Biscuits & Books with Black Swan 08 – with Philip Tyler

Philip Tyler is a Yorkshire based farmer who has written a fascinating, original trilogy of romantic novels Landscapes of Love. The novels cover settings from the Yorkshire Dales to Kenya and Rwanda – and even sees Columbia, Russia and Australia. 

Landscapes of Love is a trilogy about the entwined love lives of three characters: Charlotte, Daniel and Anne Marie.

BSBP: Hi Philip, let’s start by exploring how you got into writing, and more specifically writing romance…

The series has an ensemble cast, how did you juggle writing about all these entwined stories?

PT: I have always enjoyed writing but this is the first fictional work I have published. I have worked with a diverse array of people over the years, which has given me an interesting insight into how people cope in this modern world. I wanted my Landscapes of Love trilogy to reflect the passions, hopes and devastations that normal people, whatever their own proclivities, must deal with as their lives unfold. I also wanted to illuminate how people who work with nature every day are the real conservationists and not the populist TV and entertainment industry gurus who invariably take a simplistic view of our complex, integrated world. Finally, I wanted the trilogy to be relatable. Every place, hotel, menu and animal’s habitat are real, so you could get in your car, plane or boat, and visit them all. I have written the trilogy in several layers, and I hope that different readers will see what they want to see. So, to answer your question, I needed an ensemble cast to enable me to weave the story without compromising my characters. 

BSBP: We’ve met Anne Marie, Charlie and Daniel… I’d love to start with Charlie. She’s a character based very close to home for us, with a traumatic backstory that a lot of women can relate to. What or who inspired Charlie?

PT: I love Charlie the most! Maybe because I have met so many women in my life, who like her, have faced enormous challenges and never really been able to get over them. Most have been fantastically brave, buried the issues and tried to get on with their lives. A lot of them however are so hurt that they build emotional walls around themselves and never again let anyone really near. When the opportunity does happen, it is avoided, which is sad. I hope Charlie will inspire people to maybe slowly take the risk and relight the fire.

BSBP: Anne Marie is a black, sapphic woman. Unfortunately, this is a voice not often shed light on, a voice often ignored. Why was it important to you to tell her story?

PT: I like interesting people who do not fit into the ‘mainstream’. I have been fortunate enough to work with many people who fall into this category, and they are fascinating to get to know. Some wear their individuality on their sleeve and others are even more extreme. However I sometimes feel that these individuals create their own problems. I hope Annie represents the majority of people like her, in that she doesn’t make an issue of her colour or sexuality, so nobody else does either. In fact, there are more people of colour in the trilogy than white ones. Nobody seems to have noticed and that is great as far as I am concerned. I particularly like Nizinga’s comment and Max’s reply in Retribution

“So how does a poor African black woman get a ride in this car?”

“Sorry I didn’t notice your black skin colour. All I could see was a beautiful intelligent lady.”

BSBP: Daniel does what he can, when he can to invest himself into conservation programmes for white rhinos in Kenya and mountain gorillas in Rwanda. 

Why are these causes you feel drawn towards?

PT: I have always been passionate about conservation and tried to make a small contribution on my stud farm; planting trees, hedges and digging out lakes to attract wildlife. Why rhinos? I visited Whipsnade Safari Park fifty years ago and was very impressed with their efforts to save the dwindling populations of rhinos in Africa. My frustration now is, how, after all this time, the numbers have still declined to dangerous levels. With all the work that has gone into conserving them the ignorant masses in the far east still demand rhino horn in the erroneous belief that it has medicinal or aphrodisiac properties. You will have to forgive me a bit of self-indulgence here, in that Daniel just goes and blows the poachers up along with the financiers and dealers behind this abhorrent supply chain. If only ……. It makes a good story though!

BSBP: You’ve mentioned that Daniel’s ‘fight against the poachers who mercilessly slaughter the mothers of the baby gorillas so they can sell the youngsters to rich clients around the world are central to the stories in Landscapes of Love.’ What encouraged you in making this such a profound portion of the novels?

PT: The gorilla story is a sad reflection of mankind I am afraid. Yes, wealthy individuals cause horrendous suffering to the poor mothers who are literally hacked to death so the baby gorillas can be taken. But it is more complicated than that. Tourists who come to see the gorillas in the wild bring their human viruses with them that can also kill the gorillas. People in the west buy expensive hardwood furniture made from trees felled in the forests that are the home to the gorillas. And millions of poor African families live around these forests and need to grow food for their children. It is a complex problem. This brings me back to the layers in the trilogy. You can read it as an adventure story of Daniel, Charlie and Annie trying to track down poor Didi, a baby gorilla stolen by the poachers, but hopefully some readers will understand the issues surrounding conservation more clearly.

BSBP: As well as a large, diverse range of characters, the trilogy is set in many different areas of the world. What inspired this? How did you manage to capture the feeling of so many different locations?

PT: I think it is inevitable that when you write a story like this, part of the author’s own experiences and travels creep in! It is much easier to write about what you know. However, we are so lucky these days with all the information that is freely available on the internet. If you look hard enough you can find out what the locals are eating in Mitu tonight! (See book four of the trilogy! I know I can’t add up!) 

BSBP:The setting most local to us would be the Yorkshire Dales, which I know is very familiar to you! What’s your favourite thing about the Dales? If you can pinpoint just one thing…

PT: The light on the landscape. It is magical. Every day is different; every hour is different. Stand alone on the top of Gollinglith Ridge by the twin standing stones and look out over Colsterdale. You will find your soul.

BSBP: I hear you’re also a keen photographer, and I see Landscapes of Love featuring gorgeous wildlife illustrations from Nolon Stacey and Clive Meredith. It’s not very often you see images within a novel, why were these important to you to include? Is visual art something you’ve always been connected to?

PT: I have always enjoyed the challenge of trying to capture a hovering kestrel, a morning fox or a sweeping landscape. But you can never quite achieve what you can see with your own eyes. It is a very humbling hobby. I have always had an enormous admiration for the work of Nolon and Clive. They manage to capture what a photograph cannot. I guess it is the spirit of the animals they draw. I wanted the Landscapes of Love trilogy to be more than just a story about the people and the animals. I hope it is about how infinitely complex life is, and I am so lucky that Nolon and Clive were so generous in letting me use their amazing drawings.

BSBP: Can you recall a series or a romance novel you’ve read in your past that stuck with you? Perhaps part of the inspiration for your work?

PT: Without hesitation, Out of Africa written so beautifully by Karen Blixen and of course made into the Oscar winning film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. I am cheating of course because it is not a novel but the true story of Karen’s life. However, I’m having it anyway!

BSBP: And to finish, what are you reading right now?

PT: I am currently researching the fourth book in my trilogy …. I know! This book is based in the Amazon Rain Forest, and I am gathering some geographic details and knowledge about the indigenous tribes that live there. I am currently reading One River by Wade Davis which is about the early plant hunters who searched the Amazon River basin for new species. They found a lot of cocas! 

Inheritance, the climax of the trilogy is out now! Buy here: https://www.ypdbooks.com/960_philip-tyler

Check out Philip’s website here: http://landscapesoflove.com/

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