I'm writing a dark fantasy novel, painting bold colours within charity-shop frames, and making music from a cottage in the hills.
The kingdom is still there. The secrets are patient.
Two and a half years ago I had a dream so vivid, so cinematic, that I woke up and couldn't stop writing. I've always had lucid dreams — the kind you can step back into, rewind, edit. This one was different.
I wrote intermittently for two years alongside working full time — stolen early mornings, late nights, weekends on the hills. Now I'm at the final stages of my debut fantasy novel, The Avalan. It's time to make it real.
When I'm not writing you'll find me with oil pastels and a charity-shop frame, making music as ORIEL, or walking the Malvern Hills until something worth writing about occurs to me.
"Started with a dream I couldn't shake. Two and a half years later, it's nearly a book."
Eighteen years ago, an entire kingdom was erased from every map and every memory. Someone made sure of that. Now the secrets are surfacing — and nothing is what it seems.
"The kingdom at the heart of this tale has been lost for eighteen years, erased from maps and memory alike. But kingdoms, like secrets, have a way of surfacing when you least expect them."
✦ Meet the characters ✦
Follow the story behind the story and be the first to know when The Avalan is ready
Most novel updates & behind-the-scenes live here pre-publication
I’m actively seeking literary representation for The Avalan. If you’re a book agent or publisher and would like to know more, please get in touch — info@millicentorielaps.com
"I woke up from a dream so vivid I couldn't stop writing. I've always had lucid dreams — the kind you can rewind like a film. This one wouldn't stop playing on repeat."
I find frames in charity shops and paint each piece to fit — every original is completely one of a kind.
Affordable prints available to buy now. Original oil pastels are also listed — to purchase an original, drop me an email.
Browse the Shop ✨
Original oil pastels, each one painted to fit a charity-shop frame — every piece completely unique. Browse Instagram for the full portfolio and email to enquire about availability.
Under the name ORIEL, I make music that sits somewhere between indie, atmospheric, and wherever the feeling takes me. The same instinct as the writing and the painting — a different medium, the same need to make something.
The Avalan, art in progress, ORIEL music, and life in the hills.
Dispatches from the hills — the novel, the art, the music, and everything in between.
Three dreams in a week — that's where this started. The first came at 3am, vivid enough that I woke up and immediately started writing. It came back the next two nights, slightly different each time, like I was editing the story in my sleep.
From that first morning, I knew. When the characters started to feel more real than memory, I wrote such detailed descriptions of each of them that I made AI reference images from those notes. They're still on my wall.
The world of The Avalan is so real to me that I hand-painted a map of Atheneum — the kingdom at the heart of the story. I later edited it on Canva to get the final version. If you scroll down you'll find it in the novel section.
More in the newsletterTwo and a half years in and I'd do it all again. Writing The Avalan brings me more joy than I know what to do with — even on the days I write one sentence and call it done.
I already have the prequel and sequel in my head. I write when I feel it, no word counts, no self-imposed deadlines. That's exactly why it's taken this long. And I wouldn't change it.
More in the newsletterI work full time. This novel has been written on commutes, in evenings, on Sunday mornings before the day properly starts — not in long uninterrupted sessions, mostly in pockets.
What I've learnt is that it doesn't need perfect conditions. It just needs to matter enough. And this does.
More in the newsletterUpdates on The Avalan, new art, ORIEL music, and dispatches from life in the Malvern Hills.
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