Author visit – words of inspiration from Caroline Lawrence 

Recently at my day job (as those of you who have been following my blog, or are connected with me on LinkedIn or Facebook know, I work in secondary education by day, and lead my literary life by night) children’s author, Caroline Lawrence visited with words of inspiration for the youngsters, not to mention a fresh perspective for the adults.

Watching Caroline Lawrence.jpg

 

Her motivational words for the budding young writers included talking about how her love of ancient Greek and Latin kick-started the idea for her Roman Mysteries novels and how, in order to write a successful storyline, she always follows her 7 plot beats. What impressed me the most is how she engaged with the pre-teen audience: sharing fascinating facts about Pompeii and humorous Latin inscriptions to entertain and educate the children.

Needless to say, there was a stampede in the aisle to get signed copies of her books after the event. I had also noticed quite a few girls, and some boys, in the audience jotting down her writing tips as she spoke: maybe a few more archaeological tales might be following from the young creative minds over the coming weeks – let’s see!

Submission call for Bindweed Magazine Issue 4

 

Calling all short story writers and poets!

Blue-tinted bindweed

Blue-tinted bindweed

Bindweed Magazine is now seeking submissions for the New Year. I’m looking for quality poetry and fiction for publication in January, February and March for Issue 4. Joseph Robert and I are already busy reviewing poetry that has been sent from all corners of the world, but we’d love to read more of your stories. Here’s what I need:

 

🍃 Flash fiction (scribbles, dibbles and dabbles of up to 1000 worlds)

🍃 Short stories (longer creative pieces of up to 3000 words).

🍃 Vignettes: word length as above

Check out the Bindweed guidelines for specifics at: https://bindweedmagazine.wordpress.com/submission-guidelines

 

Look forward to reading your work!

Leilanie 🌺

Happy National Poetry Day 2016

Since yesterday was National Poetry Day, I am spreading my love of poetry by sharing a couple of freebie poems from my lovely poet hubby, Joseph Robert and I. So, let’s cut to the chase and get down to all things poetry…

 

Unputdownable

By Leilanie Stewart 

(Page 9 – Metamorphosis of Woman)

 

There are some poems by

the poet who died

in the magazine

 

Not that he died

in the magazine

 

His poems just appeared

in the magazine

 

This is a poem about

the guy who died

but it’s not in the magazine

 

It might be in another magazine

but not this one

 

The one I’m talking about

The one that’s unputdownable

 

The magazine was unputdownable

but not the guy, the poet,

who was putdownable

 

A cocktail of drugs and cheap vodka

rendered him putdownable

 

And all that remains of him,

all that will live on,

 

are his dead-man poems

which are now

unputdownable.

 

This Poem Is Specifically Not About The Moon

By Joseph Robert 

(Page 13 – Realms of Man)

 

O, thou Serene

Silene

Siren

Light singing temptress of the poet’s heart

and the scientist’s eye

Dry Inert Rocks

Metal Flags

& Feelings

Dreams of deepness

Tides of seeming

I know, really a pebble is what you is

I’ll put you in my mouth and roll you along my tongue

Then I want to bite down

Shatter my teeth

Second poetry collection Forthcoming in March 2017

I’m celebrating this weekend at the news from publisher Virgil Kay that my second poetry collection, Chemotherapy for the Soul, is forthcoming from Canada based Fowlpox Press.

20161002_115507

This collection contains 35 poems dealing with reflection, depression and letting go of the past. It deals with counselling skills and self-therapy in overcoming difficult emotional obstacles. Despite my celebratory picture above, it’s a serious collection with darker themes, in contrast to my lighter, more humorous debut collection: A Model Archaeologist from Eyewear Publishing (2015).

Hope you can share my excitement with my latest literary news.

Making a living as a poet

A fellow writer and publisher forwarded an email to me this week, from The Society of Authors, about an event called Making a living as a poet. It occurred to me that one of the first things a poet wants to know before seriously pursuing a career in poetry is: can I pay the bills from my writing?

I think the answer to this depends on a few considerations. Let’s take a look at these below:

Continue reading →

A broken bone is no bane for a writer

Two weeks ago after much sightseeing whilst rediscovering my home country, I was unfortunate enough to acquire a fractured metatarsal. It seems that my mind can wander for hours, but alas, not my feet!

A broken bone is no bane for a writer!

A broken bone is no bane for a writer!

After a day of dwelling in self-pity and pondering the nature of my fragile body, I decided that it was a perfect time to get stuck into editing my novel. I am six months away from polished perfection with the final draft of my second novel Continue reading →

Joseph Robert’s fiction in The Flash Fiction Press

One of my writer hubby’s stories is published in The Flash Fiction Press today. You can read Life Inside David Cameron’s Head in this US based magazine online. With the UK in the throes of the will-we-won’t-we Brexit saga following the dramatic exit of our former PM here in the UK, this story is a good piece of escapism…or realism, depending on your outlook. Happy reading, folks!

New Publication Release; Introducing ‘Heartlands’ — Don MacIver; poetry & prose

A new publication by fellow poet and friend, Don MacIver. Links to buy it are through his website:

 

“Heartlands, a diverse range of highly responsive poetic works, takes the reader through a deeply personal engagement of life experiences and our natural surroundings…”

via New Publication Release; Introducing ‘Heartlands’ — Don MacIver; poetry & prose

Moving from England to Northern Ireland

It has been nearly two weeks since I wrote my last post and there has been a very good reason for this – moving to a different country. After 4 years in Japan, 3 in Cambridge and 6 in London, my poet/writer hubby Joseph Robert and I have relocated to Belfast.

Crossing the Irish Sea by ferry from Cairnryan

Crossing the Irish Sea by ferry from Cairnryan

Hopefully the smaller place away from big city life will inspire some new poetry and fiction. Continue reading →

Leilanie Stewart interviewed on Six Questions For

This month my interview as Editor-in-Chief of Bindweed Magazine is published in Six Questions For by Jim Harrington, as a promotional spotlight for my newly bloomed literary zine.

Six Questions For

If you’re interested in more information about a day in the life of an editor/publisher, or how Bindweed got started, feel free to have a read. It also highlights my editorial process and how I choose certain submissions.

Enjoy!