The Wind Road

The willow-tree girl slipped from the stable and skipped up the road, as though she went not into a poorly ventilated, overworked mine tunnel a mile-and-a-half underground, but into the deep dark magic of a faerie mound. In 1984, a young girl named Jemima, born over an abandoned mine tunnel, forms a bond with a ‘soot-man’ she sees each night in her dreams. In 1934, Wey Smith, a miner down Gresford, glimpses a ghost girl following him around in the dark. In 2014, an old man sits alone in a colliery cottage, haunted by the legend of Weyland the Smith, a statue of a black swan, and the men entombed below. Set during the build-up and aftermath of the disaster, we uncover their mysterious connection through time. Inspired by actual events, The Wind Road is a tale of magic, coal mining, and the meaning of myth in our lives. ‘It has something which all real writing must have: something indefinable but real.’ Paul Kingsnorth, author of The Wake ‘I’m completely blown away by the depth and beauty of this novel. The touch remains light, but devastatingly effective. The prose style is so poetic, so evocative, and as crisp as an autumn morning. There’s not a word wasted, but every image, every symbol is resonant and rich.’ Dr Stephen Carver, author, editor and literary historian.

Pages: 328, Hardcover, Imprint unknown