A Crosshouse Hospital nurse has launched her first adult fantasy fiction book after being inspired by TV hits like Outlander.
Lesley Robertson, who is based at the Killie hospital, has penned ‘Fear Liath-Immortal in Scotland’.
She has been a staff nurse for 27 years, specialising in the care of patients with heart conditions that require continuous monitoring and treatment.
Lesley began her career at the Freeman Hospital in Gosforth, Newcastle Upon Tyne, before she migrated north to work in Glasgow’s old Victoria Infirmary hospital for five years.
She later moved out of the city when she got offered a nursing job in Ayrshire at A&E where she worked for three years, followed by work in CCU in Crosshouse for 13 years and finally at the NHS24 team where she is currently working part-time as a nurse practitioner.
Despite her nursing career, Lesley always wanted to focus on writing and publishing her own fantasy fiction.
After being inspired by ‘The Twilight Saga’ and ‘Outlander’, Lesley decided to write ‘Fear Liath-Immortal in Scotland’ – the first book in a trilogy.
Lesley found it challenging combining writing with her part-time job while also being a mother to teenagers due to either lack of hours in the day or being too tired but she is “excited” to finally turn her ideas into a book.
She said: “My idea for a book was to weave a human/vampire tapestry in a world where vampires could walk among us, side by side, become integrated but still be deathly fierce and lethal at the same time.
“I used to write short children’s stories when my children were young and they would always ask for them again to be read every night. I still have them on paper with drawings in my drawers but they were never published.
“For many years I just had ideas for adult fiction but just noted them down on paper.
“Then one day about eight months ago I picked up the scraps of paper and began reading them. I started to have amazing ideas come into my mind and they just kept flooding in, waking me during the night at times to write them down.”
‘Fear Liath-Immortal in Scotland’ follows the journey of a cardiac nurse Sarah Miller, 24, who embarks on a new life as a vampire, guided by Connor, the legendary Grey Man of Ben Macdui.
As they traverse the land’s natural beauty and encounter its mythical inhabitants, their love grows. Their bond is tested by Sarah’s struggle to reconcile her predatory nature with a desire for healing when they encounter a wounded climber.
Meanwhile, Connor’s dark past sparks a feud that threatens their peace. Together, they must navigate love and war in a tale of undying devotion.
Lesley said: “I started to build on my idea of a young vampire called Sarah Miller, much like myself, a cardiac nurse and follow her travels from Washington state in America to Glasgow, then up through Scotland to Aberdeen and beyond.
“I came up with the concept of Sarah being a nurse, firstly because Sarah is my daughter’s name and I wanted a cardiac nurse so I could relate to the character.
“I wanted my vampires to be like Stephenie Meyer’s sparkly vampires, not so much Dracular. I wanted Sarah and Connor to be like her characters Bella and Edward in Twilight – human-like but lethal and with good morals.
“I also wanted there to be a Royal vampire clan like the Volturi. In my book they are known as the Sanguis – Latin for blood, and for them to operate in a similar way.”
Lesley is now writing her second of three books, ‘Immortals and other Mythical creatures-Shetland’, which continues Sarah’s journey.
All books will be dedicated to Lesley’s late father.
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