Garland became a poet and cabaret performer, performing under the name Rosie Lugosi. Later, she was the victim of a stalker, with the 2007 court case featured as a lead article in the Manchester Evening News. Following several poetry collections, Garland's debut novel, The Palace of Curiosities, was published by HarperCollins in 2013, earning several awards and a longlisting for the Desmond Elliott Prize.
