Explore Tamsin Mori's magical Gargoyles adventure series
About Author
Tamsin Mori talks to ReadingZone about gargoyles, myths and her latest magical Gargoyles adventure, The Watcher (UCLan).
Tamsin Mori lives in Bath with her husband, two children, one rabbit, several crows and a badger, though she still flies home to Shetland whenever she can. If you go there in the summer, you'll probably spot her, striding about with the wind in her hair, chasing a wild story. She is the author of the Weather Weaver Adventure trilogy.
Interview
Exploring Tamsin Mori's magical Gargoyles adventure series (UCLan)
May 2025
The Gargoyles books by Tamsin Mori take us into a world of mythic creatures and magic sources, protected by gargoyles that can come to life. Here, Tamsin introduces Gargoyles: Guardians of the Sources (Book 1) and Gargoyles: The Watcher (Book 2), which has just been published by UCLan, and which sees Callen doing everything in his power to convince the Watcher that he can be a true guardian.
Tamsin also tells ReadingZone how the Parisian skyline helped inspire her Gargoyles series, and tells us how she built the world and developed the characters in the Gargoyles books - and what else she has planned for the series!
Read a Chapter from Gargoyles: Guardians of the Sources (Book 1) and Gargoyles: The Watcher (Book 2)
Q&A with Tamsin Mori: Exploring world-building, the myths behind gargoyles and drawing on real life adventures
"I discovered that traditionally, gargoyles are protectors. All that remained was to figure out why they tend to cluster
in particular places - and what might cause them to wake…"
1. Can you tell us a little about yourself, your loves and loathings, and what brought you into writing for children and young people? What kinds of stories do you write?
I love almost everything that feels creative: reading, writing, sketching, making things, and singing in harmony. I love spending time by myself. I love being outside in nature. I don't have many loathings, but unfairness, maybe. I loathe unfairness in all its forms - from the big ones, like discrimination, to the very small ones, like cheating at games.
I've always been a writer, ever since I was at primary school. I started with poems and short stories. It wasn't until I joined a writing group that someone suggested my writing might be good enough to be published. As soon as I considered that, I knew I wanted to write for children.
The stories I've written so far are all in the genre of magical realism - they begin in real life, before magic creeps into the story. I like that this allows the characters to feel believable, but there's also scope to play with fantastical ideas. If I'm honest, I've never completely given up believing in magic and I'm always hunting for hints of it in the real world.
2. What is your new book, Gargoyles: The Watcher, about and how does it follow on from the first book, Gargoyles: Guardians of the Source?
In the first book, Gargoyles: Guardians of the Source, Callen has just moved into a creepy old mansion with his family. His parents are determined to do up Gargoyle's Rest and make it beautiful again, but Callen becomes convinced that there's something very wrong with their new home. He's right. The house was built on top of a magical Source, which is now slowly spewing out monsters. To protect himself and his family, Callen needs to figure out how to befriend one of the gargoyles and become a Guardian.
The second book, Gargoyles: The Watcher, takes place almost immediately after the first story. When Oculus, the overseers of magic, discover that Callen has been made a Guardian, they send a Watcher to assess him. Callen took the Guardian's oath out of necessity and has only just begun training. He's far from ready to be tested, but if he fails, he stands to lose both his gargoyle and his home. With so much at stake, Callen is desperate to impress the Watcher, but his friend Angus's kelpie is missing and beyond the walls of Gargoyles Rest darkness is spreading. Ultimately, Callen may have to choose between passing the test or protecting his friends.
3. We love the idea of bringing gargoyles to life; what inspired your story?
I was born in Paris, which is famous for its gargoyles, so they've long held a place in my imagination. While I was writing the Weather Weaver trilogy, I spent a lot of time looking up at the sky for inspiration. After a while, I noticed that there were often stone creatures looking down at me. I dived into research and discovered that traditionally, gargoyles are protectors. All that remained was to figure out why they tend to cluster in particular places and what might cause them to wake…
4. How did you go about creating the 'rules' for your world of gargoyles? Did you look into any myths or legends about gargoyles for inspiration?
I researched the origins of gothic architecture and discovered that the earliest gargoyles were created in a time when cities need protection from all manner of mythical monsters. That gave me a very clear idea that gargoyles have always lived alongside humans, guarding against malign forces.
The rules fell into place when I figured out that magic is neither good nor bad, it simply amplifies the dreams you feed it. With magic as such a powerful and volatile force, I realised that the people who lived close to a magical Source would need be incredibly mindful about what they wished for. They'd also need to work alongside the gargoyles to protect the world from people's worst imaginings.
5. What does your main character, Callen, learn through these stories? And what do his team - Angus, Raf and Yasmin - bring to the adventure?
I'd say the biggest thing Callen learns is how to be a good friend. In the place he lived before, his friendships were dominated by jibes, unkind pranks, and trying to stay on the right side of Gav, the ringleader of his friendship group. He hasn't had much practise at friendships based in warmth and trust.
Zariel, Callen's gargoyle, gradually teaches him what it truly means to be a Guardian. Honesty is one of the core values and it turns out to be a lot harder than one might expect. In the first book, Callen's desire to impress his new friends leads him into telling some big lies, which causes a lot of friction when he's found out.
Callen's friendships, both with his gargoyle and his new human friends are what teach him the most over the course of the stories. Yasmin is warm, but very straight talking - she frequently pulls Callen up on his behaviour and challenges his assumptions - both about how to be a good friend and what it means to be a hero. Angus is quite different from Callen - self-sufficient, outdoorsy and at first glance, quite intimidating. Initially Callen and Angus are constantly competing with one another, but they gradually come to respect one another. Raf, Yasmin's little brother is as she puts it, an 'agent of chaos'. He's younger than the rest of the group and exceedingly high energy. Callen is an only child, so it's his first experience of having to look after someone younger than him.
6. If you could bring a gargoyle to life, or another kind of dream creature, what would it be?
If I could bring a dream creature to life, it would be a selkie. I've been obsessed by selkie stories since I was very small - I used to think that perhaps I was one. Their ability to live in two worlds - on land and in the sea - really appeals to me. What adventures I'd have, if I were friends with selkies!
7. How did your setting at Gargoyle's Rest and the landscape around it develop? Do you draw maps of your settings before you write your stories?
The setting and landscape around Gargoyle's Rest are a patchwork of real-world places. When I was first researching gargoyles, I visited lots of old gothic mansions and churches. I made oodles of notes about the buildings and the surrounding countryside. There's also a touch of my own home - we were renovating a semi-derelict old house while I was writing, so a lot of the details about living in a broken-down house are drawn from real life, including alarming cracks appearing in the walls and dusty paw prints appearing inside the house during the night…
As for maps, I do now start with a map (and floor plans for the house too, in this case), but that's having learnt the hard way! When I wrote The Weather Weaver, I didn't make a map first and the book then needed a LOT of edits to fix all the conflicting directions I'd written in early drafts… I had to rewrite almost every scene that involved travelling from one place to another (ouch).
8. There are plenty of dark forces and characters in these stories - but what makes a perfect villain for you?
To me, the perfect villain is the hero of their own story. Everything they do needs to be utterly justifiable to them - they're trying their very best to achieve their own goals, but those goals directly conflict with the needs of the main character. I always think that a good test of a great villain is if the story could be easily rewritten from their point of view and you'd end up, if not agreeing with them, at least feeling a great deal of sympathy for them.
9. Are you planning further adventures for the Guardian, Callen, and his friends? What are you writing currently?
Yes. I'm currently editing the third Gargoyles book - the grand finale! I'm having so much fun writing it and I hope it will be a satisfyingly thrilling conclusion to the trilogy. Between edits, I'm playing with new story scraps and trying to settle on which idea I'd like to write next.
10. What kinds of adventures do you enjoy when you're not writing? What does a perfect day off look like to you?
My favourite adventures involve either sea or forest - somewhere remote with few people, where my heart can rest and my imagination can run wild. Shetland is my favourite place to be - you can peacefully explore for hours and there's so much incredible wildlife to be seen.
However, the next real-world adventure I'm planning is a trip to Puzzlewood in the Forest of Dean. It's an ancient woodland. I've been there before and it's magical - I'm convinced there are many stories waiting quietly in its mossy green tunnels and twisting paths.
Creative Challenge: Inspiring young writers to bring to life their own gargoyle and its unique features.
The best gargoyles either match your character, or complement it, so before you think about what type of gargoyle you'd like, have a think about yourself. What are your hidden skills? Are you energetic and confident about speaking up? Perhaps you're very quiet and excellent at noticing things other people might miss? Do you long to be able to fly or climb, or perhaps you're happier in the water? Choose a gargoyle that either matches your secret skills or will add to your skill set.
There is no limit to what a gargoyle can look like - I've seen everything from terrifying dragons to dancing foxes. Some gargoyles are chimeras, with features that are a mixture of different creatures. Let your imagination run wild! When you've decided what your gargoyle looks like, have a think about its character - is it fun and mischievous, quiet and loyal, or very fierce? I wonder what adventures you'll get up to together…
Book a School visit with Tamsin Mori:
I offer a KS2 Gargoyles Assembly on the theme of heroes, exploring the differences and similarities between heroes in stories and real-world heroes. There's usually a lively discussion around what core values heroes share. Children can leave the assembly feeling confident that heroes come in many forms and that they too have the potential to be real-world heroes.
For individual classes, I run a Gargoyle Character Creation workshop. Children learn the building blocks of creating a fantastical character and I walk them through the process of describing every aspect of it, from its physical features to its unique character. The exercise is scaffolded with prompts to support less confident writers. It usually produces some spectacular and very varied creatures.
For larger groups of children, I run a collaborative storytelling workshop - Magic Detectives. Children work in groups to assemble evidence that there is magic in their school and begin to build a story around it. This is a great story-starter workshop and leads to a wealth of ideas for creative writing.
Contact Details: If schools would like to get in touch to organise their own event, the best way to contact me is through my website: Contact | Tamsin Mori
The Watcher (Gargoyles, Book 2)
Guardians of the Source (Gargoyles, Book 1)
