Turning Pain into Pages: Newport Authors Transform Grief into Fantasy Worlds
Dealing with grief can be incredibly difficult, often shaping lives in ways that are hard to put into words. After six years marked by loss, grief, and cancer diagnoses, two local Newport authors have channelled that pain into creating entirely new worlds.
Stuart Kenny and Tasha May are a couple who have used their experiences of grief to transform their lives through writing, turning personal hardship into powerful storytelling.
Inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, The Witcher series, and The Lord of the Rings, their fantasy books are filled with subtle reflections of their real lives, blending imagination with emotional truth.
‘The Lord of the Rings and The Witcher – both of them show they are very good at detailing resilience and especially in dark settings and horrifically dark times,’ said Stuart.
‘When I write it, I try to balance those elements and make the world that feels dangerous and ancient and characters who can carry that weight of that world and a story that still leaves room for courage and humility and humanity and a lot of humour.’
They have each published two books so far. Stuart’s works, Aelar’s Awakening and Aelar’s Truth, and Tasha’s novels, Moon Woken and Moon Fury, have begun to build their respective series, with a third and final instalment planned to conclude their characters’ journeys.
Stuart has explained that his ending will remain intentionally ambiguous, avoiding a neatly tied resolution and instead leaving his characters as ‘forever reluctant heroes,’ describing their journey as ‘A horrible rollercoaster that we can’t seem to get off.’
That emotional intensity is mirrored in his characters and their development across his books. ‘In my first book he screams, he shouts. In my second book he’s very stoic. All these things piled on him, it doesn’t affect him. My third book is where he breaks which mimics life stages of grief.’
Tasha also draws deeply from personal experience in shaping her characters. ‘I shaped my main character very much on my own life. You write what you know. I know me quite well. She kind of became the way I kind of could explore my own feelings without having to necessarily talk directly to anyone. You know, the grief that makes you feel kind of disconnected from your world.’
Both authors reflected on how naturally their stories began to take shape. ‘The first book kind of wrote itself. It came in such big waves. There were almost too many ideas to a point. And once you kind of start writing outside the world of the realms of the game, it becomes so much easier to create a world.’
They have both donated their books to Newport Library and are planning to meet readers at upcoming signing events, including one on 15 May at Newport Library and another on 6 June at Malpas Library.
Tasha, who was born and raised in Newport, spoke about what it means to see her work in the local library.
‘I’m local, Newport, born and bred. I’ve spent all my life here apart from a few years at uni. It’s my home. So, sharing my work with our work with the local community feels especially meaningful. I mean, this place is where our journey began. So, being able to give something back feels really important to both of us.’
Stuart was recently diagnosed with kidney cancer, and he described how writing has helped him cope through such a challenging time.
‘Honestly, without writing, I genuinely don’t know what we would have done. It would have been sitting in front of the telly, mindless, mind somewhere else. Sitting down allowed me to step into another world for a while, like she said. It hasn’t made the situations disappear, but it’s made them bearable. A breathing space and something positive to focus all my energy on other than worry and dread which often is the case.’
Tasha also shared that she is dyslexic, something that has presented its own challenges but has not held her back.
‘For a long time people often see dyslexia as something to hold you back, especially when it comes to reading, writing. I’ve learned it doesn’t have to limit you’
‘The main thing I want people to take away is that you can do it. You should do it. Even if it’s just a small two-page story. You’ve got an idea. Do it. Do it.’
Both series are available on Amazon, with Stuart’s books also stocked in Waterstones and Barnes & Noble, marking an important milestone in their writing journey and helping their stories reach an even wider audience.
