Setting the scene

Jenny O’Brien has used North Wales as the backdrop for her popular crime fiction series. Here she explains how she views the region through an author’s lens…

Wales has a long history of storytelling, which goes back centuries. From folk tales told around the fire to the poetry

of Dylan Thomas and Hedd Wyn. Even Roald Dahl, from strong Norwegian roots, hailed from Cardiff. But with such a diverse landscape and culture, it’s hardly surprising that Welsh writers excel in their craft.

Wales: the country that has everything to inspire. Sea and mountains. Coalfields and caves. Cities and slate mines. A

veritable breeding ground of inspiration for the budding wordsmith. There is only one problem. I’m not Welsh.

Actually, that’s not quite true. With a great grandmother that hailed from Pembroke Dock, I am reliably informed, via a quick Google search, that I am an eighth Welsh. However, this small percentage is important not least because it is the reason for my long association with the country.

CONWY HAS ALWAYS FASCINATED ME. THE MIXTURE OF EDWARD 1’S CASTLE TOWERING OVER THE MEDIEVAL WALLED TOWN WITH THE RIVER IN THE BACKGROUND. THE ARTISAN SHOPS, CAFÉS AND BAKERIES STRADDLING THE STREETS. THE CASTLE IS A REAL JEWEL IN WALES’S CROWN

‘Lost Souls’ sees the return of detective Gaby Darin as 10-yearold Ellie Fry goes missing from her home in Colwyn Bay

One of my first memories is of sitting on Llandudno beach,

my trusty red bucket in one hand and my blue spade in the other. We started visiting when I was a baby and continued the tradition right up to when my parents moved from Dublin to North Wales full time when I was seventeen. In those days, I was more interested in the action in the amusement arcade that bracketed the pier than in the culture and scenery: the lens of a teenager is very different to that of an adult.

Conwy has always fascinated me. The mixture of Edward 1’s castle towering over the medieval walled town with the river in the background. The artisan shops, cafés and bakeries straddling the streets. The castle is a real jewel in Wales’s crown. The perfect size for a wander before strolling down to the shops for a browse, closely followed by a meal in one of the many bars and restaurants. But there is far more to this perfect little town than fabulous scenery and epicurean delights.

Caernarfon is a great source of inspiration to Jenny Conwy has always fascinated Jenny

WITH SIX BOOKS IN THE SERIES NOW WRITTEN, FOUR PUBLISHED, I HAVE SPENT A HUGE AMOUNT OF TIME BOTH LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY HURTLING UP THE A55 IN SEARCH OF INSPIRATION

Betws-y-Coed is the ideal location for the fictitious, upmarket hotel of Paintings, which gets a mention in two of Jenny’s books

When I was searching for a location to set my first book, it made sense to

choose somewhere I knew. Conwy was already on the list when I started delving into the life of King Edward 1. It steamed right to the top the further I dipped into his varied and often vicious past. His love of pomp and ceremony. His link to King Arthur’s crown, Coron Arthur. His obliteration of the Welsh royal family, which culminated in the banishment of Princess Gwenllian to an English priory. It was a story I felt needed to be retold for a younger generation. The ghost of King Arthur and a couple of eleven-year-old boys from Conwy on a hunt to return the Welsh crown to the princess. This story finally turned into Boy Brainy.

Have you heard of St Non? St Non, according to the writings of a Norman

cleric, in about 1095, was the mother of St David, the patron saint of Wales. I won’t go into specifics, but her life appears

to be even more tragic than that of Princess Gwenllian’s. The chapel of St Non is situated near to the coastal path that skirts Pembrokeshire, the sheer cliffs dropping into the sea below. As a crime writer, the dark story in tandem with the wild landscape and my own Welsh roots made this area the ideal location for Silent Cry, the first book in my police

procedural series. But I didn’t linger. West Wales is all very well, but I have spent far more time pootling around North Wales. I know my limitations.

In Darkest Night, I shifted my detective to St Asaph and had her focusing on a case along the West Shore. Llandudno has a strong literary heritage with links to one of the most famous children’s books of all – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Lewis Carroll is purported to have based the story around Alice Liddle. Alice started visiting the West Shore when she was eight. The rest of the tale leaves more to the imagination than an ability to relay the facts. But, as a writer, it seemed apt to set part of Darkest Night in a fictitious house set very near to the Liddle’s

holiday home of ‘Penmorfa’.

With six books in the series now written, four published, I have spent a huge amount of time both literally and figuratively hurtling up the

Llandudno has a host of literary connections

HAVE YOU HEARD OF ST NON? ST NON, ACCORDING TO THE WRITINGS OF A NORMAN CLERIC, IN ABOUT 1095, WAS THE MOTHER OF ST DAVID, THE PATRON SAINT OF WALES

A55 in search of inspiration. Betws-y-Coed isn’t on the A55, but it was always going to feature. There is something about the place that brings a flood of happy memories. However,

I like Betws-y-Coed too much to use it as the setting for a crime. But it is the ideal location for the fictitious, upmarket

hotel of Paintings, which gets a mention in two of my books.

Caernarfon is perfect. I could stop there. That three-word sentence works fine by itself. King Edward again features

with another of his castles, but it’s the setting on the Welsh Coastal Path and the beautiful walks that made me take note when I was in book planning mode. The lush green surroundings. The farmland that cuts through everything. The ideal place for an isolated farmhouse (Fallen Angel). The perfect end to a road trip (Lost Souls).

I have said nothing about Guernsey, my current home. Why would I? It can surely hold little interest for the readers of North Wales Magazine. And yet… Have you heard of Saint Tudwal’s Islands, a small archipelago just off the Llŷn

Peninsula, which lies south of Abersoch? It is quite possible as Bear Grylls owns one. Saint Tudwal, also known as Saint Tugual, was a Breton monk who ended up as a hermit on one of these islands. He later moved back to Brittany. Herm is the smallest of the inhabited islands in the Guernsey Bailiwick. It has a small chapel. St Tugual’s. I used this connection when I wrote the sequel to Boy Brainy. Bardsey Island also gets a mention in addition to its famed ‘rarest apple in the world’. Not so rare. I have a tree growing in my back garden. I am hoping that this year it will bear fruit…n

Born in Dublin, Jenny O’Brien moved to Wales and then Guernsey, where she tries to find time to write in between working as a nurse and ferrying around three teenagers. In her spare time she can be found frowning at her wonky cakes and even wonkier breads. You’ll be pleased to note she won’t be entering Bake-Off. She’s also an allyear-round sea swimmer.