Come celebrate the publication of my debut novel, Gods of Avalon Road, at Waterstones Belfast. My book launch will take place on Thursday 14th November at 6pm. With one week to go until it’s officially released by Blossom Spring Publishing on the 23rd of October, I’m definitely feeling the excitement now 🎉
Now that it’s the 1st of October, the countdown is on until my debut novel is published on the 23rd. Gods of Avalon Road will shortly make its way into the world. I’m very excited to become a soon-to-be-published novelist. I’ve been working my way towards this point for over a decade and I’ve got to say, it feels blissfully surreal.
Having a novel in the pipeline has turbo-charged my writing; I’ve been working away on my next manuscript in between starting promotion for my forthcoming debut. I’ll be ticking the days off on my cute guinea pig calendar. Wish me luck!
Delighted to announce that my debut novel, Gods of Avalon Road, has a publication date set for 23rd of October 2019 from Blossom Spring Publishing.
I’m thrilled and excited for the upcoming promotional events to launch my book. It’s definitely celebration time, so save the date!
The long awaited Indian summer is here at last after a dreary few weeks. After work, I spent a lovely hour typing under a tree in the park. I’m currently working on a new novel draft. My debut novel is well and truly finished now and soon to be released into the world; last weekend I went through the manuscript one last time after it came back from the typesetters and my publisher said the next step is that it’ll be heading for the printer. Exciting days! In the meantime, it’s business as usual and for me, that’s onto another writing project.
The great thing about typing a novel on a tablet with a wireless keyboard is the portability. It’s even more lightweight than my old laptop and so handy. Nothing better than writing outdoors to help your imagination. Ah!
It has been a while since I’ve posted any of my poems from the archive. I’ve recently been doing some literary spring cleaning on my blog, and noticed that many of the magazines on my publications page are sadly now defunct. To ensure that my work is available to read, I’ll be republishing old poems and stories for you to enjoy. So, let’s get started with my poem, Rose Tinted, which was first published in Nostrovia Magazine (2013):
Rose Tinted
I composed this poem for you
in my head,
in another lifetime,
when we were hatchlings.
We saw the world then
through our rose tinted glasses.
But when we took them off,
the world was askew.
We saw the citadel
for what it was.
I held your hand
as the facade crumbled.
The remnants of a world long lost
will fade behind that fake fortress.
Together we’ll bury the pieces
in the dust
and wait for the half life to pass.
But we’ll survive
because we’re strong
and most of all
because we’re smart.
A Helping Hand – support for writers and poets
Summer is over, as is my 8 week holiday! I didn’t get much writing done over the break, as I was looking after our (Joseph Robert and my) 2 year old – sometimes a paragraph, but mostly just a few sentences at a time while the babe was asleep. Chipping away counts though, as it keeps the story fresh. Hopefully I’ll pick up the writing pace now that our little one is back to daycare!
It’s official! My debut novel, Gods of Avalon Road, is coming soon from Blossom Spring Publishing. Here’s a preview of the cover:
Gods of Avalon Road is an urban fantasy set in London. Inspired by my former career as an Archaeologist, combined with a love of mythology, the story takes place in present day Fulham with historical flashbacks to Iron Age Britain.
I’ll be posting more updates as they happen. Hope you can share my excitement!
My novella, Zombie Reflux, was published in 2014. It’s a satire of contemporary UK society set in a rural Norwich town where the residents are turned into zombies because of pesticide in the surrounding fields. There’s a video of me reading chapter 1 on YouTube, if anyone’s interested.
Next year there is a TV show coming out with a similar storyline to mine: it’s a satire, set in a rural English town and the residents are turned into zombies because of a toxic substance.
But what’s the difference? My story has had modest success and even lost me a few readers/subscribers because it offended some people, whereas this story is having commercial success; it’s being made into a TV show, after all.
So what’s the takeaway? Maybe commercial success has as much to do with timing as having an established readership: maybe a genre or topic has to be right for the market at the right moment to reach its widest possible audience. As for my story? Zombies never die, so the right time will come along. And hey, at least I came up with the idea first!
Mountain view on a family holiday. This would make a great writer’s retreat!
Apart from a relaxing family spa break, the highlight of this month has been choosing between 3 sample novel covers for my forthcoming book. My publisher incorporated all my ideas into the designs and wanted my opinion on which font I liked best for the title. I’m really excited, especially to be included in every stage of the publishing process. It’s starting to feel real!
Since the weekend, I’ve been busy making some small revisions to my soon-to-be-published debut novel, which is forthcoming later this year. My publisher’s editor suggested a few minor word-choice changes, which was straightforward, as I was able to do this by find and replace: there were about 38 words to change. Making selected vocabulary changes didn’t take anything away from the story: if anything it improved the novel, making it less repetitive.
After I finished reading through the manuscript again and making the necessary amendments, it was time for a lovely walk in the park to relax!
Leilanie Stewart 