Guest Post: Gerard Kelly Author of The Boy Who Loved Rain

Today on the blog Gerard Kelly talks about his debut novel 'The Boy Who Loved Rain'

Having published over 15 non-fiction books in 20 years, I am thrilled to announce the birth of my first novel. The Boy Who Loved Rain will be published by Lion fiction on November 21st. Available online and in bookshops… 

The first version of this novel was written ten years ago, an overblown end-of-the-world epic with angels, volcanoes and a melting earth. It was submitted to Lion and roundly rejected, for very good reasons. Writers, don’t forget to thank the publishers who sensibly reject you when you’re still living on planet Zarg.

The present novel came to life on the day (I can still remember the moment) when I started listening to my characters. Only two remain from that first War of The Worlds pastiche, but others grew up around them. I had never realised they would speak words their author hadn’t heard before, but they did. They started telling their own story, to me and to each other. My job was just to write down what they said.

The result is a book I’m extremely proud of. I’m sure it still has faults… I’ll leave you to find them for yourself, but I cry when I read it, and I think it is a genuine human story worthy of the telling.

Do let me know what you think…

The Blurb

Colom had the perfect childhood – the much-loved only child of a highly respected church pastor and parenting mentor. Yet he wakes screaming from recurring dreams in which his sister is drowning and he can’t save her.   
Gradually Colom withdraws from his family and friends – sullen and non-communicative one moment, angry and lashing out the next. Desperate to help their son, his mother Fiona turns to her husband for support. But David will not accept that outside help is needed.  

Then a close school friend of Colom’s hangs himself. And they find Colom’s own suicide pledge, hidden neatly away in his room.  

In panic, Fiona takes Colom and flees, turning to Miriam, an old friend, for guidance and seeking refuge with her in France. But Miriam has secrets of her own. What revelations will come to light under the blue skies of Portivy – and will they come in time to save Colom from self-destruction?  


In a style reminiscent of Jodi Picoult, Gerard Kelly’s beautifully written and searching debut novel explores the toxicity of secrets and lies, the nature of healing, the enduring strength of family ties, and the ever-present power of rain.  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Gerard Kelly is a writer, preacher-poet, Mac lover and coffee drinker. He and his wife Chrissie have lived and worked in the UK, France and the Netherlands, and are popular speakers at conferences in Europe. In 1995, they founded Cafe-net, the European missions project that became The Bless Network in 2004. They currently live in Basse Normandy, France.   



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