Now begins the Long Dark. Running through it, tales strung out like a chain of lights, stories strange enough to make the bear stir in his slumber and the children gasp; while the goblin twists his beard around his knuckles as he dreams of perilous caves, and the mortal chill of gold.

And so, as the eve of Christmas draws near, old friends gather again, Baba Yaga, old Nikolai with stooped back and open sack, the swan princess. Here at last comes the tailor, arm in arm with the gnome, and the matryoshkas, giggling and blushing as they crowd towards the light of the Tree.

I’ve cracked - stove lit, door barred and I’m pulling together my notes on novel 2, starring a fake medium, a timeslip baddie and an aged Greenham Common activist with a serious attitude problem - what else is there to do with my wild and precious life? (Also it’s blowing a hooley outside 😅)

Final hours of a massive 85k edit. There may be whisky in that glass. Long live tales that hug the liminal - religions, folklore, superstition - stories we tell ourselves in order to feel safe when the lights go out. This story - who knows. #ancestors #preseli #debut #books #amwriting #tylwythteg