A Squirrel's Tale

by Richard Wyn Jones

The forests of South West Scotland are home to the last major colony of red squirrels in Britain. As long as time itself, a natural order has governed this peaceful squirrel population. It is their steadfast belief that the Lord of the Sky, the Maker of all things, watches over them, and their reverent understanding that nature’s way is his will. To most squirrels, their world operates in a basically benign fashion. It can be fierce, competitive, even hazardous at times, but this occurs only out of necessity and represents an essential condition of existence.
Rusty, a loner and orphaned juvenile red squirrel however is not content. Deep down, he feels that the Lord of the Sky has ordained a special purpose for him. He just doesn’t know what it is yet. In his vivid dreams, he constantly challenges the Lord of the Sky to reveal his calling. Many squirrels view him as strange and eccentric, so he spends much of his time away from the Clan.
One spring morning the diminutive Rusty is exploring the farthest part of the forest where a small group of Reds have recently settled. Undetected, he witnesses their brutal murder by a bloodthirsty band of grey squirrels. Abaddon, their ferocious leader has brought his hordes of Greys north, his aim, to kill all red squirrels once and for all.
Rusty must warn the main Clan. Outnumbered, they will have to overcome all odds and fight for the very survival of their species.

299 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 8, 2014

About the author

I was born and raised in a small seaside town of Cardigan on the west coast of Wales.
After University, I spent many years working for various Blue Chip companies in Advertising and Marketing in London before finally moving back to the countryside, eventually settling in the idyllic Cotswold region of England, where I've had more time to focus on my writing.
From a very early age I had a keen interest in “crafting” stories and would get lost for hours in my adventures. My working career in predominantly senior creative positions enabled me to continue this childhood passion and fuelled my dream to eventually attempt to write a full blown novel.
I found books by authors such as Richard Adams and William Horwood fascinating, where they used animal subjects to deliver human stories, keeping a strong sense of realism in the story in terms of environment, general descriptions and animal habits etc allowing the reader to be vividly drawn into this world, just as an animal might see it.
These authors have certainly had a strong influence in the way I approached my storytelling.
My biggest hope is that people really enjoy the characters and the journey they take as much as I enjoyed creating them.