Something Witchy

Originally posted on Sapphyria's Book Reviews.

Lately, I’ve been getting asked a lot: Why witches? It’s a great question considering I’ve just released the first two books in my new Salem’s Revenge series, Brew and Boil, which centers on a witch apocalypse. Although nothing in particular inspired me (not even Harry Potter, although I LOVE that series), I couldn’t get the idea out of my head one day. After having written a successful 7-book dystopian series with NO paranormal elements, I just felt the need to switch things up a little and add something fresh to my usual dystopian/post-apocalyptic type of book. Witches really felt right in my head for three reasons:

1. The Salem Witch Trials- As we all know, humans make a lot of stupid mistakes, and those mistakes usually repeat themselves. So I asked myself the question: What if the Salem Witch Trials came back? What if people became fearful of the unknown and misunderstood again, to the point where laws were passed preventing the practicing of magic? During the original Salem Witch Trials, it was a completely different world than it is today. Today we have social media and 24/7 news coverage and the type of mob mentality that just might allow Salem’s Return to become a reality if the wrong people took control of things. The very thought of a repeat of the Salem’s Witch Trials but on STEROIDS brought so many ideas in my head that I couldn’t ignore them. I just had to write this book. And of course, that begged the question: What if the witches managed to fight back this time? Like really fight back. Yeah, it’s time for the witch apocalypse!

2. A new brand of witches- Witches have been done a million times, so why do them again? Well, I think Harry Potter showed us all that putting a new spin on any fantastical thing can reignite an entire genre of books. My goal for the witches, warlocks (or warls as they’re referred to in slang in Brew), and wizards, was to keep what everyone loves about them, but create a new brand of new-age magic-born who are more complex, more current, and just as deadly. Instead of covens I have gangs of witches, for example, separated by magical specialty. They hate each other almost as much as they hate humans (well most of them). For example, there are magic-born that focus entirely on raising corpses from the dead, called Necromancers, or Necros. Other gangs include Brewers, Spellcasters, Destroyers, Pyros, and Mediums, to name just a few. From there, I was able to let my imagination run wild.

3. Witch hunters- If there’s a witch apocalypse happening, then there needs to be someone to stop it, right? Bring in the witch hunters. Where the government failed to protect its citizens, the witch hunters have stepped in, learning the best ways to fight back, obtaining the very best in magical weapons, and doing whatever they can to survive. The main character, Rhett Carter, is lucky (or unlucky) enough to meet a witch hunter who trains him for survival.

Early reviewers of Brew and Boil have compared the series to a cross between Angelfall (but with witches instead of angels) and The Walking Dead (but with witches instead of zombies). So if you like that sort of thing, you can buy the books on Amazon in both paperback and ebook! Happy reading!