The journey that has changed me: Roz Watkins

Veröffentlicht: 13. Juli 2022, 13:21 Uhr

Aktualisiert: 09. Juni 2025, 22:40 Uhr

Von: wom87

From trekking in the hills of Kaschmir to dodging in front of a rhinoceros in India - the author Roz Watkins tells us about the trips they have changed

Roz Watkins is the author of the criticism celebrated by the criticism di Meg Dalton. Her novels that play in the Peak District are known for their extraordinary local sense. Think of atmospheric bogs, gnarled forests and creepy local traditions. Her protagonist is spirited and sensitive, but what excites me the strongest of Roz 'work is her willingness to take your willingness to the darker corners of society.

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in cut to the bone, Roz examines the practice of factory farming. His horrors are capitalized in the novel, but the moral heart of history never hinders the action. In fact, the gruesome realities only increase the tension.

We talked to Roz about her latest book, why your animal rights are important, how she deals with the lockdown and the journey that she prefers to remember.

Your thrillers play in the Peak District. What makes this a convincing backdrop?

It all started with my dog walking in the forests of Shining Cliff, a beautiful but creepy old forest area, completely with a dilapidated motto, an abandoned (and clearly home-looking) mansion and a 2,000-year-old yew, where a woman was used to live with her numerous children (inspiring to the children's song Rock-A-Baby). It felt like a place where her dog could find human remains, and that was the beginning of my first book.

alt = “The 2,000-year-old yew, which inspired Rock-A-bye baby”> David Guyler/CC BY 2.0 The 2,000-year-old yew, the rock-a-bye baby inspired

derbyshire is full of these places - steep cliffs, treacherous stone fertilizer in amazing colors, underground caves. And the culture is rich in myths and legends that go hand in hand with them. We even have a few evil mermaids, even though we are 70 miles away from the sea.

You are not only an author, but also a trained animal trainer. How did it come about?

Around 20 years ago I decided to take the step and to get my own horse. I was lucky enough to find a book with the title Don’t Shoot The Dog by Karen Pryor, which dealt with modern animal training techniques with positive reinforcements. I was unimpressed by the dominance based on dominance and looked for something more scientific and friendly.

Alt = “Roz uses clicker training with horses”> Nick Brundle/Shutterstock ROZ uses clicker training with horses

That brought me to clicker training and I decided to complete the official coaching program, which fortunately had travel to some wonderful places in California and in the state of Washington. It was a fantastic, eye -opening course and it works for all animals, including people!

The very first short story I wrote (The Cows) had an animal training topic (and of course murder), and I managed to integrate clicker-trained pigs into my latest book cut to the bone. Why are a man saved when the work can also be done by a pig?

cut to the bone is a thriller, but also deals with factory farming. Why?

Since I can think, I've been horrified by factory farming and are particularly worried about pigs. Many pigs all over the world spend their whole life in boxes in which they cannot even turn around. Just remember how much fun a few hours on a Ryanair flight and imagine that for your whole life.

Although these "sow stalls" are prohibited in the EU, pigs can be kept in "fissure bays" for five weeks after birth. These are tiny boxes again, which prevent them from turning around or even grabbing their boys. The mothers usually have no bedding, although they have the strong urge to build a nest for their babies. Your suffering is unimaginable.

Most people just don't know that this is happening - and it shouldn't be in a civilized society!

What is one thing you hope that readers take them from Cut to the Bone?

If my book stimulates one or the other to think a little more when buying meat and maybe switch to organic or outdoor pigs, I'm happy.

we may ask: How did you manage the lockdown?

I am aware that I had it very easy compared to many people. We have walks right on our doorstep, through forests and remote valleys, so it wasn't too difficult for me. I have great respect for those who cope with the lockdown in a city apartment.

A disadvantage of life here is that you feel easy to detach from the publishing world, and I definitely missed book festivals and events this year. But overall I feel very happy. I was very lucky that I was able to continue writing.

Alt = “The Peak District is full of picturesque hiking trails”> Helen Hotson/Shutterstock The Peak District is full of picturesque hiking trails

As you can expect from my comments to pigs, I am frustrated about the lack of conversations about pandemics and animal exploitation. Even if this seems to come from a wet market, there is a good chance that the next will come from one factory farm because they are perfect breeding grounds for viruses. And the next pandemic could have a much higher mortality rate. Is it really worth it for cheap meat? Michael Greger's book How To Survive A Pandemic is interesting on this topic (and rather scary!).

Let us go into the trip that has changed. Which region or trip did the most affect it?

That was probably when I traveled for 14 months in the early nineties, initially with two friends and then after they had gone home, with three random men I met in Sydney. (This last part did not impress my parents.) I started in India and ended in Australia.

We had no mobile phones and called our parents every three months, whereby we generally received the news: "All lines to England are occupied". We relied on post -bearing mail, arrived at a new place and hoped that some of our friends and relatives had previously written to the address that we had given them in our previous letters. We were out of contact in a way that is now almost unthinkable.

Alt = “Dal-See in Kashmir”> Tappasan Phurisamrit/Shutterstock Dal-See in Kaschmir

We learned to appreciate the simple things in life, especially toilets. An unexpected highlight was when we were delayed with a flight to Kashmir (more on this below) and underneath in a hotel with actually hot water (our first in three months). I still appreciate modern sanitary installations to an unusual extent.

We had a strange and dysfunctional relationship with our Lonely Planet travel guide. If there were two ways on one mountain-one with a short bus ride and the other with a 10-mile hike through an unknown forest-our book would always advise the latter, and we tended to follow his advice.

Our trip to Kashmir may have been badly advised. We had rely on the assurances of a travel agency in Delhi that a visit was okay, but we didn't see any other tourists all the time, and I remember clearly of all the exploded bridges, checkpoints, men with weapons and general feeling not to be particularly safe.

Alt = “Houseboat on the Dal Lake in Kashmir”> Tappasan Phurisamrit/Shutterstock Houseboats on the Dal-See

We stayed on a houseboat on the Dal Lake, which was breathtaking, even though it was empty! Our hosts were wonderful, warm people who we got to know very well. They told us that they don't care who was saying and that they only wanted to peace so that tourism could be resumed and they could live on their lives. They took us on long hikes in the hills, even though it was Ramadan and they didn't eat or drank anything all day. One evening one of the men was so thirsty when we returned to the boat that he leaned over the side wall to drink from the lake and fell into the ice -cold water.

Which trip do you want to repeat?

I would like to return to Nepal, preferably this time without stomach cramps. I remember that I looked at the mountains there and thought that it almost didn't matter if I died the next day because I had seen something so incredible. Many years later, this picture still burned down into my memory.

Alt = “Roz Watkins in Nepal”> Roz Watkins Roz Watkins Made in Nepal

Do you still have a dream destination you haven't seen before?

I was hunted by a rhinoceros in India (and we followed some dubious advice from locals here - running in a zigzag and climbing on a tree - hmm), but I have never been to a safari somewhere in Africa. I love to see animals in the wild, so this is a dream, provided that I could do it in a way that benefits the animals and the local community.

Are you a planner or onlookers?

I did both. In the past, when I had a lot of time, I was happy to be easy to plan, but it led to some scarce shaves and incidents in which I slept in non -ideal places (see below). Now I'm more of a flexible planner.

Hotel or hostel (or camping)?

We stayed in some shocking places on our big trip, some of them included due to our budget of 50 pounds per week. We accidentally stayed in a brothel in Kuala Lumpur, woke up in bed in a naked man in a naked man in a hostel in Indonesia and slept outside without a tent while wild boars marched around our campsite. So now I have a preference for a nice bed in my own room, although it doesn't necessarily have to be noble!

What was your most important travel experience?

I love an unexpected encounter with animals. We made a boat trip to an island off the Malaysias coast and several two -meter -long Warane came from the forest to the beach and wanted our sandwiches. Although it was a little moment, he was so surprising and wonderful that I never forgot him.

alt = “Orang -utans can be found on Borneo and Sumatra”> Yusnizam Yusof/Shutterstock Orang-Utans in Sumatra was a top travel experience

I also liked to be in an orangutan rehabilitation center on Sumatra. I can still imagine an orangutan in the trees that uses a huge leaf as an umbrella. (Okay, that was two experiences.)

Finally, why travel?

I think it is in our genes to be nomads, and there is an almost indescribable joy of being in a new place and meeting people who think completely differently. The feeling of awe, which occurs somewhere like in the Himalayas in me, keeps me through difficult times. It is inevitable that we have to reduce flying due to climate change, so it is not clear what the future brings, but even if I travel more slowly and closer to my home, I will travel!

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intelligent, driving and incredibly atmospheric, Cut to the Bone is not only a captivating thriller, but a thoughtful portrait of modern society, which will make it rethink her worldview. Read the opening scene and follow Roz on Facebook and Twitter.