Coming Home

I took myself off for a mini adventure this week, partly to recharge my batteries, but also to catch up with family  and attempt to scratch the itch in my feet that has been tempting me to do something crazy like grab my passport and just head off on a mystery trip. But I settled for a trip south to Devon instead.

As I drove over the bridge towards Bristol a big grin spread across my face.

I found myself wondering why? Why was I having a euphoric reaction to somewhere I haven’t really lived for 32 years?

It was a strange sensation of peace and happiness which spread all over me the moment I touched down in the South West of England. As I said a real sense of coming home, of belonging and the grin only got wider the closer I got to Devon. If my fellow commuters noticed me with the big grin on my face, I can only imagine what they would have thought.

“Who gave her the happy pills and where can I get some?!” May have been one such thought.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Wales. I love it’s people, the country and it really is home to me now, I was  just surprised by this overwhelming sense of belonging the moment I drove over the bridge. So much so, I think if I had been asleep at that moment (no not as the driver!) I still believe the smile would have spread across my face automatically.

Perhaps I triggered some sort of genetic homing signal that has lain dormant within me until now. Deep down I will always be the girl from that sea side town in Devon, I just didn’t know it, until now.

I hope I can capture some of this feeling within my characters, will they feel a sense of belonging in Ereden or Alladria? (ooh spoilers!) Can I make my readers also feel like they have come home too? Let’s hope so.

I may have returned home to Wales now, but there will always be a piece of me still driving back over that bridge.