I have worked as a storyteller for over 25 years in festivals, schools and theatres. I published an e-book of Welsh folktales that became an Amazon #1 bestseller in 2015. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to create a Young Adult novel through the Cinnamon Press Leaf by Leaf scheme. The book is called Pig Boy and is a faithful adaptation of the story of Culhwch and Olwen from the Mabinogion.
Culhwch doesn’t do that much in the medieval manuscript so I decided to make him the main character just to see how he would cope. Strangely, once I had done this, it didn’t feel like it was me, the author, who was creating the story but the story itself. Annwfn (the Welsh Underworld of our ancestors) is an important part of the story and brings a feeling of magic and danger into the action. I’ve changed the balance of the story in order to have more female characters and emphasise the beautiful landscape of Wales.
I really enjoy facilitating other’s creativity, especially young people. See this website https://yrawen.wordpress.com/ for examples of poetry created by school groups following storytelling sessions.
