August 17, 2025

More summer adventures and more book shopping

Dublin Zoo

This week, I went to Dublin on a family holiday. Even though it’s only 180 or so kilometres away from Belfast, the vibe is completely different. Seeing a city through a child’s eyes is always a good way to highlight differences. It’s further south, so of course is much warmer; a three degree difference was great for the sunshine (I love a lot of heat) though I got bitten alive by mosquitoes, something that doesn’t happen in Belfast. Another difference is that Dublin still has trams, unlike Belfast, which got rid of its trams in the 1950s. The population is also more than double that of Belfast, so it was far busier overall. If you’re a reader from another part of the world, you might be surprised by the biggest difference; the Republic of Ireland is still part of the EU and uses Euros, whereas Northern Ireland is part of the UK so we use pounds like England, Scotland and Wales. Fun fact though: Scottish and English banknotes can be used in Northern Ireland but Northern Ireland banknotes, I believe are not valid to use in other parts of the UK (maybe Scotland, though I haven’t been there in decades to find out).

Junji Ito collection in Forbidden Planet, Dublin

Being away on summer adventures means less writing time, as my laptop stays at home while I’m travelling. It’s simply not feasible for me to manage sightseeing, spending time with family and squeezing in writing time. I didn’t neglect my reading though. I’m a glutton for book shopping. There was a huge selection of Junji Ito books, one of my favourite horror authors, so I couldn’t resist buying a couple of ones I haven’t read, or seen the adaptations of on Netflix. Have you read any Junji Ito? His stories are not only incredibly original but he has some of the most disturbing ideas I’ve ever read. If you love horror like I do, you need to read him.

Can’t choose, getting both!

Anyway, even though I haven’t managed any writing, I’m sure I’ll get back to my current WIP at some point. Travelling is always fuel for the imagination. At least I’m making an effort to keep up this blog, even if I’m not posting on a regular schedule over the summer. The snippets I do manage keep me writing in some form, which is good enough for now.

See you again in another few days or so!

Posted by on August 17, 2025 in Random stuff and tagged , , , , , .

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August 10, 2025

The Wickerman festival at Navan Fort, Co. Armagh

Yesterday I went to the Wickerman festival at Navan Fort, Co. Armagh in Northern Ireland. It was an amazing festival and fun living history event with Celtic battle reenactments that I had been wanting to attend for a number of years, but it had been cancelled due to covid and had only been brought back as of last year.

The spectacular burning of a 30ft willow and hazel effigy was a great end to the evening in a recreation of how the ancient Celtic people would have celebrated Lughnasdh, the start of harvest, in honour of the god Lugh. I made my oak and hornbeam headdress to represent summer (do you know the ancient Celtic battle story of the oak king versus the holly king?) and of course, brought along my books that include pagan rituals in the stories to share in the moment.

There was an article about the Wickerman festival in the Belfast Telegraph on Friday, which gave an interesting perspective from one of the weavers who created the effigy. It’s hard for me to imagine how it would feel to create an artwork intended to be destroyed. Even years ago, when I used to write first novel drafts longhand in a fancy notebook, I always typed up my writing after each chapter, therefore the risk of losing my work, or the notebook, wasn’t particularly high. Creating a work of art over the course of several months, only to see it burn in several minutes, would be emotional, but I suppose the satisfaction would come from the shared sense of community in an ephemeral celebration. Then again, that’s the whole point of the Wickerman festival; to recreate the community spirit of a celebration spanning thousands of years, connecting people with their pagan ancestors, and feel the collective excitement of the experience in a few minutes at sunset.

Certainly worked for me!

Posted by on August 10, 2025 in Random stuff and tagged , , , , .

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August 6, 2025

Why ‘take a book, leave a book’ is great for reading

A few days ago, I took a book I’d finished along with one of my own novels, to a ‘take a book, leave a book’ swap in Belfast. Such a book exchange is something that I wish more literary cafes or artsy establishments would do, as it’s such a great idea for encouraging reading.

One I picked and behind, two I left

Caedmon’s Song by Peter Robinson was a first for me by the author and an earlier one of his, apparently. I thought it was okay; you can read my review on Goodreads, though it has spoilers.

My review for ‘Caedmon’s Song’ is on Goodreads

Benefits of take a book, leave a book = money

As a reader who can’t resist book shopping, and admittedly spends more than my budget allows sometimes, book exchanges are a great way to swap books that I know I’m not going to read again, with ones I haven’t read; this satisfies my ‘book splurge urge’.

Benefits of take a book, leave a book = space

I don’t live in a sprawling mansion with its own library (maybe if I win the lottery). Our house really can’t accommodate all the books I’ve been buying over the past year. Lots of books are in boxes or crates, in fact, since we don’t have room for another book shelf at the moment. Exchanging books is a great way to keep reading without having to continually buy.

Take a book, leave a book for authors

Speaking now as an author rather than as a reader, it’s also a great chance to get copies of my own books out there. I have recently updated the cover of The Buddha’s Bone with the series info on the back, in preparation for the sequel, The Wabi-sabi Doll coming out on 15th September, so it was an opportunity to give away a copy I had with the old cover. You can see it next to Caedmon’s Song in the photo above.

Posted by on August 6, 2025 in Reading and tagged , , , , , .

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August 1, 2025

Cover reveal! My next book will be released on 15th September 2025

The Buddha’s Bone duology is complete

It’s time to share my exciting news… The Buddha’s Bone series is now complete. Book 2 in the duology, The Wabi-sabi Doll, is now available for pre-order:

Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon CA

Want a freebie? Giveaway time!

To celebrate, I’m offering a giveaway. Who doesn’t love a freebie, right? All you need to do is:

1. Pre-order The Wabi-sabi Doll eBook

2. DM or email a screenshot as proof of your order

3. Include your name and postal address…

…and I’ll send you a signed paperback of The Buddha’s Bone!

You can DM me at:

Or, you can email me at: contact@leilaniestewart.com

Here’s the blurb for The Wabi-sabi Doll

After fourteen months of living in her home from home, Tottori, a town by the coast on the Sea of Japan, Londoner Kimberly Thatcher should have been settled in her job. She should have been happy with her new boyfriend Naoki. She should have been moving on with her life after traumatic events of the previous year had finally been buried. Or had they?

When her abusive ex-fiance, Carl, made an unwelcome return to Japan, in a seemingly picture-perfect new relationship, Kimberly found herself having to confront demons that she thought had been put to rest. Soon after Carl’s arrival, a mysterious Japanese doll appeared on her doorstep, and a fateful encounter with a sexy stranger, Shinichi, set her life on a different path.

What messages did the Wabi-sabi doll hold for her? Why did her life unravel as an obsessive fixation with the doll began? Would Kimberly’s dark past consume her, or would her soul-searching downward spiral end?

Posted by on August 1, 2025 in Books and tagged , , , , , .

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July 29, 2025

Diet books for summer reading

This summer, among other things, I’ve been focusing on my health. Travelling is always tricky for maintaining a low carb diet, particularly when raised cortisol from lack of sleep doesn’t help matters, and convenience foods tend to be high carb. Cortisol increases fat storage in the body, and high-carb convenience foods fuel glucose-burning. So, what can be done to counter all the holiday-mode foods?

In my case, some educational reading in the form of non-fiction weight management books, post-holiday. Recently I’ve read two. Here are my thoughts:

Continue reading →

Posted by on July 29, 2025 in Health: Keto diet and sugar addiction and tagged , , , , , , .

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July 25, 2025

Happy Christmas in July!

Happy Christmas in July! According to a friend, celebrating Christmas on the 25th of July is an American thing; I’ve never verified whether or not that’s the case, but it’s a fun celebration, which I actually prefer as July is far better than miserable, dreary December, here in Northern Ireland. So, come on fellow festive revellers on this side of the Atlantic…why not have some seasonal summer fun?

A Yule tree for Christmas?

Shopping for the perfect Yule tree

In December, I bought a potted tree for Yule. Nothing wrong with our usual plastic one, of course, but I’ve become rather green-fingered over the last five years or so, and thought a real miniature tree would be a lovely seasonal accompaniment to our house that would then join the other plants in the garden and continue its upward journey. Standing at just under a metre tall, it became the centrepiece of our Yuletide festive fun last year.

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Posted by on July 25, 2025 in Random stuff and tagged , , , , .

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July 22, 2025

How to live forever in the age of technology

Timeless: The Epic of Gilgamesh

Is life really what it seems? It’s a question I asked myself recently, soon after scrolling mindlessly on my phone. Scrolling mindlessly isn’t something I do very much, except when I’m a bit under the weather. I’ve had a stubborn viral sinus cold that was probably picked up while travelling, and has made me too fuzzy-headed to feel productive reading and writing-wise. Anyway, rambling aside, I read an article about a completely AI-generated Instagram influencer who has millions of followers. Mia Zelu, if anyone cares to look her (it?) up. She is so realistic that she even has had marriage proposals, apparently.

AI generated or filters? How can you tell the difference?

Normally I feel quite savvy when it comes to spotting photos and videos that use filters, or AI. A lot of the people I follow on social media do. There are the obvious filters that stick cat whiskers on you, and there are any number of filters designed to make a person look younger/slimmer/smoother…. whatever you prefer. I have to admit, Mia Zelu’s Instagram videos looked so real that I honestly wouldn’t have known that she was an AI generated person if it wasn’t labelled in the account, which it is. To me, she appears as any real, but filtered, beautiful influencer otherwise appears on social media.

Continue reading →

Posted by on July 22, 2025 in Opinion, Random stuff and tagged , , , , .

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July 18, 2025

Summer adventures – and some book promotion too

There’s nothing better for a reset than some sun and sea. This week, we took a ferry trip from Belfast over to Liverpool. My hubby (Joseph Robert) and I used to live in London nine years ago, so this was our first trip back to England since then, although Liverpool was a first for us both. Our little adventurer chose this particular trip as he wanted to go on the ferry. Prior to this trip, I had only ever been on the ferry from Stranraer to Belfast, which is only about a three hour journey. Being on the Irish Sea for a third of the day certainly gave a sense of scale in terms of how far places are within the UK. An airplane ride from Belfast to Liverpool would take about forty minutes, effectively over before the distances would have any time to register in my brain. Seeing Northern Ireland slowly disappear and Scotland, England, Wales and the Isle of Man come into view over the course of eight hours certainly emphasised to me the vastness of our planet, even in the microcosm of the UK.

Liverpool on one side of the Mersey and the Wirral on the other

Seeing my own country from the perspective of the sea also helped change my mindset about some things I’d been taking for granted. It’s easy to go about your everyday life without really appreciating the beauty of where you live because you’re too wrapped up in work, or general life.

Continue reading →

Posted by on July 18, 2025 in Random stuff and tagged , , , , , , .

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July 12, 2025

School’s out for summer

Over here in Northern Ireland, primary and secondary schools finish for summer on the last Friday of June, this year being the 27th. I recall when I was working in secondary schools in London a decade ago (time flies!) that schools were still open until mid to late July, but it’s different here on the other side of the Irish Sea.

Eight weeks off with my little primary school adventurer might seem like a long time to plan activities, but we’re a like-minded pair, so it takes the exhaustion out of the decision-making. The only issue is, in between gallivanting all over the place on day trips, how to fit in some writing time? My own brain is the barrier for this hurdle, to be frank. I have had a stubborn sinus head cold and throat infection (have you wondered why I haven’t posted any talking videos lately?), which has zapped my mental power. The determination is there, but not the ability.

Oh well. A bit of writing-off time is good, right? Well, maybe. I wouldn’t say I’ve been a prolific writer over the past few years, but I have been consistent, so I’d call myself a steady writer, if that’s fair to say. Time off from the keyboard means time for ideas to swirl in a feverish-brain.

Besides, I’m in the midst of finalising the typeset manuscript for my forthcoming novel, the sequel to The Buddha’s Bone (cover reveal soon). That’s enough to be contending with in between nature walks and beachy picnics.

Well, for now, adventures – and for my body, some beachy recuperation time. I might not be posting as often as usual, but I’ll try to remember. In the meantime, happy heatwave!

Posted by on July 12, 2025 in Writing and tagged , , , , , .

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July 6, 2025

How many of my books are on the shelves at Belfast Central Library?

A few days ago while in Belfast city centre for book shopping (what’s new!) I decided to pop into Belfast Central Library. Have you ever been there? It’s a gorgeous building, built in 1888.

With my promo novel samples

Five of my books are available at Libraries NI, so I thought I’d see how many were on the shelves in ‘Ulster and Irish Heritage’ on the second floor.

It was great to see that only two novels – The Blue Man and The Fairy Lights – were available, meaning that the other three books were being borrowed. Since my Belfast Ghosts trilogy novels happen to be my most popular, both in terms of sales as well as borrows, there are multiple copies of them available through Libraries NI, which is why there were still copies of those particular books on the shelf. I checked into the libraries NI website later and was glad to see that my books have made it to libraries around the country. Hurray.

Posted by on July 6, 2025 in promotion, Reading and tagged , , , , , , , , , , .

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