Jeremy Hughes is one of the more interesting writers to emerge from Wales in recent years. His first novel Dovetail , held us spellbound with the story of a young boy emasculated in a school bullying incident, whose  later life became a remorseless quest for revenge. The ghastly contrivances which he manufactured for this purpose bring to mind some of the more gruesome episodes of ''Dexter''. His second novel Wingspan could not provide more of a contrast. It is a quiet and reflective work which tells a tale of loss and discovery following a whirlwind wartime romance and subsequent tragic air crash in the Brecon Beacons.

The two characters (father and son) who dominate this narrative are from profoundly dissimilar backgrounds and lead acutely contrasting lives.

The father, an ace US Air Force commander in WWII, describes his excitement as his formation emerges from cloud cover after another successful bombing mission over wartime Germany:-

We emerge number one in the high squadron, coming to the surface as if from dark water, and then we see the others breaking through, their tailfins first, large dull fish suddenly plated gold by the sun. Someone says "Wow!" on the interphone, "would you look at that!" Not many people get to see such wonder. Thirty-six forts in formation moving gently in the currents.

The son, a mild mannered headmaster at a rural English school, relishes the feeling of comfort and security he experiences viewing factory lights from a passing train:-

Industrial units, so often a feature of derelict ground near stations these days, have dull amber lights over their back doors. I feel well off, suddenly: if I were out there I''d be confronted with something that might threaten my mortality. I''m thinking motiveless murder. All from a light above a door. I used to look out of my bedroom as a child and watch the rain lashing past the amber street light. It''s a similar feeling. I''m safe.  

The action takes place in England, Wales and America and the story unfolds in episodes from the war period and the present day. The plot details are skifully interwoven and as layer upon layer of the unfolding drama is revealed we become engrossed in the son''s ongoing quest to connect with the ''ghost'' of his dead father. In deciding to pursue this quest, he embarks upon a voyage of self discovery which ultimately transforms his life and circumstances.

Readers of Jeremy''s first novel ''Dovetail'' may be surprised by the contrast in thematic material and content but this only demonstrates his extreme versatility as a writer. What both novels have in common is that they are beautifully crafted and a delight to read. A former ''Book of the Day'' selection on the Welsh American Bookstore, this title comes highly recommended.  

AmeriCymru spoke to Welsh author Jeremy Hughes about his latest novel ''Wingspan" - "Jeremy Hughes was born in Crickhowell, south Wales. He was awarded first prize in the Poetry Wales competition and his poetry was short-listed for an Eric Gregory Award. He has published two pamphlets - Breathing For All My Birds (2000) and The Woman Opposite (2004) - and has published poetry, short fiction, memoir and reviews widely in British and American magazines,. His first novel Dovetail was published in 2011."

AmeriCymru:  Hi Jeremy and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. How would you describe your new novel ''Wingspan''?

Jeremy:   Wingspan is the story of a WWll American bomber pilot who has always believed he can fly and who crashes when returning from a mission, leaving behind a wife and baby son.  The first half of the book explores his world.  The second half of the book is set fifty years later with the son searching for the father he never knew.

AmeriCymru:  What does the novel have to say about the importance of understanding and re connecting with our past?

Jeremy: The past is integral to our lives.  The novel explores the relationship between familial generations and their historical significance.  The global is always played out in the domestic. 

AmeriCymru:  The experience of wartime flying is superbly evoked in the book. How did you research this topic?

Jeremy:   Even though the book is relatively short, it contains a great deal of research. This includes finding out about the training of pilots, hunting out documentaries, feature films, visiting the American war cemetery at Madingley, Cambridge, visiting airfields and crash sites, as well as the Imperial War Museum, Duxford where they have a Stearman and Flying Fortress in the collection.  All of these contributed to the book in some way.  A great deal of research is always left out. 

AmeriCymru:  A number of American and British planes crashed in the Welsh mountains during World War II. What attracted you to this theme or setting?

Jeremy:  I discovered a pamphlet in the mid-1990s which plots the locations and stories of the aeroplanes which have crashed in the area.  I was very moved by the story of “Ascend Charlie”, a Flying Fortress which crashed when returning from a mission.  Its crew of ten perished and were buried at Madingley.  I couldn’t stop wondering about each of these men and their individual lives: who they were in civilian life, what had been their hopes and ambitions, who they had left behind.  This is what set me off.  I’d been thinking about it for years.

Tim is emasculated by a gang of bullies at the age of fifteen and devotes his life to revenge. He plans to build a machine that will kill each member of the gang one by one. Each death must be aesthetically beautiful, and so Tim apprentices himself to a brilliant craftsman to acquire the skills he needs. Then he begins to practice the perfect murder. A psychological thriller set in Spain and south east Wales, focused on obsession and the far-reaching evils of perfectionism.

AmeriCymru:  Your first novel ''Dovetail'' was also set in the Welsh hills. Care to describe it for us?

Jeremy:   Reviewers described ‘Dovetail’ as a psychological thriller and as literary horror.  For me it is quite simply a revenge story.  The protagonist devotes his life to putting right the wrong perpetrated upon him by a gang of boys when he was fifteen.  He apprentices himself to a brilliant craftsman in order to acquire the skills he perceives he needs to build a killing machine out of fine timbers.  He is obsessed with perfection.  The moment at which the machine is perfect is when it kills beautifully.  The book interrogates the notions of aesthetic beauty and moral imperfection, as the protagonist busies himself with a love of birds, craftsmanship and the story of Saint Sebastian with whom he identifies. 

AmeriCymru:  In addition to writing novels you are also a published poet. Care to tell us more? Where can readers go to buy your poetry online?

Jeremy:  Before I wrote ‘Dovetail’ my whole world view was poetic.  I interpreted what was around me in terms of poetry constantly.  I published the first poems I wrote as an undergraduate.  I was shortlisted for an Eric Gregory Award and was awarded first prize in the Poetry Wales competition.  I had a great deal of magazine publication.  I published two pamphlets: breathing for all my birds and The Woman Opposite .  I read enormous amounts of poetry and built up a great library.  Then it all stopped when I entered the world of fiction. 

I had wanted to be a novelist when I first started writing but didn’t know how to achieve this, so turned to poetry because I thought it was ‘achievable’: poems were short and I could complete one in a reasonable amount of time.  I haven’t written a poem for several years but without the experience of crafting poems I would not be the kind of prose writer I have become.  Baudelaire said, “Be a poet even in prose,” or something like that… 

AmeriCymru:   What''s next for Jeremy Hughes? Are you working on a new book at the moment?

Jeremy:   I am working on a crime novel set in Abergavenny and Madrid.  The book’s central idea is related to identity.  The criminal is a portrait painter. The police officer returns to the small town of his upbringing with the skills and years of experience he acquired as a detective in the Met. People disappear and artistic clues are left behind.  The criminal and the officer share an event in the past which causes these disappearances. 

I carried out research at the Prado and Reina Sophia in Madrid, the Picasso Museum in Barcelona, the fine gallery in Céret, southern France and the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff. 

AmeriCymru:   Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?

Jeremy:   I am so pleased to be able to connect with readers around the world.  I love writing about the place of Wales within a global context, however modestly.  I hope that American readers enjoy the books I make as much as I enjoy creating them.

All best wishes from Abergavenny,

Jeremy Hughes

Jeremy Hughes was born in Crickhowell, south Wales. He was awarded first prize in the Poetry Wales competition and his poetry was short-listed for an Eric Gregory Award. He has published two pamphlets - Breathing For All My Birds (2000) and The Woman Opposite (2004) - and has published poetry, short fiction, memoir and reviews widely in British and American magazines,. His first novel Dovetail was published in 2011. He studied for the Master''s in creative writing at the University of Oxford. He now teaches Creative Writing at Oxford and the University of Wales, Newport, as well as literature for Aberystwyth. He is married with a daughter and a son.