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The Turn of the Wheel

The Turn of the Wheel

I am very pleased to announce the release of my latest novel on January 31st. The Turn of the Wheel is set in a small lead mining community, near Pontrhydygroes, about 12 miles east of Aberystwyth in the Ystwyth Valley. The story is that of Owain Thomas and begins with his first day underground at […]

I am very pleased to announce the release of my latest novel on January 31st. The Turn of the Wheel is set in a small lead mining community, near Pontrhydygroes, about 12 miles east of Aberystwyth in the Ystwyth Valley.

The story is that of Owain Thomas and begins with his first day underground at the Frongoch lead mine, as part of his father’s team. The story charts his rites of passage, living in a ty un nos at the nearby village of Trisant. It tells of his struggles underground and his romance with Ceridwen of the troubles Hughes family.

Owain is the father of Dafydd, the railwayman protagonist in ‘By the Banks of the Rheidol’ and ‘The Long Way Home’. This is the first of three stories about Owain. Obviously this means some of his story will overlap Dafydd’s, but seen through another person’s eyes.

The full blurb is as follows:

A historical novel set in the metal mining community of Mid Wales, charting the rite of passage of a young lead miner.

In February 1873, Owain Thomas begins his first day at Frongoch lead mine in the wild uplands of Cardiganshire.The terraced industrial towns of the south are alien to the people in this small community in West Wales. The horse is still king and water turns the great wheels that power the machinery.

Owain’s romantic dreams of starting a man’s job are soon dashed in the cramped tunnels. He learns quicklyto carve his own path in life, aided by the Cornish miner David Treveglos. Life is hard in the close-knit mining community. People cling to the old traditions and religion for support.

Owain befriends Ceridwen Hughes, daughter of the violent, ostracised miner, Gomer. As he reaches maturity, Owain is faced with the dilemma of protecting his family and Ceri from harm and keeping his job. When faced with danger, will the measure of the man come through and his deeds be repaid – for good or ill?

The book is priced at £8.99 and available from local bookshops and my website. It is also available on Amazon (my trading name is GDS Roberts) and Waterstones websites.

I will be providing more background tales in the coming weeks, plus news of a companion story to ‘Forest Brothers’

By Geraint Roberts

Stuck in a limbo and desperate to do something meaningful, what to do? That is where writing began for me. A creative way of expressing myself and a chance to harness my wondering imagination. I close my eyes and I'm there. Wish I'd picked 'there' as a warm sunny day on a sandy beach, with the waves gently lapping on the shore...but I have to let the story load in my mind, then watch it unfold, wherever it may be. Currently I'm on a windy bridge, or a Devon beach, or a Cornish ti mine, or a submarine, or looking towards a Hebridean port...

2 replies on “The Turn of the Wheel”

Dear Geraint,

I’ve just finished ‘The Turn of the Wheel’, a really evocative and engrossing read. I really enjoyed it. I love that you write from a Welsh language perspective, but in English with plenty of Welsh words and culture mixed in.

The story ended on an upbeat note, and quite suddenly. Is there to be a sequel about the lives of Owain and Ceri?

Earlier this year I read ‘The Long Way Home’, after completing ‘By the Banks of the Rheidol’ in 2020. Both equally engrosing and very readable. Thank you for writing these too.

I hope you continue to write more about mid Wales, its people, industry, history and culture.

Best regards,
Phil Copleston
Lanstephan/Launceston, Kernow

Hi Phil

Thanks for your kind words. Yes, there is more. I have just released book 2 – ‘A Time of Goodbyes’, which takes Owain, Ceri and the Frongoch mine forward, to overlap with the time stream of ‘By the Banks’.

After that, there is a third – ‘A light in the Darkness’, which shows the mine’s decline and closure, amid Anglo Italian conflict, strikes and mysterious explosions. It runs parallel to ‘By the Banks’, but from Owain’s perspective, not Dafydd’s.

Then, i am getting some thoughts about a third railway novel, but would probably need to stretch it to WW2 and maybe even early preservation, who knows? 🙂

Hope all is well with you

Regards

Geraint

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