The Book I Always Wanted to Write: A Guest Post by Evie Woods
Have you ever brushed up against the unknown, where our realm thins and another one is just out of reach? Author Evie Woods (The Lost Bookshop) grew up surrounded by the folktales and folklore of Ireland where the possibility of magic existed around every corner. Read on to discover the inspiration behind her latest novel, The Story Collector, and how it pays homage to these beliefs in her exclusive guest post.
Paperback $18.99
The Story Collector
The Story Collector
By Evie Woods
In Stock Online
Paperback $18.99
Part historical fantasy and part mystery, this book about books takes us back and forth in time to a magical world — one that’s just out of reach.
Part historical fantasy and part mystery, this book about books takes us back and forth in time to a magical world — one that’s just out of reach.
The Story Collector is the book I always wanted to write but couldn’t quite figure out where to begin. I mean, how do you explain things like fairy forts, the terrifying wail of the banshee or the dire consequences of cutting down a hawthorn tree, to people who haven’t grown up with these ancient customs, or piseogs as we call them? That was until I came across a book by a man called Walter Yeeling Evans-Wentz. An American anthropologist, he was inspired by Yeats and our president, Douglas Hyde, to conduct scholarly research of the fairy faith in Ireland in the early 1900s. Seeing Ireland and our culture through his eyes, I knew at once that I had the key to unlocking this story. It would take the arrival of an outsider, much like Lockwood in Wuthering Heights, to interpret the old ways on behalf of the reader and ultimately, become a part of the story himself.
The Story Collector is a book that is very close to my heart because, even though it is set in County Clare, it’s really based on my mother’s home in County Mayo. The story is sprinkled with tales from her childhood and that of my father’s. They grew up in a time when Ireland was on the cusp of change and it’s something they wanted us to experience as kids, going back to the old places on our summer holidays. Every bridge, mountain and field had a story attached to it. There was a fairy ring behind my cousin’s house and we used to crouch down by the stones, hoping to catch a glimpse or hear the music of The Good People. I wanted to capture that sense of belief and wonder and pass along these stories to a new generation.
Despite the relentless march of progress in our modern world, there is still magic in this land, if you know where to look. As part of my research, I actually visited the portal to the Otherworld (no really, I did!) It’s called Oweynagat and it is said that on Samhain (Halloween) you might see the Morrigan appear from another realm. For such an auspicious place, you would expect an entrance fee, or at the very least, a few sign posts! Yet in typical Irish fashion, it lies down an old boreen, past the rusty farm gate and at the top of a very unassuming field. Things like that are simply commonplace in Ireland – the landscape is rich with history and I feel very fortunate that our ancient beliefs are woven into the fabric of our lives. Even though Irish people take an a la carte approach to the old superstitions, there’s still a healthy respect for these places.
I am always drawn to writing about liminal places, where our ordinary and everyday lives brush up against the supernatural world, just hidden from view. I love the magic that exists in the space just beyond our knowing, creating a sense of oneness and yet otherness. Even this book came about from a wish I made underneath a Hawthorn tree and no-one will ever convince me otherwise. Belief is a powerful thing and I hope that The Story Collector will reignite peoples’ belief in the sacredness of the natural world and the wisdom of our ancestors.
