The Witch Is In The House!

NOTE FROM SIS... Please welcome, multi published author, Linda Wisdom!

Mega thanks to the sisters for having me here.

First off, I’ve been published for 30 years writing for Silhouette and Harlequin books, Dell Candlelight Ecstasy, Bantam Loveswept, and a single title romantic suspense with Kensington. I think all I wrote in the past prepared me for now.

Elle asked me to talk about the witches in my paranormal series and why I chose the hexsters.

I’ve always enjoyed witches be it Looney Tunes Witch Hazel (I totally love her laugh), Samantha Stevens (even if she gave in to Darrin too much on her power), Veronica Lake’s old Salem witch in My Favorite Witch and moving up to the sisters in Practical Magic, which is one of my favorite movies. I wanted witches that did more than cast spells and dispelled the rumor they ride brooms or wear pointy hats. I think my series did that.

Jazz and her fellow witches began in 2005. My agent at the time wanted me to write dark edgy vampires and while I love reading them I knew I couldn’t write it and I didn’t want to make myself crazy (okay, crazier) trying to write it. Then Jazz popped into my head with “you really need to write about me”. Cute, sassy, snarky, and totally fun. My kind of witch. I saw Irma, her ghostly sidekick, Fluff and Puff, her fangy bunny slippers, and best of, Nick, the sexiest vampire around.

The premise behind the series is that the class of 1313 of the Witches Academy was expelled after one of the students performed an illegal spell on a local nobleman and no one would own up nor snitch. The girls stood together. So they were banished for 100 years as long as they behaved. And 700 years later they’re still out in the world. And more time is added to the 100 years each time they do something the Witches Council doesn’t feel is appropriate.

Instead of a series featuring the same characters, I hope to write all the witches in the class. Each with their own distinct personality and power. So far, I have Jazz, the witch who can eliminate curses and lives in LA, because Hollywood needs her. Stasi, who deals in romance, creates love spells and owns a lingerie/romance bookstore in a small mountain town. Blair, Stasi’s housemate, who owns a retro shop and very gifted in revenge spells. If your husband or boyfriend cheats on you she’s the one to go to. Maggie, my kick ass witch, who’s a member of the Cerberus Guard, protectors of all creatures. She’s happiest when she’s fighting someone. And Thea, the diva romance novelist, whose day is dreary if she’s not on the NYT bestseller list or she breaks a nail.

As for the men. Total yum! Jazz has vampire Nick, her on and off again lover for the past few hundred years. Stasi has wizard attorney Trev, who’s got sex appeal. Blair’s honey, Jake, a local carpenter with some furry secrets. A hot half fire demon named Declan for Maggie and a ghostly gunfighter for Thea.

What can I say? I can’t make it too easy for them, can I? And I don’t. But that also can mean I don’t make it easy for myself.

It’s not just researching spells, I’m also researching the past, because these witches have a long history and I need to make sure the historical facts are correct. Not that they’ve been noblewomen in the past. Jazz spent the longest two hours of her life as a carhop. Stasi was a seamstress for a duchess. Blair had been a parlor maid. Maggie was able to work as a bodyguard for female nobility and Thea wrote novels under various pen names.

Magick means you can’t use it for personal gain and they, especially, couldn’t. They could protect themselves and even protect the weak.

Along the way, they learned a lot about themselves and many times had fun doing it.

I also wanted to create characters that I hoped my readers could identify with. Women they’d want to hang out with, go shopping, and have lunch with. Sure, they have great magickal power, have creature sidekicks most of us wouldn’t think of, and they’ve been on earth a long time, but they also have their Starbucks addiction and Jazz can’t live without the creams from The Body Bakery. They’re still thrust into very human situations and I love to play with how they’ll deal with them.

A high praise for any author is to hear her readers love her characters or want a pair of magick bunny slippers. As for me, not only do I have a couple pair of bunny slippers that seem to scoot around during the night, but they’re also tattooed on my ankle as is Horace, Stasi’s perv of a gargoyle.

By now, they’re friends and very real to me. I hope that any of you that read my books will feel the same way.

And what about you? Do you enjoy snarky and sexy? Or something darker? And would you want a pair of bunny slippers that can eat a man if they’re so inclined?

Linda

**A note from Elle--if anyone is interested in taking one of Linda's online classes, you can find a list of them at http://www.storystewuniversity.com/. I've already signed up for "My Bunny Slippers Ate My Homework". Join me in learning from the best how to weave preternatural creatures into your story!