An East Belfast author whose latest novel, a ghost story set in Northern Ireland, has had instant success on the Amazon charts.
Writer and poet Leilanie Stewart, who grew up in Sydenham, has always had a keen interest in writing and found her passion when she was only nine years old and won a short story competition.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Leilanie said: "I won first place and was given a book as a prize, a novel I have kept and treasured all these years later.
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"I was first published nationally at fourteen, again through a school competition: my poem ‘Friday Night’ was selected for a UK-wide anthology called ‘Write and Shine’. In my twenties, I began to submit poetry and stories for publication in literary magazines in the UK and worldwide.
"This led to my poetry being longlisted for the ‘Melita Hume Poetry Prize’ in 2014, and publication of my debut poetry collection in 2015, and my fiction being selected for the ‘Storm Cycle: Best of the Web Anthology’, which helped me to get a publishing contract for my debut novel in 2019."
Inspired by her favourite genre and urban tales from her hometown in East Belfast, she wanted to create a story that merged the two together - something she said she had never really come across.
"Horror is my favourite genre, particular ghost stories and psychological suspense. I’ve read many books set in Belfast, but to date, I haven’t come across any horror novels by other local authors," she explained.
"I’m also a fan of folk tales and urban legends. As a child growing up in Sydenham, I spent a lot of time in Victoria Park, where adults would tell us to come home for our dinner before sunset or the ‘bogeyman’ would chase us out.
"This notion captured my imagination, and I drew on that recently when writing The Blue Man. I was inspired to set a ghost story in East Belfast, and base it on an urban legend, as I hadn’t read anything like that."
'The Blue Man' follows teenage girls who destroyed their friendship after learning the terrifying urban folktale of The Blue Man. Now, as mothers-to-be, they reunite once more to confront the horror and trauma.
Leilanie added: "The Blue Man is like a Belfast ‘Candyman’: it blends urban folklore with a supernatural revenge story.
"The book has been well received so far, and I’ve been delighted with the response. Readers have been in touch to say that they loved it and binge-read it, or that they stayed up into the early hours as they had to know how it finished.
"Hearing feedback like that has been amazing, and very motivating for me to keep writing more books. Book Blogger reviews have been positive too."
'The Blue Man' reached no. 10 on Amazon's Top 100 Hot New Releases for Ghost horror when released at the end of July.
She continued: "I’m always on tenterhooks after advance review copies go out as book reviewers write very honest opinions, so I’m thankful that the Book Blogging community have had great feedback to date."
"I was honestly amazed, and it felt a little surreal too. It was the first time any of my books had made it onto a Top 100 list, and to make it to the Top 10 was a moment I definitely celebrated with my family."
For more information about 'The Blue Man', see here.
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