STEPHEN-GATELY.ORG
"I'm glad I've helped to inspire people
and I hope I can carry on doing that.."
WRITING
We all know it, Stephen was a creative man and was successful in mastering all kinds of arts: performing, songwriting, acting, dancing.. It's no surprise then that he added another one to his list, writing. Stephen had a dream of writing a children's book and in 2005 he finally began to work on what was to become his first fantasy novel, The Tree of Seasons.
Typing away on his laptop every free moment he had for four years (that includes backstage during the Boyzone tours), he was only a few pages away from finishing the book when he suddenly passed. But having carefully kept notes about the ending and told Andrew, his husband, about it, the book was eventually completed with the help of June Considine and Jules Williams. The book was released on 13th May 2010 and became the biggest selling childrens book in Ireland only two weeks after its release and spent three consecutive weeks in the UK Best Sellers list, thus adding the title of 'Best Selling Author' to the list of Stephen's accomplishments.
On this page you will find more about the book and where to buy it.
THE TREE OF SEASONS
"When Josh, Michael and Beth Lotts catch sight of some mysterious lights and sounds one evening, they are drawn to the edge of the daunting forest near their home where no one dares to go.
The Tree of Seasons is a hidden portal into another world filled with magic. Within the tree there are four kingdoms, each represents a season and has its own ruler. The tree and the world it conceals have existed for hundreds of years and have never been uncovered by anyone from the human world, until now.
The Lotts find that peace has been shattered in this magical world. One ruler, who bears a remarkable resemblance to their aunt is intent on power at all costs. She causes destruction and suffering that threaten to tear worlds apart. Josh, Michael and Beth have arrived just in time to take part in the battle that the other three kingdoms have to fight in order to survive.
The Tree of Seasons is a beautiful story of good and evil and a vividly imagined portrait of a world beyond our own."
EDITIONS
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 320 pages
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Release date: 13 May 2010
Language: English
Buy it here:
Format: Paperback
Pages: 320 pages
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Release date: 14 April 2011
Language: English
Buy it here:
The first thing I noticed about Stephen was his smile.
Stephen was one of those completely transparent people. When he smiled, his sweetness, gentleness and kindness shone out of him. He also had a huge love of life and whenever he appeared in the doorway with his dimples and infectious laugh, we all knew we were going to have fun, fun, fun. From the moment we met, Stephen and I were great friends.
Friends are people who are on your side, even when you are in the wrong. Both Stephen and I have had times when we've been down, and I was very glad to help him in the period after Boyzone split up. He said he missed the guys, and I think he may have worried he was losing their friendship. Of course he wasn't, and by the time of his tragic death, Stephen, Ronan, Mikey, Shane and Keith, were reunited.
As well as being highly sensitive, Stephen was also incredibly brave. He was described in the Times as 'A hero of gay rights', being the first boy band member to come out. David and I are very proud that we introduced Stephen to Andy, who was to become his life's partner, at a party in 2002. We are also very proud of Andy because, despite his terrible loss and grief, he has seen this book's publication through to the end, knowing that this is what Stephen would have wanted.
Stephen often talked about his childhood. He was proud of the backstreets of Dublin, where he was raised by loving parents. The family was very poor, but Stephen would always laugh about the times he had to sell firewood door to door at 10p per bag, or walk to school in shoes stuffed with cardboard to keep the rain out. Stephen never forgot what it was like to be a child, and it was perhaps this quality that made his star shine so brightly. He and I shared a love of the films of Disney and The Wizard Of Oz, and both of these are a big influence on the magical story that is The Tree Of Seasons.
I miss Stephen. I miss him so much. But his book reminds me of many of his best qualities, and just thinking about it makes me smile too."
FOREWORD BY SIR ELTON JOHN
ARTWORK
The Tree of Season was illustrated by Stephen's friend, Keith Wilson. Keith sadly passed away in 2011 but shared many of his illustrations for the book before he did.
THE TREE OF SEASON LIMITED CALENDAR
In 2011, Stephen's friend and Keith Wilson's partner David Byrne produced an exclusive The Tree Of Seasons desk calendar with Keith's coloured illustrations.
The special edition calendar was produced in limited quantity and was created to help raise funds for Caudwell Children, a charity close to Stephen's heart. For each £10 spent on a calendar, £2.50 was donated to Caudwell Children.
The calendar could be only be ordered through Stephen's official website until December 2011, making it a rare and precious item.
If you still have yours and want your photo to be featured on this page, send us an email!
