Scott De Buitléir's Blog, page 6

Announcing eBook Release of ‘Forgiving Jake’

We are all trying to maintain a version of normality while we stay at home to slow down the spread of COVID-19, a pandemic which has made the world look and feel like some near-future science fiction novel. However, one of the easiest ways to relax and forget the world is to read, and I’m currently splitting my time between a few books for whenever I get a free moment between the day job and home renovations.

Considering our collective need for a temporary escape from reality, I have already taken part in Smashword‘s Author Gives Back ebook sale, where I’ve made the digital editions of my three previously released books – Fás | Growth, The Irish Outlander, and Yesterdates – completely free to download until April 20, but I’d now like to announce a new release for you!

Forgiving Jake is a novella (short novel) which I’ve been working on for a while. It’s the story of Sarah, a young woman who is left waiting for her boyfriend on their arranged date night, but when she receives two different phone calls while she waits, her life changes forever. Unable to mend her broken heart, Sarah’s mother decides to surprise her with a flight to visit family, and only then does Sarah begin to learn how to move on with her life.

This new release will be available in paperback from May, however, considering current circumstances, I’ve made the decision to push forward the publication of the ebook edition of Forgiving Jake to Saturday, April 4. The normal ebook price of the novella is $4.99, however I’ll be announcing a special “new release” coupon to use at the checkout this weekend: Keep an eye out on my Twitter profile for updates.

As a writer, this has been a wonderful new project for me to write. While I love expressing myself in poetry, and my other have been different kinds of reflection on real life experiences, this is my first major work of fiction. The main character in Forgiving Jake, Sarah, became a real character in my mind, and I came to know her emotions, motivations, and aspirations, just as one would come to know in a new friend. I sincerely hope you enjoy this novella, and if you do, please tell others what you think by reviewing it on Goodreads or social media. I’ll be using the hashtag #ForgivingJake to talk about the new book on social media, and I’d love for you to join in the conversation.

I’ll make another announcement once the paperback edition of the novella is available, but for now, I sincerely hope the ebook release of Forgiving Jake will be a welcome distraction from any real-life worries you may currently be going through, and that you’ll enjoy reading it.

Until then, stay safe and healthy, look after yourself, and thanks for reading.

Scott

Visit Smashwords to Pre-Order or Buy ‘Forgiving Jake’

Poem: Be Still / Fan Socair

Irish version below / Leagan Gaeilge thíos

Be Still



How bizarre for us all
this silence seems to be
instead of the rush
of cars, calls, or crowds
from place to place
without a single destination in mind

As if someone, somewhere
raised an alarm –
the Earth herself pleading
for a moment's rest,
to catch one's breath
and let the skies clear.

And what harm?
If we, silent, are safe
we have this chance
to see speed is not the saviour,

but humanity.




Fan Socair



Is aisteach dúinn
an ciúnas seo
In ionad na tráchta,
na cainte, na sluaite
ag dul timpeall na háite
gan sprioc ach chun luas a choimeád.

Ar nós gur ardaíodh
aláram –
an Domhan é féin ag impí
orainn sos a ghlacadh
chun anáil a tharraingt
fad is a ghlantar an spéir.

Agus cén dochar?
Más slán sinn,
tá deis againn
a fheiceáil nach é luas an laoch

ach an daonnacht.

Cork / Corcaigh
31 March/Márta 2020

Adapting

The restrictions are now in place. Whether or not our Taoiseach wants to label it so, this is now a lockdown, for the next fortnight at least. So, I decide to do the only thing that comes naturally to me in difficult times: Write.

The home renovations are now paused, although the last six weeks or so had been an amazing jump forward in progress. The builder and his team of plasterers have been told not to travel to Cork and stay in Wicklow, their accommodations have been cancelled. The lady in the bed & breakfast had been listening to the government annoucements only an hour before I rang her, so she wasn’t surprised. “No problem, just call us back when you want to sort out new dates”, she said. I promised that I would, knowing how hard her business must now be hit.

For another two weeks, the garden will remain a bizarre exhibition of building materials, stacked, piled, and arranged in different ways. Were it not placed on our own property, it could probably pass itself off as a modern art installation, maybe – if one were to stretch their imagination enough – symbolising how we’re not so different from our Stone Age ancestors, or maybe the insulation boards piled on top of one another could be a warning for global warming. Maybe I’ve missed my calling as an art director for some urban gallery. Oh, well.

There’ll be some things Stephen & I can do here in the meantime. The power washer will tackle the house’s tired, dirty, and forgotten walls, with that pebbledash effect that was so popular in the 1960s. We have enough concrete blocks on site to practice weightlighting. We can make small improvements on our garage conversion, now a granny flat; Painting walls, skirting boards, and all the other little bits. Installing the TV bracket to finally put it up onto the wall. Putting up shelves and mirrors. Making it a little home.

We took a little break in between moving building materials around. In the mild afternoon, a comfortable silence fell between us. I looked up to see a magpie flying overhead, while two pigeons were in the middle of a courtship dance in one of the trees next door. The main road below was quiet, save for one solitary truck that eventually broke the silence of nature’s return to power. The sunlight provided a warmth that was more comforting and welcome than ever.

There was a understated beauty in the moment, in spite of the times it found itself in, and it was needed.

A version of normality persists to exist. We got internet installed just before we went into lockdown, just in time. The business meetings remain, as well as the likes of Spotify and Netflix to keep us entertained in the quiet moments. We use WhatsApp, Instagram, or Facebook to check in with friends. We check in on our neighbours when we can. We still call our family, although up until this week, I had always been in Dublin for my mother’s birthday. A card in the post and a few calls during the day were the replacement, as well as the promise that we’d go out for a lovely dinner when this is all over.

In between the day job and the renovation work, there’s maybe a little more time for checking in with ourselves and each other, but also to do a few things we may have put on the backburner. Read those books, write a little more, or just relax with a loved one.

There’s plenty of time for that now, and despite the reasons why or the problems related to it, maybe we can cherish that opportunity, too.

A Call to Action for All

To call these “challenging times” as we have seen so often lately, from newspaper columns and company annoucements to emails between colleagues, somehow lessens the stark reality of what is really going on. Sometimes, that’s intentional; an effort to put aside the one news story dominating the world, and try to return to a brief moment of reality. Sometimes, it’s acknowledging the crisis while trying to remain calm, or even optimistic. Sometimes, it’s because we don’t really know what else to say.

We cannot downplay the dangers COVID-19 present to humanity, and those who do so, are prone to hurting themselves and those around them, if not so many more. We also cannot dismiss easily the thousands of souls lost to this virus, over 17,000 at the time of writing. Similarly, we should not forget that over 100,000 confirmed cases have recovered, which shows that while avoidance is a better option where possible, there is still hope in the case of a positive diagnosis.

At the same time, others are still struggling to hope in face of uncertainty. For those trying to avoid this Coronavirus and simply continue with their daily lives (albeit with social distancing and hand washing) there are hundreds of thousands who have had their working hours reduced, or lost entirely. The Irish government may be scrambling to provide welfare payments for those affected, banks and credit unions – despite recent agreements – are not making things straight-forward for customers wishing to pause loan repayments, going by both personal experience and listening to those who’ve recounted similar tales on radio in recent days. Those who’ve been impacted financially need to be supported, not just by the State, but by banks and other financial institutions, as well as landlords and property agencies, to make sure that this pandemic does not cost anyone their homes and livelihoods.

Still, there are strange moments of good that have come from the last few weeks. Pollution has had a chance to clear in many places around the world, from Italy to India and China, because of reduced human activity. Locally, thousands of people have signed up to volunteer in their communities to support those in need, while 60,000 people have signed up to help Ireland’s health service in combatting the pandemic. These are only a few examples, but again, they represent hope in a time of adversity.

On a political level, where parties in Ireland were desperately trying to form coalitions after the results of our general election in February, snapping at one another about who had the best mandate for change or governance, we now see a united effort to protect and support the people of Ireland. While this country still needs to see a 33rd Dáil Éireann formed, this crisis is a much bigger problem, and therefore health and social protection takes centre stage. Despite policy differences, politicians now have a common goal: stop pontificating or attacking old enemies, and take action that benefits us all.

That is what I wish to do with this small, insignificant blog post: Ask you to take action. That can be nothing more than calling an elderly relation or neighbour, and asking if they need anything from the shops. It can be checking out localsupport.ie to see how you can help others who may be too weak, sick, vulnerable, or simply too anxious to go outside. It can be by reminding others to keep a safe distance from their friends, colleagues, or family, or washing their hands properly. It can be by smiling to someone you pass by on the street, and not forgetting that we’re all vulnerable to this, and in solidarity with each other because of it.

You can take action by remembering to care.

Back To My Roots

One’s home is often considered a sanctuary: A place to escape from the hustle & bustle of the outside world, recharge from the day’s work, and spend quality time with family and loved ones. It’s a place to rest, reconnect, and feel safe.

Our new home, however, has not yet felt like that. Sadly, the renovation delays on our new house have dragged on even further, and have taken a serious turn. I won’t say more on it for a few reasons, other than while the delays to our plans have been truly heartbreaking (and almost spirit-breaking), there is only recently some new hope to get across the finish line.

Still, thankfully, we’ve been granted some luck in the form of distractions and weekend trips away, most recently including a friend’s wedding in Kilkenny City. It was a welcome excuse to go back to the Butler family’s ancestral home, as my family are closely connected to the Butler dynasty and, to a smaller degree, to Kilkenny Castle. My great-great-grandfather was reportedly (according to family lore) an illegitimate child of James Butler, 3rd Marquess of Ormonde, however considering the surname remained and my family stayed in Kilkenny until the early 1960s, the illegitimacy could be disputed. That being said, the link to the dynasty is real; my grandfather, Séamus Butler, was one of five representatives of the Butlers of Ormonde to attend the 1967 ceremony of Kilkenny Castle being given to the people of Kilkenny.

Considering the family history, the castle has been a source of pride for me since I was a child, and I remember looking up at a portrait in the castle (of either Piers Butler or Thomas Butler, AKA Tomás Dubh de Buitléir) and thinking that it was my uncle John! I also fondly remember playing around the trees with my cousin Jane in the castle grounds on a trip with my parents. It felt wonderful to go back to the castle on the Sunday after our friend’s wedding, explore the grounds and take a tour of the wonderfully restored building. We spoke with guides working there about the history of the Butlers, their influence across Leinster, and I have to admit that one guide made me smile with a sense of pride when he shook our hands and addressed us both “Mr. O’Connor, Mr. Butler – wonderful to meet you both!”.

[image error]Standing on the Moorish stairs in Kilkenny Castle

I walked around the castle feeling that sense of peace, belonging, restoration, and ease that one should feel from a home, feeling like (or hoping, maybe) that my own energy was connected with the castle in some way. It was a feeling that I have not felt in months, thanks to the stresses of new home ownership, so it could not have been more welcome. I was so grateful to my partner for letting us escape the wedding’s “day two” events to take some downtime at the castle, because it brought back my hope.

The family connection to Kilkenny makes it a strong possibility as an option for our own wedding, as we tried to consider the castle and nearby Butler House as options, but unfortunately they’re too small in size for what we’re planning. We’ll see if we can return to a larger venue for the big day, but either way, the castle and city have a very special place in my heart. I also feel a renewed sense of pride – and to some degree, duty – in my family’s history and legacy, and their influence throughout Ireland over so much time.

For Peace Comes Dropping Slow

Forgive me, reader, for I have sinned: It has been three months since my last blog entry…

Since then, my partner and I have moved from our temporary accommodation in Cork and into the house we bought over the summer. That being said, it’s still a building site work-in-progress, with varying availabilities of running water, heat, and absolutely no wifi. Needless to say, it isn’t exactly somewhere where writing would be high up on my to-do list when there’s wallpaper to strip, furniture to buy, handymen to manage, walls to paint, and everything else that comes with a renovation or new home.

On top of that, September was mostly spent away from Ireland. One week in San Francisco, two weeks in Seattle, and a well-needed holiday with the other half and my best friend in the beautiful city of Riga, Latvia. While my time in the U.S. was for the day-job, I had little energy left to assign to writing, and Latvia was an opportunity to reconnect, recharge, and enjoy the peace.

That being said, the downtime and relaxation gave me enough energy to complete a major project of mine. This weekend, I’ve managed to finish the first draft of my upcoming novella, Forgiving Jake! It’s a tale of how one young woman’s life is turned upside-down with two phone calls, and what she needs to do to move on from tragedy. The short novel is my first complete work of fiction, and I cannot wait to share it with you in springtime next year.

I will have another poetry collection available in 2020 also, fully bilingual in English and Irish. Elysium is a collection of poems that explore love and family connections, as well as letting go of some baggage from the past. Although still incomplete, it’s already a collection that I’m quite proud of, and I expect it to be released early next year.

In the meantime, I’m looking forward to travelling to Berlin and Malta over the next few weeks, which will be able to balance some relaxation against the work that’s needed to make ourselves at home in our new house. I’ve recently joined the newly-formed Outstaged Theatre Group in Cork, which is sparking new writing ideas already within me, but I think I already have enough going on before I take on something else new. I’ve also started finally going back to the gym, and thankfully it’s a routine that is sticking around, this time.

Until next time!

S x

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Where One Book Ends, Another Two Begin

I’m writing this in the warm, cozy, and inviting Fisher’s bar in Cork’s Kingsley Hotel, with a pint of Irish cider bubbling lightly beside my Chromebook. It’s a Sunday evening, and I have spent the entire day on my own, as my partner fiancé (I’m still getting used to that) is in Kentucky for work, and my parents’ weekend visit to the Rebel County finished this morning, with their return to Dublin.

It sounds luxurious, but in truth, the evening pint in the bar is an act of escapism from what my fiancé & I have come to call “the Cell”.

I previously mentioned in this blog that we’ve bought a house in Cork, but there’s a lot of work needed to be done before we can move in. The good news is that the builders have started work on that, but the bad news is that in the meantime, we’ve moved into “temporary accommodation” until the end of August while the construction work is carried out.

When I say “temporary accommodation”, I really mean student dorms, which have been made available to the general public over the summer months while the students have gone home. In comparison to the apartment we used to live in, it’s a claustrophobia-inducing act in how to downsize, but we’re both firming focusing on the fact that it’s only for a total of eight weeks, and we’re already three weeks in. So, maybe the pint in a cozy bar is well deserved.

Thankfully, the bouts of downtime have allowed for a bit of creativity. By my estimates, I’ve 78%(!) of my novella, Forgiving Jake, written, which is well ahead of my original timing goals. I had initially expected the book to be released in March, but there’s a small chance that it could be released sooner, if all goes well. I don’t want to jinx myself, but the final push won’t be as hard to finish up, so things are looking well. We shall see.

Meanwhile, I’ve decided to give Wattpad another chance. For those who aren’t aware of the platform, Wattpad is an ebook or storytellling site with a twist. Stories are published in parts by the writer as they’re written (like a live, developing story), encouraging members to subscribe to authors’ profiles, as well as comment and vote on chapters. I’m not entirely sure that Wattpad’s members are the kind of readership I hope to target (there’s a lot of fan fiction, warewolf, and high school / young adult stories on it) but I’ve decided to trial a new story on it nevertheless. If you’re a member, or you’d like to read something on your mobile device or computer, check out Cranberry Close on Wattpad.

In spite of all the bursts of creativity, I still need to focus some of my time on the here and now. I’m currently looking at venues for the book launch of Yesterdates, hoping for it to be in August. I’ll also get in touch with media in Ireland, the UK, and California shortly, but if you want to get a preview copy for a media interview, get in touch.

Until then…!

S x

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Preparing for (re)Launch

The last few weeks brought with them a surge of creative energy in me recently, and I haven’t let such precious energy go to waste!

I’m currently waiting on the proof copies of Yesterdates to be delivered from the printers, where my editor and I will examine every page before preparing the paperback edition for the big bookshelf world. I’ve even had a few bookworms look over the digital edition to get their feedback, and it was overwhelmingly positive. I really cannot wait to share this new book with you, and hope that you enjoy it as much as I did while writing and reviewing it. In the meantime, if you’re more of an ebook reader than a paperback fan (or you just can’t wait), you can now pre-order Yesterdates on Apple Books, Goodreads, Rakuten Kobo, and any good ebook provider.

Glitch in the Matrix

Speaking of ebooks; recently, I learned that my previous two books, Fás | Growth and The Irish Outlander, suffered a distribution glitch that I wasn’t aware of. Although the books were available in paperback format, they were only available in ebook format for Kindle. At first, I thought this was a rights issue, as Amazon distribute to other bookstores (like Barnes & Noble in the US) on the condition of exclusivity. It turns out that while that may be true, it’s only a condition for paperback! It means that the books were, until now, missing out on a much wider availability than previously expected. Now, the books are more widely available, should you have ever felt that you were missing out!

A Burst of Poetry

I arrived to my parents’ home in Dublin this weekend to find a package awaiting me from Scotland, and I was delighted to see its contents. The Scottish literary magazine, The Poet’s Republic, were kind enough to include two of my poems in Irish – Párthas and Seanóirí i nGrá – in their seventh issue. Their latest issue features a fantastic collections of poets writing in Irish, English, Scots, Manx, and Scottish Gaelic, and I was honoured to be included in the mix.

Issue 7 of The Poet’s Republic is available to buy for £5. The poems will also be included, alongside their English versions, in my upcoming poetry collection, Elysium, which I hope to release at the end of this year.

So pleased that 2 of my poems in Irish have been published by in Issue 7 of @poets_republic, available now for £5!

Taim ar bís gur foilsíodh 2 dhán liom in eagrán 7 de Phoblachd nam Bàrd! #Gaeilge pic.twitter.com/odLR5OfjK3

— Scott De Buitléir (@scottdebuitleir) June 14, 2019

Eyes on the Horizon…

The writing project I’m most looking forward to sharing with you is my first fiction work, Forgiving Jake. The story focuses on Sarah, a young woman whose life is turned upside-down when she receives two calls in quick sucession. The first call breaks her heart, but the second one brings her world crashing down around her. Will she ever be able to forgive the man she loved, the same man who was to blame? Will she ever be able to escape from what happened that day?

I’m roughly halfway through the book at the moment, and from initial feedback from friends and test readers, I’m right to be excited to share it with you. Forgiving Jake won’t be available until mid-2020 (maybe earlier) but I’ll share more details about the book when it’s closer to completion. Either way, I hope you love it.

In other news, my partner and I have just bought a house in Cork, and we’re so excited to get started on making it our home. I travel to San Francisco next weekend for a few days, and hope to make a few literary connections while in town. Meanwhile, I’ll be making preparations for the release of Yesterdates: If you work in the media and would like a copy of the book for review or interview, please get in touch.

As always, thank you for reading. I’m in a very happy place at the moment, and I appreciate the support.

Scott x

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Finding Time for Myself

When my fiancé and I decided to leave Nottingham in 2017 and come back to Ireland, I thought of how wonderful it would be to be back home, despite not actually returning to our home city of Dublin. Cork is three hours away by bus or train, and about two and a half hours by car, depending on traffic. So, while we were still moving to a different city, at least we were moving back to the motherland.

Two years later, and the travel schedule has truly settled down, although it’s by no means quiet. Every second fortnight, we’ll leave Cork on a Friday evening, after a full day at work and dinner at home, to get to Dublin by around 10pm. On Saturday, we’ll spend quality time with our families (either separately or seeing both together), and by Sunday afternoon, we’re on another two or three-hour journey back to the Rebel County. We’re no longer flying every few weeks from East Midlands Airport back to Dublin, but we’re still making the effort to see family pretty often.

Over the last couple of months, however, I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve been able to be in Dublin and spend time with people other than relations or in-laws-to-be. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve come to appreciate, value, and most of all, love the families I’m blessed enough to have in my life. At the same time, though, I noticed that I hadn’t seen some friends since before I started my new job in November – five months ago. I also had a realisation recently, when trying to plan going out for vegan-friendly dinner in Dublin city, that I didn’t know what the good/new/popular restaurants still were anymore. There were other little moments that made me feel like I didn’t know Dublin as well anymore as when I lived there four years ago, despite all my family weekend visits.

Last weekend was a welcome change, though. My fiancé and his mother had flown off to Croatia for a week, and my parents had asked me to look after their cat while they took a weekend break in the Irish countryside. In other words, I could enjoy a Saturday in Dublin with no family obligations! I can’t explain how happy I was, and thankfully, the weather was pretty incredible to help make the opportunity even better.

On my way up to the capital, I had texted the friend I hadn’t seen for months, and in no time at all, we arranged for lunch in his newly-refurbished home. We talked about everything from settling into my job, to the recent engagement, to everything he had done with his new home, and all we wanted to do with ours. It was chilled, and exactly what I needed, including the walks through the city to and from his beautiful Scandinavian/Irish-mix home.

[image error]A view of the Ha’Penny Bridge over the River Liffey[image error]The craft market on Cow’s Lane in the touristic Temple Bar district[image error]A horse and cart on Dame Street.[image error]St Patrick’s Park, beside the popular Cathedral (where the bells were ringing as I passed by!)

As the Celtic calendar makes May the start of Summer, the weather was right on point. The atmosphere through the city was improved so much with the sunshine, and made Dublin look beautiful. I saw why so many visitors see a charm in the Irish capital, and really enjoyed the downtime. When I got back to my childhood home, a bit of food and relaxation was followed by a walk along the Clontarf promenade (or “seafront” as the locals call it) right up to Bull Island and the Réalt na Mara statue, where the sunset glowed over Dublin Bay. That walk is one that I’ve done since I was a young child, and it’s one that brings me back to myself every time.

[image error]The wooden bridge that connects Bull Island with the mainland at Clontarf.

I usually consider myself to have multiple versions of home, something I touched upon in The Irish Outlander. For myself, my childhood home, “home home”, is Clontarf, and I’d now call Cork my home. Belfast will always have a special place in my heart for being my first home away from home, and the effect that Copenhagen has had on my identity, my interests, and my outlook on the world, makes me consider it my soul’s true home. That all being said, walking on the seafront in Clontarf, or having a Christmas drink at the Castle, that is the most ‘home’ moment I can ever have, and thankfully it is one I am still fortunate enough to enjoy.

Coming back to Cork, I felt recharged after my bit of “me time” in Dublin. I spent the bus journey reading through the draft of my next book and enjoying the opportunity to do so. I had energy again to be creative, and sometimes a little break is all that you need for that.

So, where’s your next trip for some downtime?

Picking Back Up the Pen

Dear reader,

I don’t know about you, but every so often, I feel like I’m fighting a battle between which version of myself is meant to be the ‘main’ me. Scott, the writer and poet. Scott, the marketing professional. Scottie, that Dubliner who lives with his partner in Cork. Scott, the (wannabe) blogger, or just that random guy you might not even notice on a bus… like I am right now.

Of course, we can be – and are – multiple people all at once, without any need for a diagnosis of schizoprenia. We all have different sides to ourselves – from the dry-humoured doctor who’s a drag queen on the weekend, to the thick-skinned mechanic who becomes a doting mother once she goes home – but sometimes we feel like they all compete for dominance.

For me, my different sides take turns with one another. The writer in me will go into hibernation for a couple of months, while I focus on my day job or other practical things like finding a new home, or simply enjoying downtime with my other half. Sometimes, all I want to do is slip away into the background and become (or remain) anonymous, yet at other times, I want to produce new content and start new projects. Each side of my personality has its own value and merit, and as I’ve gotten older, I’ve grown to simply let each phase run its own course until I feel ready to switch modes again.

Enjoying Life

While the writer in me took a nap over the last couple of months, normal life took precious centre-stage. Since my last blog post (in Irish) my day-job has taken me to Berlin, San Diego, and San Francisco for work. Right now, my partner and I are in the (hopefully) final leg of buying a house in Cork, and after five years of being together, I took him to Barcelona for our anniversary, where I finally popped the big question. Thankfully, he said yes, although we knew that the new house would be a more important financial project, so the wedding may not happen for another couple of years. So, hold off on buying a big hat just yet!

Overall, life has treated me very well in Cork, especially over the last six months. I’ve found a job that I love with people I get on with so well, and it allows for a lifestyle that I always dreamed of having. I genuinely could not be happier with life right now, and I do not take a moment of it for granted.

New Writing Projects

The somewhat regular break from writing and blogging means that I’ve allowed my creative focus and energy to recharge while doing ‘everyday life’ things, and thankfully, I’ve finally found the time to announce the three projects I’ll be working on for the rest of this year. Thanks to being an independent writer, not tied to either a publisher’s contract or financial dependence, I can take all three projects in my own time, although I do intend for them all to be either complete or fully developed by the end of this year.

New Poetry Collection

My début poetry collection, Fás | Growth, covered a decade of my writing in both English and Irish, however I have continued to write poetry in both languages since then. The next collection will be titled Elysium, based on a poem I wrote in San Francisco late last year. The collection will be fully bilingual, and the primary theme will be about settling into one’s own skin, as well as acknowledging influences along such a journey. Family, relationships, and history will also play a part in the book, and I sincerely hope that readers will be able to relate with the poems, regardless of the language they choose to read them in.

Elysium will be released in ebook and paperback formats in late autumn / early winter 2019… depending on when we get wifi into the new house.

“Scottie the Serial Dater” Returns

Some readers might know me long enough to remember that in 2012 until late 2013, I had a regular dating column in the British LGBTQ magazine, Polari. While the columns never had an official title, they could be regarded as the ‘Scottie’ series, based on the nickname given to me by the magazine’s cartoonist, Stephen Charlick.

There were quite a lot of articles written during that period, all of them describing my dating days in comedic detail. While Polari came to an end some years ago, I decided to combine the pieces into a single collection, recognising the amount that I wrote about a significant part of my life. The title for this collection is Yesterdates, and it will be also released in ebook and paperback formats later this year.

Getting Stylish… in Irish

One thing I love about social media is looking at photos of stylish Scandinavian interiors, sharp-looking menswear, and inspiration for our next trip abroad. I never thought, however, that I’d like to be a “lifestyle blogger”. In comparison to the days of Dialann Scott many moons ago, blogging has developed into a beast of influencer marketing, sponsored posts, and overproduced YouTube videos. I’ll admit that I do like some lifestyle blogs (mostly of Norwegian and Danish interior designer moms, if I’m honest), but I didn’t think that I’d enter that pressured world.

That being said, I recently got a jolt of inspiration to create a lifestyle blog of my own, but with a twist that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone: I wanted to create a lifestyle blog in Irish.

I haven’t regularly blogged in Irish for years, so returning to my blagadóireacht days felt like a natural option when I decided to create Stíl Uasal, a blog in Irish about my favourite interior styles and brands, my business and personal trips, and anything else that catches my eye. To be completely honest, I’m only going to post to the blog whenever I like, with no pressure to write regularly for the sake of followers or other statistics. I’ll blog when I like, simply because I’ll like to blog. That’s the way I used to do it, and that’s what I want to return to. Wish me luck!

Cutting my Losses

Later this year, I’ll also be saying goodbye to some writing platforms that haven’t reaped the benefits I expected. Two of those will be my profiles on Medium and Wattpad, where my poetry and prose writing have a certain limited presence.

The reason behind the decision is simple: I asked followers on Twitter a while ago about whether a gradual release of a new story, chapter by chapter, was worthwhile, or if it was better to keep things wrapped up until the story is complete. The answer was overwhelmingly in favour of the latter, and I took that to mean that those I wanted to read my stories were willing to wait until they could get the whole thing.

Wattpad is designed to release story chapters in stages, while Medium is designed more for standalone stories or articles, and I don’t really need either. Once the content currently posted on those platforms has been saved elsewhere, I’ll remove my presence there.

Next Steps

This summer will see us buying and renovating a house, while I’ll be travelling to California again for my job. In between all that, I’ll be trying to collect and edit my various pieces of writing for both books, while updating the new Stíl Uasal and its related Instagram with content that comes to mind. I’ll also try to keep this a little more active, but I won’t keep any promises!

As always, say hello if you like, I love to hear from readers and fellow writers/poets/bloggers/multitaskers!

Scott x