Jeff Phillips
The creation of this story and its artwork 'Return to Annwn', has been both a challenging and stimulating experience for me. Throughout the book many characters appear, that have been inspired by the reading of old and traditional, Welsh and Irish tales. It is worth mentioning at this point that one of its main characters 'Lan-Awn-Shee', has been taken from such an ancient tale and is said to have been the inspiration behind 'Bram Stoker's', classic novel 'Dracula'. Another such tale is of 'Glaistig', half woman, half ghost that feeds on lonely travellers and always wears a green cloak to hide her true appearance. Annwn has always been a mystical 'other world', with its origins lost in the realms of time, pre-dating Christianity by hundreds of years and then as in later tales, Annwn becomes Avalon, as with the 'Arthur', and 'Murlin', legends. Aleena the heroine of the story is exiled from Annwn and her memory is taken away. She is sent into a strange and unfamiliar country and is challenged to find her way back home. Helped by the visions of Lea-Asheena, she journeys through towns and Cities on the east coast of the U.S.A., where she has many adventures and meets some wonderful characters. Her journey then continues across the Atlantic Ocean where she encounters the Banshee, wailing evil creatures. Her journey then continues on to Ireland where the adventures continue. Aleena then finally meets her Nemesis in the form of 'Lan-Awn-Shee' and there is a battle in which ancient warriors of the past are called upon to assist and protect Lan-Awn-Shee. Aleena with her travelling companions then go on into Wales, where this story has its roots. I hope this book stimulates the imagination of the reader and is as enjoyable to read as it was for me to write and illustrate.
