Caythorpe author’s debut novel puts mythical twist on growing up in rural Lincolnshire

An author’s debut novel puts a fantastical twist on his memories of growing up in the countryside.

Adam Leslie, who grew up in Caythorpe, is releasing Lost in the Garden next Thursday (May 16), retelling his childhood memories of living in rural Lincolnshire, but in a fictional and mythical setting.

The story is adapted from a film script that Adam has been working on and off for the last 30 years.

“It was the first film script I wrote in the early 1990’s before I knew what had to be in a film script,” said Adam.

Currently living in Carlton Scroop, Adam attended school in Caythorpe where he would hang out with his friends and write about his adventures.

He added: “Growing up in Caythorpe, the countryside was the only thing we knew.

“The city kids would have all the joys of the city and all the downsides of the city.

“We were just used to the countryside and this was back in the day when people worried less and me and my pals would just be out in the fields.

“We called it our own. We were surrounded by island villages like Sedgebrook and seeing those names, we would imagine what they were like mythical islands.

“The book is set in that sort of environment.”
Set in a dreamlike state, Lost in the Garden follows three friends - Heather, Antonia and Rachel - as they embark on a road trip to find Heather’s boyfriend Steven who has never returned from the mythical village of Almanby.

“It’s set in the real world, but it is more like magical realism,” said Adam.

Adam added: “It is quite like a folklore horror, but it is for the people that don’t normally like horror.

“Part of it has an uneasy atmosphere, but it’s not too gory like other horrors.”

Although the story is adapted from a film script, the book started to take shape for Adam during the first lockdown in 2020.

He said: “It was my lockdown project. It wasn’t a proper film script, but I didn’t like the idea of it being a film because it’s so personal to me, it’s nostalgic.

“It’s about me growing up in Lincolnshire.”

Ahead of its release, Adam thinks it will be a “fun summer read” for readers.

He said: “It’s also quite good fun. It’s not too serious or brooding. The three characters have a lot of fun between each other.”

For future novels, Adam has a few more ideas he is working on, including a political thriller that is full of “lots of twists and turns”, said Adam.

To find out more about Adam’s debut novel, go to https://deadinkbooks.com/product/lost-in-the-garden/.

Lost in the Garden is published by Dead Ink Books.