Please welcome this week’s Featured Author and a returning favorite, Alice Renaud.
I’ve always been fascinated by witches, and not long ago I read a book about the witch hunts and witch trials of the seventeenth century. It was very sad to read about those poor women, persecuted because they were old, deemed superfluous, or a bit odd. Or because they were closet Catholics. It was also a fascinating read. People in the 17th century had very precise ideas about witches, what they could do, and how to defend oneself against them. I used those ideas for my short story “The Sweetest Magic of All,” appearing now in the BVS supernatural romance anthology “Mystic Desire”. I even included in my story an actual incantation that people used to locate lost objects. Witches, it was thought, could also call up the wind and control the weather, make crops fail, and summon up demons. They could make people and animals fall ill, but they could also cure them. They could change into animals, but the list was restricted: cat, hare, or toad. Some witches could fly, and in Cornwall and Wales, witches could sail the sea on an eggshell, call up storms, and draw ships onto the rocks. I was interested to learn that white witchcraft was perfectly legal until the 17th century. You could be a witch, as long as you didn’t use your powers to hurt people. However in the 17th century King James I made all witchcraft illegal, and that’s when the persecutions really started.
Most fascinating of all were the witch trials accounts, especially the talking animals. Sober clerks and witnesses wrote, in all seriousness, that the witches’ familiar demons appeared, in the shape of animals, and talked to them. One explanation for this could be sleep deprivation. The witch hunters would tie the suspected witch to a chair, and sit with her, in her house, in the dark, for three days, without sleeping. If you go three days without sleeping, you start to hallucinate. In addition, if you don’t drink enough, you get dehydrated, which can lead to a form of internal poisoning… this also can cause hallucinations.
My story The Sweetest Magic of All in the Mystic Desire BVS anthology is a lighter take on witchcraft. In it, a sexy apprentice witch and a hot warlock go back in time to locate a magical amulet, and find more than they bargained for. It’s May Eve, the most magical night of the year, and normal rules don’t apply!
Mystic Desire is a collection of brand new supernatural romance stories by award-winning BVS authors. Buy Link: https://amzn.to/322Ziq3
Bio
Alice lives in London, UK, with her husband and son. By day she’s a compliance manager for a pharmaceutical company. By night she writes fantasy romance about shape shifting mermen, water monsters and time-travelling witches. Her first book, “A Merman’s Choice,” was published in January 2019 by Black Velvet Seductions. It is the first book in a fantasy romance trilogy inspired by the landscapes and legends of Brittany and Wales. The second book, “Music for a Merman,” is on pre order now. Alice loves reading and writing stories, and sharing them with anyone who’s interested!
Social Media Links: Facebook Twitter Linkedin Instagram Goodreads Bookbub Amazon page
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Thank you Carol and L. J. Dare 🙂
Great interview and fabulous historical blog. I’m looking forward to reading your story in the anthology. Best wishes–L.J.
Great interview Alice. You have a creative mind!
Carol
Thank you Gibby, Callie, Ric and Suzanne! Yes the Salem trials were the big ones in the US. In the UK witch trials took place throughout the 17th century, all over England, but mostly in the north and west, and also in Scotland. Wales wasn’t so bad… they were more tolerant of odd ladies doing vaguely weird things… and still are. I love the eggshell thing too. You’ll have to wait a bit to read about that… in my next series, Warlocks in Love (Book 2, “How to Win a Sea-Witch.” :-)) That book will be an extension of the story of Aaron and Sapphire, which is in the anthology.
Wow fascinating. Thank you for sharing
The witch trials have always saddened me. If you go to Salem, Massachusetts, you can almost feel that energy in some of their old buildings. And we have nothing on the old buildings in Europe! Alice, I am glad you took a lighter approach in your story, and I can’t wait to read it. I do hope your characters take a ride on an eggshell, because that is big fun to me.
Thank you for your comment, Gibby. The Witch trials are a fascinating if shameful bit of North American history. Did you know they were not limited to Salem.
Alice and Rue:
Good morning. Great blog.
You’ve reminded me that it is almost time to watch Hocus Pocus. A Halloween tradition of mine to watch it every October.
It is so sad what they did to people they thought were witches back then. I learn several new things about what they were supposed to be able to do from your blog. Riding on an eggshell is just nuts.
Here we had the Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused, 19 of whom were found guilty and executed by hanging.
I can’t wait to read how you used your witch research in your story.
Callie
Callie, so nice to see you back here. I love Alice’s writing and am looking forward to reading this anthology.
What a great blog post, thank you so much, Alice, it is a wonderful story. I am a big fan of your writing. I would also like to thank you, Rue, for hosting this, a really interesting series of blogs.
You are most welcome, Richard. I agree, Alice writes a great post and a great story.
Love this Alice and Rue Allyn. The witch trials sound fascinating. I remember when I was growing up, my mom always used to tell me about the olden days and how it was determined whether or not the accused was a witch. They simply held her held under water. If she didn’t drown, she was guilty and a witch. If she did, she was innocent, but dead. I can’t wait to read The Sweetest Magic Of All and the other stories in the anthology.
Suzanne, thanks for your comment. Your mom sounds like a fascinating person.
Thank you Rue Allyn for hosting me today!! It’s always a pleasure to visit your blog and ramble on about witches and other magical things!
You are always welcome at the RAmblin’ Author Notes, Alice. Thank you for sharing yourself and your story with us.