1. What is your book about?

It’s the story of a young witch named Rowan, who has had a pretty bad time of it since her mother has disappeared into the woods next to her home. Her Nana – who used to teach her magic – won’t speak to her and she keeps fighting with her sister Lila. When she finds out that her Mum may have been taken by the terrifying Witch that haunts the heart of the Witchwood, Rowan decides that she has no choice but to go and rescue her. (Rowan is a little bit headstrong!)What she doesn’t count on is Lila and her next door neighbour Farid coming along with her. All three children find themselves alone, inside the woods and now – they’re on the path. And you can’t turn back off of the path in the Witchwood – you can only go through it. Faced with a host of horrifying creatures, terrifying enchantments and one mysterious talking cat, Rowan has to do what almost no one has done before- walk to heart of the Witchwood and defeat The Witch that lives inside. 

2. Where did you get the idea for your book from?

I was back living in my parents house during the first Covid lockdown. This brought back many memories for me of the books I had read, which were mostly fairytales, and the games I had played – a favourite being one called ‘The Witch in the Well’. That feeling of being literally back in my childhood bedroom and walking through the woods I had grown up watching every day was like walking through a time machine. It made me look at all of those aspects of my childhood with fresh eyes and ask questions like, ‘What would I do if I was faced with the witch from The Witch in the Well?’, ‘What would I do if I had magic?’ And the story grew from there. 

3. Has being a bookseller affected how you wrote Into The Witchwood at all?

This is a great question! I think it absolutely has, in mostly good ways! Obviously, to write well, we need to read lots of great work and I am so lucky that my entire job revolves around sourcing and discovering the best new books for children! The books that I sell every day inspire me to work harder at my own writing because I want to be able to create something that is just as good. It gives me very useful insights into the process behind writing a book too. When I thought of Into the Witchwood, I was very much thinking of the book that I believed my twelve-year-old self would have loved. But when I sat down to write it, I was able to try and think what kinds of things the twelve year olds who I sell books to every day would love as well. Sometimes those weren’t always the same things! Being a bookseller means you get to talk to people – and in my case children – all day long about the things they like in books and the things that they don’t. You get to see what covers work best and what types of characters are most people’s favourites. It’s really valuable information to have as a writer. It also made visiting other bookshops while I was promoting Into the Witchwood a really lovely experience.

I actually think all writers should try to work as a bookseller at some point in their careers, just to see what it’s like behind the scenes! 

4. What are some books or movies that you would recommend to someone who has enjoyed Into The Witchwood?

Ooh, this is a tough question for a bookseller! Be prepared for a LONG list! First off,  I’d really recommend recent fantasies like The Silver Road by Sinéad O’Hart, Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell, and The Book of Secrets by Alex Dunne . They all really understand the balance of mixing fantasy with adventure. For older readers I’d recommend Neil Gaiman’s Stardust, The Earthsea series by Ursula Le Guin, and John Connolly’s The Book of Lost Things – these were all books that made me realise how much you could play with fairytales and magic rules when writing a new story.  If you liked the folklore and mythology aspects of Into the Witchwood, I’d also recommend Ellen Ryan’s Girls who Slay Monsters. Finally, Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis and the Drumshee series by Cora Harrison were all books I loved when I was younger that definitely influenced the writing of Into the Witchwood.In terms of movies, I think the references to Hocus Pocus are thinly veiled at best, so definitely that! I’d also really recommend Wolfwalkers, all of Studio Ghibli’s movies (but in particular Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle and The Boy and the Heron!) and The Princess Bride (it’s also a great book too!). 

5. If you were stranded on a desert island what 2 books, 2 movies and 2 animals would you bring?

I can only bring TWO books?!!! This is so very hard! Oh my goodness. Okay, so I would bring His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman (this is one of my favourite books and always surprises me with how much it changes every time I read it) and I’m going to have to say Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin again – but the massive collected edition that has all six parts in it! (Notice how I’ve cheated and brought nine books in two volumes!) Both of these books have so much wisdom and beauty and knowledge inside and I can’t imagine ever getting tired of them. The two movies I would bring are Lord of the Rings (It all counts as one!) and Star Wars A New Hope. Finally animals – I think I should probably bring an animal that can swim or catch things. I don’t have any pets right now but I think it would be useful to have a cat along and then also maybe a carrier pigeon so I can send a message to someone to get me off this island with only two books! 

Read more about Into The Witchwood here