Devon-based writer draws inspiration from St Kilda for new dystopian thriller
Introducing ‘St Kilda Dreaming’ by Paul Sharman. Author Paul Sharman, previously a Ranger Naturalist at St Kilda from 2011 to 2019, has released his highly anticipated debut novel, ‘St Kilda Dreaming.’ Drawing inspiration from his unique experiences on the remote Hebridean island, combined with knowledge from his PhD in Human Geography, Sharman’s work delves into the complexities of heritage conservation amidst rising tensions surrounding gender issues.
St Kilda is an idyllic but challenging environment. While the author worked on the island it was home to a diverse mix of inhabitants, including military contractors, students, researchers, and three staff members from the National Trust for Scotland. With a daily influx of tourists, the island had become an open-air museum and ecological biosphere reserve, revealing both its beauty and dystopian undercurrents.
In St Kilda Dreaming, set in the immediate future, Sharman expertly weaves together themes of folklore, history, and current political and economic events, challenging previously accepted narratives. The novel reimagines the struggles of St Kilda patriarchy from the nineteenth century, exploring how supernatural and sociological events collide in the twenty-first century, ultimately leading to the evacuation of survivors from the island.
“I wanted to capture the essence of St Kilda, its unique atmosphere and tensions created by conservation versus community,” said Paul.
“The characters in my story reflect the struggles faced by those living on the island, as well as broader societal challenges. I also address today’s personal fears in familial settings.”
Sharman is currently working on the sequel, ‘St Kilda Gathering,’ which continues the narrative by following surviving family members who return to the island to confront the unresolved issues and supernatural occurrences that forced their evacuation.
With the possibility of this work evolving into a trilogy, readers can look forward to more thrilling developments in the story.
Paul Sharman now resides at Killerton, a National Trust property near Exeter, Devon, where he continues to draw inspiration from the beautiful and complex landscapes around him.
St Kilda Dreaming is available for purchase at bookstores and online retailers. For more information about Paul Sharman and his works, please contact [email protected]
About the book
St Kilda Dreaming is an exciting and highly atmospheric novel chronicling the resettlement of an abandoned island community. The settlers soon discover their best intentions lead mostly to personal hell.
The Williams family arrive at St Kilda to build a better life. Their enthusiasm is tested to the limit as spirits of the island’s troubled past trigger family breakdown, madness, and murder. The settlers realise, too late, that water drunk from the village well is changing their dream into a living nightmare. The surviving family members evacuate leaving only the devious and incestuously pregnant Agatha to repopulate the island.
About the author
Paul Sharman was born in Birmingham in 1952. He is a contributing author to Sacred Sites and Species (Cambridge University Press, 2012). St Kilda Dreaming is his first novel. Paul is currently working on a sequel, which draws again on his understanding of how people influence and are influenced by landscape. Following a career in environmental conservation, Paul was awarded a PhD in Human Geography in 2008. He worked as Ranger Naturalist for St Kilda for seven years and is now retired and lives in Devon.