Shauna's Spot

What research have you done to be able to write the magic and Wiccan practices so well?

I have done so much research there is no measuring stick I could use to tell you. I was very lucky to have parents that encouraged me to do my own research into the various religions and faiths and make my choice about what path I would follow. Because of that I learned a lot about Wicca and the various faiths that still believe in magic.

I started reading books on different religions when I was twelve years old. For the next ten years I would take the time to learn about as many religions as possible. I studied Wicca (other various nature based faiths), Christianity (lost count of how many types), Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, a few Native American faiths, many, many European pagan concepts. You would be surprised how many focus on the idea of living in balance and harmony with the world and your fellow man. Or maybe you wouldn’t, what do I know?

When I was a young teenager I had my cliché periods, which included my Goth phase, my grunge phase and the ideals of anarchy and rebelling against the accepted norm. During that time I spent many hours on the floor of my local metaphysical shop in the book section with dozens of books spread around me reading about magic and witchcraft. I’m really glad I did that because so many of the books reinforced the idea in me that I just needed to be a balanced person that tried to live in harmony with the world around me and appreciate the earth and what it does for us.

It was those hours, in that store, that gave me my greatest education to help me write realistic magic, spell castings and the character of Deb and her coven in this series. Read, read, read.