Liam Higginson, author of THE HILL IN THE DARK GROVE
About this episode
Liam Higginson discusses his debut novel, its themes, and his unique writing process.
Debut Welsh author Liam Higginson has written an atmospheric, psychologically suspenseful, creepy novels told in gorgeous literary prose. It’s also steeped in Welsh mythology and tradition but manages to also grapple with contemporary issues. The Hill in the Dark Grove will keep you up at night, whether you’re compulsively turning the pages or you can’t sleep after what you’ve just read. Liam was born and raised in the deepest hinterlands of rural North Wales. Before writing this knockout novel, he was an extremely bored accountant, helped out at a B & B in a French watermill, ran errands for the CEO of a large consultancy firm, spent lockdown in an empty holiday cottage while a herd of goats took over the town, and now works with his wife at Llandudno Pier. The Hill in the Dark Grove gives us much to dissect as writers. Bringing place to life. Writing effective suspense and how to leverage the reader’s rich imagination to do a lot of work for you. Managing time and backstory. Grappling with contemporary issues like wealth inequality and our housing crisis in the context of ancient mythology, and so much more. He also shares his unconventional but brillant approach for teaching…
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