UPDATES 👀

I've been bad at this, sorry!

Hey friends!

I haven’t been quite as active on this publication lately, so I thought it might be high time for a little update on how things are going on my end.

First up, The Soulburn Talisman.

My first ever novel was published back in May this year and so far, it’s got great feedback. Readers seem to have really taken to my young protagonists and reviews are steadily ticking in on Goodreads and Amazon.

Some kind folks have also created some content about it on TikTok and Instagram, which is always fun to see! Here’s an example:

@mikelikesbooksThe Soulburn Talisman by @davidmcilroyauthor #ya #teen #action #adventure #fiction #thesoulburntalisman #davidmcilroy #bookreview #bookrecommendations #mikelikesbooks #mikefromarkansas #arc

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I’m also taking part in a Q&A session about Soulburn with a small teenage audience on October 24 as part of Book Week NI. I’ve never done one of these before, so fingers crossed it goes well! 

And on the back of that, I have some cool news to share…

🥳 The first draft of Uland Book 2 is done! 🥳

I typed the words “The End” on Monday of this week, and as always, it felt pretty darn good. I absolutely loved writing this sequel story and I can’t wait for you all to read it further down the line!

My wife and I celebrated with a trip to our newest fried chicken joint:

Who says you can’t live the high life as a writer?!

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Coming [very] soon

Next, The Substitute.

This’ll be my first ever published adult novel, and my first horror story, so it feels significant to me. 

I love this one. It came to me fully-formed and positively flew from my fingertips onto the keyboard. I’ve decided to self-publish it because a) I think it’s too long for another publisher to take on, and b) I’m really intrigued about the process and want to see if I can do it successfully myself.

Early feedback has been really positive, too:

@indiehorrortimeA supernatural horror you NEED to read. I had the best time reading The Substitute by @davidmcilroyauthor #horrorbook #supernaturalhorror #arc #arcreader #bookrecommendations #booktok

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I’ve pushed the release date back a couple of weeks to November 27, and I’ll let you know as soon as it’s ready to pre-order. Should be very soon.

(And I’m still open to ARC readers if you’d fancy a free copy?)

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What’s next?

Well, I’ve taken a week-long break from fiction to catch up on some other stuff as part of my 1,000 Words Daily challenge for October, but from Monday, I’m diving back into writing Imposter Syndrome, my as-yet-unfinished spooky YA story.

You can read the existing chapters on Substack now, and I’ll add more every week going forward until it’s done.

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Imposter Syndrome: Chapter 1, Part 1

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And that’s it, all caught up!

If you have any questions about anything I’m working on or have already released, don’t be afraid to get in touch.

Cheers everyone! 😊

D

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