Publishing deal for Larne children's author Tim Bailie after mentorship by 'StokerVerse' co-creator, Chris McAuley
A Larne author is set to take his range of children’s books to a wider audience after securing a new publishing deal.
Tim Bailie, author of ‘The Six-Legged Spider', was recently offered a contract by Crystal Lake Publishing.
The company, best known for horror and dark fiction titles, are the publishers behind works by NI-born Chris McAuley.
Chris, along with Dacre Stoker is co-creator of the ‘StokerVerse’, a continuation of Dracula author Bram Stoker’s legacy.
The publishing deal came about through an “unusual set of circumstances,” Tim said. "Last year while leaving a donation into the Salvation Army Charity shop in Larne, I got chatting with one of their volunteers, Lorraine Craig, who asked what I did for a living,” he added.
"When I told her I was a writer, she said I should get in touch with her friend Chris McAuley who was a very successful. Since then, Chris very kindly took the time to message me and chat on the phone a number of times, offering support and very helpful advice. He contacted me one day to say that he'd passed my books on to his publisher, Crystal Lake Publishing, who were keen to chat with me with a view to taking me on as one of their writers.”
Following a lengthy Zoom chat with the company's CEO, which Chris agreed to sit in on, Tim was offered a contract.
“They are in the process of setting up a division for children's books and will be making my rhyming picture books 'The Six-Legged Spider', 'Mouse and the Moon Rocket' and 'The Proud Parakeet' available to a worldwide audience,” the local writer said. “They have also contracted me to write novels and more rhyming picture books. The first book as part of this deal will be a rhyming picture book which should hopefully be released this Christmas.
“This is immensely exciting as it creates a route for my existing stories to reach a much wider audience as well as the opportunity to release future books through an established and respected publishing company. Throughout this whole process Chris has been like a mentor to me - from giving advice and encouragement to having the confidence in my writing to introduce me to his publisher. I'm also extremely grateful to Lorraine for the introduction in the first place and it all started in the Salvation Army shop in Larne.”
To find out more information about Tim and his books, please visit www.timbailiebooks.com
Meanwhile, Tim is due to meet New York Times best-selling writer Chris in person with both authors set to pay a visit to Larne’s Salvation Army shop in early May.
Whilst home Chris, who is originally from Broughshane and now lives in Canada, will be popping into his former school, Ballymena Primary, where a library is due to be opened in his name.
A documentary on his works and career, recorded by New York-based XG3 Productions, will be shown at various film festivals across North America next year.
The co-creator of Dark Legacies, a sci-fi franchise with Claudia Christian of Babylon 5, Chris has also contributed to iconic franchises like Doctor Who, Star Trek, and Battlestar Galactica.