Scott De Buitléir

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