Happy World Literacy Day 2020! Wouldn’t it be a great if everyone was able to read and write and had access to books? It should be a basic human right.
Happy Summer Solstice! My novel is set at Mayday, though Midsummer is important to the ancient Celtic Britons in Gods of Avalon Road too.
Gods of Avalon Road in front of Celtic inspired tree carving by unknown artist
Hooray! Summer is here at last. Lockdown is beginning to ease here in Northern Ireland just as the weather is slowly getting better. What better way to celebrate than with a lovely photo op in front of a Celtic-inspired tree carving (by artist unknown) amidst a beautiful green grove.
These are the books that I bought before lockdown to read, but I didn’t realise how time consuming looking after a toddler full time would be! My hubby (also a writer, the author and poet Joseph Robert) is working in the spare room-turned office. In between checking my own work emails and entertaining the babe, I get snatched moments of chipping away at my next novel WIP. This has meant not as much reading time as I would have preferred! I’m keeping my lockdown list in my handbag for portability and to keep chubby little fingers at bay. I might get a quiet reading moment one of these days!
A snapshot of my literary life with a toddler in tow while working from home!
Mostly it’s a case of juggling priorities. I’m getting some writing done, mainly during nap time late in the afternoon. But spending time with my hubby and son is the most valuable thing of all ❤️
It is very hard to get motivated when you are working from home in lockdown. Keeping a routine kind of helps. My daily schedule now involves getting up, having copious cups of strong, black coffee, then getting myself and my toddler washed and dressed – if I stayed in pyjamas all day, this would send a subliminal message to my brain to switch completely off! I then check and respond to work emails while simultaneously trying to entertain a toddler and deal with the builders fixing the back wall of our house, which was overgrown with an invasive species of ivy. We then go out for our daily exercise at the local park and if the weather is especially nice, I will work in the garden while the babe plays up until lunchtime. That leaves my lunch break and late afternoon from 3pm onwards for writing time – if Netflix doesn’t get the better of me first!
Chipping away at the untitled sequel to my debut novel from Blossom Spring Publishing, Gods of Avalon Road!
Writing-wise, I have been motivated to chip away at my sequel for Gods of Avalon Road. The much-needed kick up the bum came in the form of recent positive feedback from readers to say that they couldn’t put it down and to ask if there would be more in the series. Just what a despondent-writer-with-lockdown-blues needs to hear!
I haven’t published a personal blog post in a good, long time. Promoting my novel and discussing my work in progress has dominated my time of late. However, it’s good to reflect on everything as a whole, in balance. Writing comes from the mind, and the mind is nothing without the body – and vice versa. With the UK into its 7th week of lockdown, keeping good mental and physical health is more important than ever.
Before we went into lockdown on 23rd March, my life revolved around dropping my son to daycare, going to my day work, squeezing in writing time on my lunch break while catching up with colleagues (lucky I’m a great multitasker and can type while I talk!) and pretty much bingeing on biscuits, cakes and cookies in between my 3 regular meals. Over 3 years, my weight increased by 3 stone and I tolerated it; I simply ‘got on’ with things.
However, my Eureka moment came on the first weekend of lockdown: if I sat on the sofa working from home while typing on my lap, my weight would continue to spiral – exponentially – out of control.
I started immediately by cutting out wheat, pasta, rice and potatoes; the things I was so addicted to. I bought a spiraliser and made courgetti spaghetti. I added a side of steamed brocoli or cauliflower to curry dishes instead of rice. I dropped from upwards of 200g carbs a day to around 80g. Effectively, I was on a low carb diet.
After 3 weeks of this, I decided to go hardcore and switch to the Keto diet. I did my homework, reading articles from medical and health sites, getting as much information as I could about ketosis, ketones, balancing macros and intermittent fasting. I used an online Keto macro calculator to work out correct proportions of fats, proteins and carbs for my height, weight, age and fitness level. Then I took the plunge.
Instead of eating breakfast, I drank black coffee and started having only 2 daily meals within a 6 hour window: lunch at 1pm and dinner at 6pm with an 18 hour fast from 7pm until 1pm the next day. My meals became high in fat, cooked in butter, with full fat cream and cheese to bulk. And then the pounds started dropping off. Five pounds off within 2 weeks, for starters.
It hasn’t been easy. I was so addicted to sugar that I suffered ‘keto flu’ for 2 weeks: headaches, leg cramps and a constant feeling of coldness. But my body adjusted and the weight began melting off.
This is now week 7 of lockdown. In 46 days of my lockdown keto and low-carb diet so far, I have lost 15lbs. That’s an average of 2.2lbs, or 1kilo of fat lost per week. One stone has gone; still two more until my target weight. But, according to my weight loss app, at the rate I have been losing the pounds, I’m set to reach my goal in mid-July.
I’ll post an update later, along with before and after photos. For now, I’m still mid-journey, but enjoying how sustainable and easy to stick to the keto diet is. I no longer crave junk food like the cakes and cookies I used to. I no longer feel hungry, or obsess about what to eat for my next snack. The mental clarity has helped my writing – not to mention the extra time I have to write now that my brain isn’t bogged down thinking about food!
To anyone else looking to lose weight in lockdown, my advice is to believe in the journey you are about to undertake and know you will reach your goal as long as you’re willing to commit 100%. But, it’s also good to be mindful of where you started as a reminder of why you are on your weight loss journey in the first place.
Read all my other posts on my keto journey and struggles with sugar addiction here.
My debut novel, Gods of Avalon Road, is set during the pagan festival of Beltaine, which is more commonly known as Mayday. Since today is May the 1st, why not celebrate by grabbing a copy of my book for the discounted paperback price of £6.30 on Amazon?
If you’re a fan of Celtic mythology, but looking for a modern day setting, this might just be your thing. Fans of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods may also enjoy it, if you like the idea of ancient gods resurrected into the 21st century – although my book is set in London, rather than the U.S.
A writer’s lift during lockdown today as my latest novel work in progress arrived in the post! I finished the final draft a few weeks ago and ordered a proof copy from Lulu. That’s not to say it’s self-published: I use Lulu for printing to proofread, before pursuing publication.
Here’s a celebratory photo of me with my final manuscript, ready for my trusty editor’s red pen! The cherry blossom tree offers a huge clue about the setting of my latest novel WIP. Of course, the title has been redacted until published, as I do with all my unpublished manuscripts.
What is Gods of Avalon Road about? Listen to my interview discussing my debut novel on channel 2 of The Authors Show, all day today. Hope you’ll tune in!
My upcoming interview for Gods of Avalon Road will be broadcast on The Authors Show on Wednesday 8 April. I’ll include a link to listen on the day. Hope you will tune in to hear me discuss my recently published debut novel from Blossom Spring Publishing.
Leilanie Stewart 