Gerard Harries
Gerard Harries
Gerard is a writer and landscape architect, and attributes a longing to understand our complex relationship with nature as a continuing influence on his work. He writes literary fantasy and horror with thriller and mystery strands. He is particularly interested in how folklore interweaves with psychology over time, becoming part of our identity or something new entirely.
Gerard's mentee journey
Gerard was one of the three mentees for the 2019 scheme. As part of this, he worked on his fourth novel which is based in Connemara, Ireland, and takes inspiration from well-known myths and local superstitions, switching between the past and present, between changelings, pagan history and the Church.
“The mentorship scheme was as much a literary soul-searching experience for me as it was about immersing myself in my novel. From the start, Rod Duncan saw that I needed guidance on my genre. Through honest feedback and engaging conversations, he helped me find clarity and this has directly influenced the way I write. This opportunity with the WEM mentorship scheme allowed me to take my writing to a different level that somehow feels more ‘me’ than it did before.”
What next?
He has recently moved to Sweden with his family and intends to start querying whilst soaking up inspiration from the Scandinavian landscape and folk history for his next novel, a psychological horror influenced by Nordic noir.