Allana Raine King, from Bristol, passed away in 2018 at the age of 19 due to complications from encephalitis, a rare autoimmune brain condition.
Her grandmother,Lorraine Martin says writing was her granddaughter’s life
“By the time she was a teenager, Allana was rarely without a notebook, recording her feelings and daily experiences”.
According to her grandmother, Lorraine Martin, after the death of Allana, she realized that her granddaughter had completed 90% of her novel before her death.
Ms Martin, from Weston-super-Mare, north Somerset, had no prior writing experience. But, the daunting task ahead was nothing before her love towards her late granddaughter.She wanted to realise her granddaughter’s dream of getting the book published which has finally come true.
The book “Land of the Free” is now on sale at Bristol’s Waterstones. The cover shows a young man with long hair standing, looking up at the night sky with his right arm raised in the air. The moon can be seen in the top left corner, while a mysterious green light tracks across the sky.
The book, Land of the Free, follows a young man called Rocky in a dystopian world, where technology has taken over.
Ms Martin told the BBC her task of finishing the novel was made easier by extensive notes, left by Allana.
“I felt like I was lost at sea initially,” Ms Martin said.
“One day I came to the realisation that I’ve got to make an attempt to do this.
“And the story line was captivating so I got engrossed into it and it kept going from where Allana had arrived in the story.
“I found myself in a zone and the words and the storyline just seemed to happen spontaneously.”
At the time of her death, Allana was set to head to university to study creative writing.
Ms Martin always dreamed walking past Waterstone’s and seeing Allana’s book there.
“To have that dream, it was like my dream for her [has] come true.”
Half of all the proceeds made will go towards Encephalitis International, which supports the 4,000 people diagnosed with the condition in the UK each year.
