish this when the evidence is scant, is another matter.
Medieval research for my ghost novel – a day trip to Carrickfergus Castle
Gripes aside, I am happy to be finished. The draft is rough – very rough – and so I have jotted down notes on continuity issues to check for. But the skeleton of the story is finished, at last, and I can flesh out the parts I need to when I get back to the next draft. In the meantime I shall be taking a week off to clear my head, during which time I’ll be reading an ARC I’ve been sent, reading another book for review and reading Bindweed submissions, in addition to gearing up to outline the sequel for The Buddha’s Bone. It’s all in a day’s work.
Hmm…not exactly Gallowglass material here, though I’m doing my best
My plan is, after a week or so of head-rinsing time, I will get stuck back into re-reading the entire draft before fleshing out any relevant bits, cutting the bits that need trimmed, and checking for any continuity errors. From there, it will be onto my editor, proofreader and hopefully ready for ARCs by late summer. A vague plan, but can I stick to it? Let’s see.
Happy World Poetry Day, fellow poetry lovers! Don’t you just love a day dedicated to verse? I sure do.
If you aren’t familiar with my poetry books, I have two full collections of poems available at the moment: A Model Archaeologist (2022) and The Redundancy of Tautology (2021). I will be releasing another poetry collection later this year, but will post updates on that nearer the time.
I also have four published chapbooks: A Model Archaeologist (Eyewear Publishing 2015, now discontinued), Chemotherapy for the Soul (Fowlpox Press, 2017), Toebirds and Woodlice (2012) and Metamorphosis of Woman (2012).
How come I have a poetry chapbook and a full collection with the same title (A Model Archaeologist)? For the simple reason that I got the rights back from Eyewear Publishing for my 20 poem collection after 5 years, so I decided to release the full 80 poem collection in 2022.
As for my forthcoming collection coming later in 2023? Yep, it’s another full collection of a previously published chapbook. Toebirds and Woodlice is getting the 80 poem treatment later this summer. More on that later!
In the meantime, hope you enjoy this World Book Day reading of a couple of poems from each collection.
Everyone has a novel in them. You’ve heard that I’m sure. But there’s a world of difference between having an idea for a story in your head and having a finished manuscript on your computer. If the majority of people have an idea for a novel, then does that mean anyone can write a book?
It’s not quite that simple. Writing a novel involves so many steps. Let’s break these down to see how easy – or difficult – writing a novel is.
This year I have set myself a Goodreads challenge of 20 books for 2023; so far I have read 4. My Leilanie Stewart Author Goodreads page is mainly to review books by big publishers that I either use for writing inspiration within my genres, writing research, or are simply books on my tbr pile either from my bookshelves at home, library borrows, or gifts from friends.
In addition, I have set a Goodreads challenge of 50 books on my Indie reader account, which I keep anonymous as it is separate from my author Goodreads page. This is to allow me to support self-published and small-press authors, while also remaining honest with my reviews. I also post these reviews on Amazon. Some of the reviews I write on this account are from authors who have contacted my anonymous page with ARC requests.
With 4 of 20 books on my Leilanie Stewart Author page and 12 of 50 on my Indie reader page, a total of 16 by March is not too shabby, especially since I’m also reading submissions for Midsummer Madness 2013: Bindweed Anthology and working on my own writing projects.
Come to think of it, how do I have enough hours in the day for all this? Well, maybe coffee and insomnia have a big part to play, if I’m honest!
Happy International Women’s Day 2023! Today is the day to celebrate social, economic, political and cultural achievements by women.
With my short story collection, Diabolical Dreamscapes, forthcoming in less than a month, it’s a good day to share a video reading of my back cover blurb. Since the theme for today is innovation and technology for gender equality to meet the needs of girls and women, I suppose a video reading is a suitable promotion.
Hope you enjoy listening to the blurb. I’ll be posting more videos soon with excerpts from some of the stories, so stay tuned!
My award-winning book, The Blue Man and Premier Readers’ Award certificate
Many thanks to Pauline and Clive and the Chill with a Book team for choosing my novel for Book of the Month. I first received word on Valentine’s Day that The Blue Man was in the shortlist for Book of the Month when I found out I had won a Premier Readers’ Award.
Congratulations also to my fellow joint winner, Kathryn Gauci. She’s a USA Today best-selling author of primarily Historical fiction. I shall be adding her book to my ever-growing tbr list!
Exciting news! The one month countdown is on until my next book is published. Diabolical Dreamscapes is a short story collection, most of which were previously published in literary magazines in the UK, US and elsewhere worldwide between 2009 and 2018. The Kindle eBook is available now for pre-order.
Want to know a bit more? Here’s the back cover blurb.
Reader beware! From the hallucinatory imagination of Leilanie Stewart, author of award-winning ghost horror novel, The Blue Man, comes twenty-one previously published short stories and flash fiction, now entombed between the covers of a new darkly themed collection.
In Part 1: Dark and Surreal Tales of Death… Corpses find new purposes in death while fated to walk the earth and surreal journeys of the afterlife abound, involving trips to far-reaching corners of the earth, the moon, or Venus during the last throes of life.
In Part 2: Strange and Hallucinatory Stories of the Mind… Cats, rabbits, dogs, birds and spiders have a role to play in these dreamlike journeys through the mind, helping the characters of each tale unravel their fears and anxiety, while facing their darkness, depression and demons.
I’ve set myself a Goodreads challenge of 20 books for 2023 under my Leilanie Stewart Author page on Goodreads and 50 books on my anonymous Indie reader Goodreads account. Basically the difference between these accounts is that the books I review on my author Goodreads page are mainly related to writing research, or are mainstream traditionally published accounts and my anonymous Indie reader account is to review awesome mainly self-published books on both Goodreads and Amazon. Why anonymous? For the simple reason that it allows me to stay honest in my feedback, helping fellow authors, while keeping things separate from my main author pages. Before I begin today’s blog post, a disclaimer: these books are my own personal recommendation and opinion. The authors are most likely unaware that I’m promoting their books – I do so because, frankly, I’m blown away at the standard of writing and I would honestly say, these Indie authors should be nominating their books for some independent prizes (Bath novel award, Rubery book prize, etc).
With all that in mind, here are the books and trilogies that I have read over the past year that have blown me away, and that I absolutely, highly recommend:
Amanda Sheridan – Rapid Eye Movement series
If you have not read Sheridan’s Rapid Eye Movement trilogy, then I highly recommend that you do. Her books fall under the paranormal suspense and psychological thriller categories and follow the story of two women, Jennifer and Lucy, who connect in their dreams through remote viewing, seeing each other’s contrasting lifestyles as Lucy lives in England and Jennifer lives in Cyprus, married to an Israeli spy. As the series progresses, we follow Jennifer and her Israeli spy husband Ilan, and learn more about her powerful gift of lucid dreaming. The trilogy is incredibly well researched making a topic that is often regarded as in the realm of sci-fi seem very believable. There’s a good deal of hot romance too, which will satisfy those eager for some sauciness within the action. Not only that, but the writing is tight, making for a page-turning series.
Ashleigh Reverie – Almost Human series
The Almost Human series is as the title would suggest: a sci-fi drama set in the 22nd century. It follows Edel, a genetically modified human who, with the help of Jay, is able to learn more about her own past by connecting with a fellow GM human called Danny, raised as a regular person away from the facility that experiments on people. What she learns is terrifying and brings the reader in a journey that touches on social justice and ethics, while set in a realistic dystopian future.
Tom Flynn – A girl called Dara
I happened upon this book as a Kindle recommendation and I’m glad I tried it as it turned out to be the best literary fiction book I’ve read in a long time. It starts out as we follow Jeff, who develops an infatuation with a beautiful and mysterious woman in his poetry class. Dara sends mixed signals, getting close and affectionate at times, and aloof at other moments. When she suddenly stops coming to class and disappears from his life, Jeff seeks to find out more about her background – with devastating consequences. This is a stunning literary novel with a coming of age theme that covers dreams and disillusionment beautifully.
Iseult Murphy – All of Me
This novella follows the tale of a woman struggling with weight issues and low self-esteem. When a neighbour offers a strange vegetable that he claims will help, desperate Margaret tries it and soon after, splits into three women: Dot, Peggy and Daisy. All of Me is a unique body horror that covers themes of overcoming eating disorder issues in an original, and sometimes metaphorical way.
I’ve been writing professionally (defined here by a goal of publication) for 14 years. In that time, I have to say the art of sticking pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, doesn’t get any easier. Some days I simply don’t feel it. I struggle to get the words out. When I have those moments, you know what I do? I write anyway. I put a few words on the screen and come back to it later. Even if I end up chopping the work I did, it’s still progress. Moving forward sometimes means taking one or two steps back, but keeping the flow in my head is the most important thing.
For that reason I try not to go longer than a couple of weeks without writing something new. I don’t mean editing, as that’s a separate skill; I’m talking drafting new prose. If I’m sick for a week or two, or on holiday, I tend to skim-read back through everything I had written beforehand, just to get the story back in my head again. Skim reading doesn’t take longer than an hour; not all the details, but just to find out where to pick up in the story.
By the way, my motivational t-shirt above helps, along with a strong coffee. As a writer, I’m a weirdo. I much prefer living in the fantasy world inside my head than dealing with real life. I daydream – often. At school I got in trouble many, many times for looking out the window and fantasising about UFOs, then doodling the images from my imagination onto my school books, to the disgruntlement of my teachers. As an adult I still often zone-out when I should be paying attention. Hey, there’s a lot going on in my internal world that needs to make its way out onto paper. I guess that’s my way of giving back for all those many months, or possibly years, when I seemed like I was living in the real world, but actually it was only my blank face while my mind was elsewhere.
Leilanie Stewart 