Author’s tale
S. H. Walker
Sally Walker is a mixed-race, queer, British writer whose work explores duality, identity, belonging, grief and the strange resilience of hope.
Before choosing to write, Sally trained as an actor and spent several years working across theatre, film, modelling and commercials. She later exchanged scripts and casting rooms for mattocks and muddy fields, retraining as an archaeologist—a career change that taught her just how dramatically life can shift when you take a chance on yourself.
Writing began as a way for Sally to make sense of her inner world during a period of poor mental health. What started with private thoughts soon grew into scripts, poems, short stories and, eventually, the idea that became Tales from Iya.
Through writing, she discovered a place where being different was not something to apologise for, but a source of strength.
Her stories are shaped by a life marked by love, loss, reinvention and the understanding that joy and sorrow often exist side by side. Sally lives in Lincolnshire with her husband, Kyle, where she is finally giving the tales that would not leave her alone the attention they deserve.
Born in London and raised in the Surrey countryside, Sally’s career has been anything but linear. She spent her twenties in London navigating the high-pressure world of acting and modelling. While the industry eventually embraced her mixed-race heritage, she realized she was sacrificing her mental health to play the parts others wanted her to play. Seeking a radical change, she traded the stage for the soil.
However, the immense physical toll of the trenches, coupled with a harrowing season of family trauma, brought a stark realization: time is too precious to spend living someone else's life. Guided by the belief that "Plans are pointless; all you have is now," Sally left her day job behind to answer the creative pull she could no longer ignore.
Go on, throw a penny in the well MAKE MY WISH COME TRUE
