WHERE THE FOLK do I go from here?

My first year as a published author

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“What’s the funniest Welsh folktale you know?”

“The funniest? Oh, yhm… there’s the one about the horse that shi-.” I glance at the young children sat in the front and hesitate. “…poops gold. I won’t go into details on that one though!”

The audience laughs and a hand is raised. Thank God - I can’t actually remember any details of that one whatsoever. “Yes?”

“Who’s your favourite folklore character or figure?”

Tam Lin Retold, Swindon Festival of Literature 2024

“Oh, wow! That’s a tricky one. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve always preferred Batman over Superman, prefer the anti-hero to the nerd, you know? I’m the same with the characters of lore, and for that reason, I’m gonna’ have to go with Efnysien from the Second Branch of the Mabinogi. Bit of a bast- a real troublemaker throughout most of the tale, he’s the one who instigates the war with the Irish after all, but in the end, he sacrifices himself in order to save the day by jumping into the Cauldron of Rebirth. He’s an interesting one, Efnysien”

This is a breeze, I really know my stuff! Shuffling uncomfortably on my stool, I point to the next person. “Yes?”

“There are a lot of shapeshifters in Welsh mythology. What are your thoughts on those having derived from Neolithic shamanism?”

“Yhm…”

This is the second event I’ve done now and there’s a lot more to come. So how is it that a writer, someone who generally enjoys their own company and would rather not be narrating tales in front of an interrogating audience, ends up being interrogated on stage by a curious yet scarily well-informed audience?

Where the Folk (2024)

He gets published, that’s how. Those of you who have been following my blog will know that Where the Folk all started during lockdown. Back when travel restrictions were in place, I found myself having to think outside the box when deciding to go make the most of my daily exercise allowance. It’s funny, I only missed it when I wasn’t allowed it. I was reading up a lot on Welsh folklore at the time and decided to check out the places where some of the stories were based.

Whenever I told a friend that I was reading up on Welsh mythology, so many of them replied with something along the lines of “Argh, I’m Welsh, I should know these stories!” that I decided to write a blog about my outings. That’s when I went down a “folklore rabbit hole” of sorts and found myself with more questions than answers. For this reason, I decided to approach local historians and folklorists and such, posting our interviews for the blog.  

By that point I was getting “likes” by other people who weren’t my mum, so I kicked it up a notch and approached several publishers, proposing that Where the Folk would actually make a decent book. To my delight, Calon got back to me and agreed – Where the Folk would make a decent book! And so, the blog was put aside for a bit while I went off on my Welsh folklore road trip.

Now here I am in 2024, spreading the word like some Welsh folklore messiah.

“Speak up!”

The journey is far from over. Like I said, there’s a lot more of these events to come, plus there are podcasts to appear on and journalists to meet with, then there’s the never-ending task of keeping my social media presence afloat. But as for Where the Folk: The Blog, I think the time has come to put it to rest so I can concentrate on other projects. Who knows, this could be the beginning of something big for me, so I need some new tricks to pull out my sleeve.

Diolch o galon (see what I did there?) to all of you who have made this possible by sending me your likes and comments and for sharing my posts for others to see. Without you I never would have approached Calon in the first place.

I shall see you on my next adventure!

Russ

Where the Folk (2024)

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