Dear readers, tonight with us is a shepherd who lost his will to live after his wife’s passing. After collapsing and waking up in a hospital he soon realises he made it to the Welsh Afterlife — but things aren’t as he had thought they would be.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

I was born and grew up on a mountainside, although it was only a small mountain, near Brecon in South Wales. My parents had a tiny cottage there. It was very quiet; we had no neighbours, so although we didn’t own the mountain, it felt like we did. The only road to the top passed by our house, but few people used it.

I was an only-child, my father was a shepherd of his own flock, which roamed freely on the mountain, since there were no animal predators. My mother took care of us, and made things, mostly foodstuffs, to sell in the village on a Saturday.

Perhaps it was my nature, or perhaps it was the environment, but I grew up a quiet, thoughtful, but not lonely, child. I loved my parents, and our lifestyle, although those feelings were never expressed openly. It wasn’t done in those days. I was equally happy helping my Mam in the garden or kitchen, or my father with his sheep, which, although they wandered freely, always came to meet him on ‘their spot’ at 08:00 AM.

I liked school, but not as much as being on our mountain. I left as soon as I could, at fifteen, I think, to help my parents. We were a Christian family, but really only enjoyed singing hymns in the village church on Sunday mornings. Our community’s real belief, which was not incompatible with Christianity, was in Annwn. We sometimes discussed it among ourselves, but never with strangers

Annwn is the ancient Welsh, perhaps even Celtic, word for the pre-Christian, Welsh Heaven.

When the early Roman missionaries arrived, they persecuted us, so they say, because Annwn is underground – some say under the mountains, which we can see a little way off from our cottage. The Romans thought that meant that we were Devil-worshippers, which was untrue. That’s probably why we all go to church, enjoy our singing, but don’t discuss religion with outsiders.

We remember what that can lead to even 2,000 years later.

Did you have any favourite toys as a child? Any cherished memories?

We were quite a poor family, when I was a child, but it didn’t feel like it. I suppose I mean that I didn’t know any better. When Mam and Dad died, Sarah, my wife and I took over their rôles. Our family income didn’t improve a lot until we joined the European Union, but we were happy with our lot and our daughter, Becky.

Oh, yes, sorry, childhood toys… Well, I didn’t have anything mechanical, and we didn’t even have a TV until I was about twenty, although we couldn’t get a signal, so that was the real reason. We used to listen to the radio as a family on Sunday afternoon, and in the evenings after dark. My Dad used to tell me stories that I think he dreamed up while watching over his sheep. He also liked to whittle when he was with the sheep.

I remember that he made me a wooden car that I could pull on a string… Oh, and a boat that I could float in the weekly bath. That was about it, I think. We all used to get books out of the travelling library though… We were avid readers.

We all, and I mean the community, believed in Fairies and the like… It was difficult not to on our mountain. Fairies were basically nice people, but were held responsible for a lot of the mischief, and so-called co-incidental bad luck that befell everyday folk.

What do you do now?

What do I do now 🙂 Well, I’m dead again now, or I have ‘passed over’, as that state of being is commonly referred to, and am re-united with my beloved Sarah. Our daughter, Becky, is with us too, and Kiddy, our sheepdog. We are resting, as unemployed actors say. Our last lives were strenuous, so we need some RR, but we have plans, or at least ideas.

Sarah and Becky are more active than I am. They spend a lot of time helping people who have just passed over, or are in the process of passing over. It is a very satisfying job, because some people are frightened when they get here and Annwn is not quite what they were expecting. Some, like bomb victims, are shocked that they are dead at all – some won’t even believe it! And yet others, like atheists, are surprised that there is an Afterlife at all 🙂 I’m still a little too sharp with people – I can’t put up with their complaints well enough yet. It is a failing that I am working on, but meanwhile I spend time comforting animals in distress – some people are so thoughtless, and others so cruel, to animals.

This part of our existence is covered in the second volume of the series, which is called Life in Annwn – The Story of Willy Jones’s Afterlife

What can you tell us about your latest adventure?

Our latest adventure? This is covered in the third volume in the trilogy, which is called: Leaving Annwn – Returning to Earth on a Mission! The three of us, Sarah, Becky and I, decide to be re-born on Earth – in Cardiff, actually, which is not far from our beloved mountain – to try to do something about the wickedness of homelessness. Some people have called us Bodhisattvas, but I’ll leave it to you to to decide whether we succeeded or failed in our mission.

Can you share a secret with us, which you’ve never told anyone else?

This is a silly thing, but I just can’t help it… Sarah and Becky rib me about it something wicked! Every time I die, I feel a shudder run through my body. It is silly, because I am not scared of that moment, and it doesn’t hurt, but it’s like that fleeting feeling of anxiety even many frequent fliers get when taking off or landing in a plane. Perhaps it is that little shudder some people give at the moment of death. I’m not quite sure of that yet, because it only recently occurred to me.

I suppose some people just never get over passing over 🙂

Thank you for letting me tell you about myself. It has given me a warm feeling – I hope that you can feel it too.


Owen Jones is a best-selling author from Barry, Wales, with an impressive range of fiction and non-fiction. His diverse works span romantic thrillers, supernatural tales, and practical self-help guides. Owen’s life experiences, including studying in the USSR, getting caught up in a coup in Suriname and sailing a home-made concrete yacht from Wales to Gibraltar, inform his writing, creating rich, immersive narratives. His stories often reflect his beliefs in Karma, Fate, and reincarnation, offering unique perspectives that captivate readers. His style has been described as ‘culturally grounded, otherworldly narratives’. Since 2004, he has called Thailand home, living a quiet life in a rural village with his wife.

You can find Willy on the pages of A Night in Annwn.

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