Dartmoor walks inspire Bovey Tracey author’s new novel about later-life love

A new novel inspired by Dartmoor and the experiences of older people living in rural and semi-rural communities has been released by a Bovey Tracey author.

Tempo of the Beating Hearts by E.I. Parr follows Jeanie, a 59-year-old woman who is recently divorced and dealing with the emotional impact of her former marriage.

The story sees Jeanie encounter three men, Roy, Justin and Maurice, who are each looking for something missing from their own lives.

Alongside them, Jeanie’s mother and eldest son begin their own searches, with consequences reaching across the family.

The novel explores love, loneliness, loss and emotional healing in later life, with parts of Dartmoor and surrounding areas providing the backdrop.

Parr, who has lived in Bovey Tracey since 1993, said her regular walks on Dartmoor helped shape the setting.

Why Dartmoor?

“I have been a regular walker all over Dartmoor and especially the areas around Haytor,” she said.

“Even though I now live between Bovey and Newton Abbot, the moors are still close by.”

Parr said the landscape suited the story, particularly because walking plays an important role in Jeanie’s life.

“The beauty and familiarity of this landscape could have been no better backdrop, particularly as a walking group, and Jeanie's love interest with a member of it, is integral to the story,” she said.

She also wanted to reflect the differences between rural and urban life.

“In addition semi-rural lives are massively different to those of people living in cities,” she said.

Dartmoor locations feature in the story

The author said she fictionalised a number of locations while writing the novel, including Black Hill, Hameldown, Kennick and Tottiford reservoirs, Lustleigh, Manaton, Scorriton and Stover Nature Reserve/Country Park.

“Geography has to ‘follow’ the story, not the other way around,” she said.

The book cover itself features a view of Stover Lake.

Exploring love later in life

Parr said the novel was partly inspired by the challenges faced by older people experiencing bereavement, divorce or the breakdown of relationships.

“We are an ageing population which means an increase in the numbers of widows and widowers,” she said.

“Finding oneself alone because of bereavement, divorce or failed relationships in later life, can become a well of despair.”

She said romantic love was often presented as something associated with younger people, prompting her to explore what it can mean later in life.

“I decided to give a voice to older adults; let them express their heartbreak and their passions,” she said.

A story about finding hope

Parr said she hopes the novel will encourage older readers in rural and semi-rural communities to believe that change is possible.

“My hope is that older adults living in rural or semi-rural locations will take away their own ‘hope’,” she said.

“That they will feel anything is possible, and that loneliness is a state which can be changed.”

She also hopes readers will find some humour in the story while considering their own experiences.

“I hope all readers, whilst being entertained by some of the book's humour, will be enabled to move forward from whatever keeps them tied to the past,” she said.

Tempo of the Beating Hearts was published on July 22, 2026, by Chudleigh Phoenix Publications.

It is Parr’s second full-length novel, following Thistle in the Long Grass.

The book is priced at £8.99 and has ISBN 978 1 913020 25 5.