Devin
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Registered: 06/28/10
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Posted 12/08/12
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#1
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The new anthology Witch Hunt: Of the Blood will be released this month. All five authors of the novellas in the anthology are members of this forum, so we thought it would be way cool to have a place for fans of the book to chat with them.
The authors and their forum names are:
Devin: Devin O'Branagan
Ravens_Quill: Krista Walsh
KeriLake: Keri Lake
SueC: Suzanne Hayes Campbell
KathiLS: K.L. Schwengel
Witch Hunt: Of the Blood is an anthology comprised of five novellas based on Devin O'Branagan's bestselling novel, Witch Hunt. The anthology begins with O'Branagan's own novella about the Hawthorne matriarch, Vivian. She and her fellow British witches work together to prevent a Nazi invasion during World War II. Then there is Colonial maiden, Bridget, who struggles with the guilt of failing her family in Salem, 1692. Her younger sister, Prissy, mysteriously disappears and finds another magical world. Julia, torn by family loyalties, love, and her spiritual quest, pays a huge price to continue the bloodline. And Miranda uses her powers against the great influenza outbreak of 1918 – but finds the ultimate foe is prejudice against her kind. Discover what was left out of Witch Hunt and revisit your favorite characters with these exciting novellas. The story isn’t done until the battle’s lost and won. The cover was designed by our own SueC. Isn't it utterly amazing? 
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KeriLake
Registered: 12/06/12
Posts: 7
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Posted 12/11/12
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#2
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I'm very excited to be a part of this anthology and look forward to chatting with readers!
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Ravens_Quill
Registered: 08/23/11
Posts: 777
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Posted 12/11/12
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#3
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Hi everyone!
For those of you who don't know me from the forum, my name is Krista Walsh and "The Circle Unbroken" is my little gem of a story. All of the authors involved are super sweet, funny, and approachable, so don't shy away if you want a chat!
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SueC
Registered: 06/16/10
Posts: 30
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Posted 12/11/12
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#4
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SueC here, aka: Suzanne Hayes Campbell. That's my real name, and it sounds so much more "authorly"—like I should be sitting in my parlor in the manor house on my English estate, penning Edwardian romances, whilst awaiting my beloved's return from some nasty old war or other in a far flung colony. Ha! That's just so not me.
This novella marks my first published fiction. While in general I am not a fan of magical realism, in what ever form, I am a fan of history. I think that will shine through. I had immense fun writing this piece—and I hope you all have fun reading it.
I thank Devin for inviting me to participate in this wonderful project.
You can call me,
Sue
My blog and design site: http://www.suecampbellgraphicdesign.com
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KathiLS
Registered: 10/06/11
Posts: 425
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Posted 12/12/12
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#5
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Hi all.  Sorry I'm late to the party -- been a heck of a week. I normally write fantasy and urban fantasy, but when Devin asked me to participate in this project I jumped at the opportunity -- I mean, how could I pass up the chance to work with such a great group of authors. I'm thrilled with how the anthology turned out and know readers will be as well. I'm also looking forward to chatting with everyone.
You can also find me at my Blog (listed below) and on Twitter (um, sort of) @KLSchwengel
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Devin
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Registered: 06/28/10
Posts: 2,899
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Posted 12/12/12
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#6
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A huge contrats to all the authors of this book! We made Amazon's Bestseller List overnight! 
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Firewolf
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Registered: 08/05/10
Posts: 1,334
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Posted 12/12/12
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#7
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Question for everyone. How much research went into writing these stories? (as in what was your process, not me questioning your accuracy). Did you guys find it challenging, exhilarating? do tell.
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SueC
Registered: 06/16/10
Posts: 30
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Posted 12/12/12
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#8
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Good question, Firewolf. I did quite a bit of research and I think that Keri did also. I know that Devin did. While my story contains a good deal of historical detail, and a lot is accurate, but some had to be bent to fit the canon of Witch Hunt. For me, a large part of my enjoyment as a reader stems from learning about the period (and as a writer, too!) so, I want the culture, environment, and flavor of the piece to ring true. I have a very hard time as a reader "suspending my disbelief" and that's why much of fantasy writing doesn't enthrall me. I think that is the hardest job of the writer—to be convincing enough with the supported factual detail to make the stuff that clearly isn't true seem like it could have happened.
I researched Colonial life (in the late 1600s-1700s), the Dutch East India Company, the patroon system in New York and northeastern Indian tribes, their culture, and traditions before I began writing. It was fascinating! In fact I had so much fun I am continuing my reading—and it has spurred me on to two new projects.
I plan to write a novel very loosely based on my ancestors who came in the second wave of colonists to Jamestown in 1610—1620s. The "survivors" of the first wave were desperate for rescue, and when they saw three ships sail up the Jamestown River they were sure of deliverance. But the English crown said, "Oh no you don't. You're not going anywhere!" So they had to stay and build Virginia. Poor guys.
I am currently writing a genealogical history of my husband's Acadian roots—who were in Nova Scotia long before my ancestors in Jamestown, Virginia. I hope to get it sort of finished before Christmas so he'll get the manuscript as a gift. Shhh. It's a surprise!
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KathiLS
Registered: 10/06/11
Posts: 425
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Posted 12/12/12
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#9
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The largest amount of research I did involved witches and rituals that were real. Lots of surfing of wiccan sites -- some good, some bad. Lots of questions thrown at the group (mainly Devin) about where I could find reliable information. It was very important to me to keep the characters in line with Devin's original vision. Since my character's story takes place in the late 1900's I didn't have to do much by the way of historical research.  Although little things like, would she have a cell phone and what would it look like, when was the internet invented, actually came into play. Funny how much you don't remember, even after living it! So I did have to look up a few things.
I had a bit of the opposite problem Sue did. Most of my writing is fantasy and urban fantasy so for me it became a matter of keeping the fantastical out of my story telling. It had to ring true. The rituals had to actual and not come off like something out of Bewitched.
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KeriLake
Registered: 12/06/12
Posts: 7
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Posted 12/12/12
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#10
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Most of what I write is modern-day (paranormal romance & urban fantasy), so this piece challenged me a bit. I have a background in Microbiology but what we know today hadn’t yet been discovered back in the early 1900’s. Science is a huge part of modern medicine and there are certain processes for determining the etiology of diseases these days and treatments that weren’t yet a part of patient care. I have a decent understanding of pandemic flu and emergency response, but in preparation for this story I watched a number of documentaries and read through some physician progress notes from that time period. Never having written anything related to witchcraft, I found myself having to scour the internet and ask the group for some guidance. Overall it was a great experience for me, going outside of my comfort zone. I enjoyed working with all the very talented authors in the group.
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Devin
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Registered: 06/28/10
Posts: 2,899
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Posted 12/12/12
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#11
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When I was a child, I learned about the role the British witches played in preventing the Nazis from invading England, and I always wanted to write a novel about it. Unfortunately, I was sidetracked by other writing projects and never got around to it. When the idea for this anthology arose, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to tell the story via Vivian, the young English witch brought to America during World War 2 to marry into the Hawthorne family.
However, the research was mind boggling. Learning about England during that era was time-consuming, but had the unexpected benefit of providing me with plot gems. I had always known about the astrologer British Intelligence hired as an advisor...but never knew he was a flamboyant cross-dresser. Discovering this fact added so much humor to the plot, and I always enjoy inserting humor into my fiction whenever possible. And my research helped me uncover the role Ian Fleming played in the events, and that allowed me to include his future role as the author of the James Bond series. By researching what movies and actors were popular in that era, I was also given an opportunity to find humor to incorporate. The core of the story is so painful and dark, that I wove as much light as I could into the tapestry.
So, to sum up, the research was quite involved, but extremely useful. I'm very proud of this project.
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Ravens_Quill
Registered: 08/23/11
Posts: 777
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Posted 12/13/12
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#12
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I got to have some fun with my story because so much of it takes place outside of real time or space. The most important element was keeping the authenticity of the time period, and I relied heavily on research I've done for previous novels with similar themes. Witch trials of all eras have been a passion subject of mine for years, so it was great fun to get back into it again. I also just learned that a book similar to the Malleus Malificarum was just discovered at the University of Alberta! They're looking at getting it translated from the Burgundian French, and if they do, I'll be doing my best to get my hands on a copy. Talk about history!
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Firewolf
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Registered: 08/05/10
Posts: 1,334
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Posted 12/15/12
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#13
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Sue, very interesting. I enjoy reading historical fiction, mostly because it seems like I’m transported to a fantasy world, but its all in the details, fantasy or historical. Your ancestors lived in a very interesting time. Both novel ideas sound fascinating. I hope your husband likes his gift J Kathi, I’ve never tackled a historical fiction yet. I do have an idea for one that I wrote a few pages for, but I haven’t had time to do the research and it’s still an UF. I bet I’d have a similar problem. I was writing something taking place in the 90’s once and had them using cell phones (I was writing in the 2000’s) and was all… doh… some people had them, but not many. Keri, that would make it interesting, knowing all the things we know, yet not really being able to apply them to the story. Devin, what a neat way to discover and incorporate interesting facts that many of us might not have known otherwise J Super cool. RQ, wow, that’s really neat. If they do an English version of that MS let us know. I’d love to find out more about it. I had no idea. Thanks everyone for your great answers! So, what’s the neatest thing everyone learned in their research? Were you able to apply it to your stories?
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Devin
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Registered: 06/28/10
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Posted 12/15/12
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#14
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Quote: Originally Posted by FirewolfSo, what’s the neatest thing everyone learned in their research? Were you able to apply it to your stories?
Without a doubt, The Miracle of Dunkirk. It really happened.
AGAINST ALL ODDS, and without any rational explanation, a series of events unfolded which saved the lives of nearly 400,000 Allied soldiers. Whether it was indeed because of the magic the British witches performed, or the national day of prayer which the King of England called for (or a combination thereof) what happened was totally miraculous. Totally.
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SueC
Registered: 06/16/10
Posts: 30
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Posted 12/15/12
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#15
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I can't point to any one thing I researched as being most interesting. I didn't know much of anything about the Iroquois or Mohawk, so it was all very captivating. (Excuse the pun.)
I did learn that the practice of running captives through a gauntlet was very much as I've described. It varied some from tribe to tribe and what type of captives were being "tested" or "cleansed." The ritual symbolically represented something of a rebirth—the Indians literally wanted to beat the "white stain" (culture) out of the captives so that they could start a new life in the tribe.
If a captive did not perform in the way that the Indians wanted, it indicated they would not integrate well, and they might be killed right then or later. The brutality and violence between the native populations and the colonists was sometimes beyond imagining. And yet at other times many appeared to live in harmony. I tamed "my" Mohawks quite a bit for this story. I learned of some extremely grisly practices that I couldn't even hint at in this book.
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