Londonderry woman publishes e-book

Lorinda Ferguson, who now lives in Chelmsform in Essex, is the daughter of Jeanie Gallagher, whom some of the Sentinel’s readers might remember from 59 Fountain Street. Her book, published through online company ‘Amazon,’ is called ‘One Hundred Thousand’.

A past pupil of Derry Cathedral Primary School and Templemore Intermediate, the Sentinel was a regular read in Lorinda’s home when she was growing up, but like many other families, when things became fraught in the city, the family moved in 1971 to and at the age of 16 she found herself living in London.

“We went to my relatives in London, and stayed there a few years and then travelled around a bit. We came back to Northern Ireland to Antrim and then went back to England too. I don’t think my parents ever really settled after leaving Londonderry,” said Lorinda.

Whether or not her somewhat nomadic teen years contributed to her love of literature and the written word isn’t clear, but Lorinda revealed that five years ago she began writing herself, putting short stories down on paper for fun.

“I had a story published in Woman’s Weekly a few years back and all the while I was writing novels; the one I got published as an e-book and another one I have not done anything with yet. So I have been writing now for about five years.

“I have an active imagination and I enjoyed writing at school I remember I came second in a competition in Templemore,” she said, adding: “I had to put my writing on hold while I built my adult life so I only came back to it in my mid-50s, but it has always been there.”

Now the author of a self-published e-book which is suitable for download onto a Kindle, Lorinda describes ‘One Hundred Thousand’ as “a multi-level fantasy” which follows the life of a young woman, Ellen Wright, who tells her story through a series of e-mails to a young man.

“It is for the reader to decide whether or not it is real or fiction. Hopefully it will appeal to young teens and adults,” said Lorinda.