Walker on YouTube

Well...not quite.  But in the last couple of days I've seen a couple of vids that show the inspiration for Walker pretty darn well.  Can landscape be a muse? Oh I think so.
The first is a music vid made by a local film-maker, Conor Purcell.  His vid shows the many moods of the moor beautifully - and stars some deeply cute Exmoor ponies.  Mind you, I don't envy Guy his dip in the sea - not at this time of year!



The second is from Mike and the Mechanics which was flagged up to me on Twitter.  I love the sweeping shots on this, showing the coastland around the edge of the moor and, in particular, the tiny church at Culbone - which appears in the book as Kitnor, home of the Kashebah.



Take a look.  Better still, come visit!

Walker in images

Images are hugely important to me as a writer.  I see scenes in my head and then just let my hand write them down, trying to translate what I see, hear, smell, touch into words.
So Pinterest, a place where you can 'pin' images is a huge boon to me as a writer.  It's a place where I can pull together all the images that inspire me.  And, even better, I can show you a little of what's inside my head when I write.
So, do check out the board for Walker here.  It will show you a little of the wild Exmoor countryside that beats at the heart of the book.  And some vague ideas of the animals.  The people?  Not so much.  I know exactly what they look like but I suspect that, if you read the book, you would rather have your own idea.  Because that is part of the magic of reading, isn't it?

Anyhow, here's a little taster...

Trees are central to Walker.  I love this image - with the roots as important as the foliage.  In shamanism, the shaman will often use a tree as a means of accessing the upper and lower worlds - the upper by climbing up the branches of the tree; the lower by winding your way down through its roots.

This image reminds me of the Lady of the Deer - a strange creature, so wild she has almost become part of the land.

The Ferish are my 'fairy' folk - fierce warriors who have had to 'slide sideways' to keep out of the way of modern mankind. This image sums up their proud demeanour perfectly. Shame you can't see the tail. 

The great stag. The 'health stalker'.  Exmoor is synonymous with the wild red deer who roam freely over its moorland and wooded combes.

Why did I write Walker?

Why does anyone write a book? Because they have a story to tell, I suppose.

But there are several reasons why I wanted to write this particular book.

Exmoor: When I was a child I used to stay with my grandparents at the other end of Somerset, in a small town called Castle Cary. We would go on coach trips to the seaside but the trip I really wanted to go on was to a place called Exmoor. It just sounded wild and magical. When I finally went there, many many years later, I realised it was all that and more.

I have lived on Exmoor for about twelve years now - firstly right out on the wild moor, and now on the edges of the National Park, in a (very) small town called Dulverton.

Exmoor is packed with legends and with wildlife. At our old home we would watch the wild red deer come within yards of our house. We followed the progress of fox cubs, observing their earth about twenty yards from our kitchen window. Buzzards circled overhead and at night we would hear owls - tawny and barn. At one point we even had a family of stoats living just outside the front door...

It's not just the animals. On Exmoor there are hills supposedly built by fairies. There are strange beasts and ghosts and places people won't go after dark. It is an ancient place, with wild open moors, deep combes (steep valleys), fast-flowing rivers and isolated villages. The perfect setting for a spooky story...

Shamanism: Many years ago I met a shaman called Leo Rutherford and he sparked my interest in this most ancient of practices. Intrigued, I went on courses run by The Sacred Trust, both in London and in Devon. Here I learned how to 'walk between worlds' for myself. I met spirit guides and was taught how to do healing; how to practice 'soul retrieval' and how to help the dead to transit over into the afterlife. All the practices you will read about in Walker, actually.

I wanted to write a book that was steeped in real magic - not just make-believe. Pretty well every shamanic technique you read about in Walker is real - and I've done them all. Okay, I took a bit of liberty with the shape-shifting in this reality - but you can indeed take on the characteristics of an animal guide. For example, if I'm driving my car on a difficult journey, I often call on the power of the far-sighted eagle. If I'm in a tricky situation, with sneaky people, I will summon up the characteristics of the smart coyote or cunning fox.

Good old-fashioned storytelling: When I was young I was entranced by the books of Alan Garner and Susan Cooper. They were authors who wrote about strange things happening in this world, in the everyday world. I have always loved the idea that the world of magic or the supernatural is really there all the time, if you know where to look for it. I am fascinated by things you see out of the corner of your eye; by the mood or atmosphere of places; by the spooky and uncanny.

This is just a few opening thoughts. If you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them...just leave a comment.