Having Fun With Witchcraft!
I have always wanted to be like Samantha in
Bewitched. The amount of times I’ve
stood at Charing Cross station, staring at the departure board showing delay
after delay, and wished I could twitch my nose and be home in an instant. Or
shut the front door behind me, only to remember I’ve left my keys on the kitchen table and longed to waggle my fingers
and have them appear in my bag.
Not being a witch, I’ve obviously never had much luck with
this approach. In fact, my old flatmate and I were obsessed with the film
Practical Magic back in the 90s. We watched it over and over and decided
whatever Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman could do, we could do better. So we
bought some candles and decided to cast a spell.
What we actually did, was almost burn the
flat down and set all the smoke alarms off – so our little brush with
witchcraft didn’t last long!
After that I decided the best way to have
fun with magic was with words. One day, I sat down and wrote: “I can't remember when I first realised my mother was a witch.”
In actual fact, I soon got rid of the
(dreadful!) first line I’d written, but the
characters Esme and Harry remained. Esme is the heroine of my first book Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered – and
her cousin Harmony – known as Harry – is the star of my second novel I Put A Spell On You.
Esme and Harry are witches. Esme is
reluctant to embrace the powers she’s been blessed with, while Harry eat,
sleeps and breathes witchcraft.
Both of them though can waggle their
fingers and make things happen. Esme can catch the barman’s eye, clean the
kitchen in a flash, and conjure up a curry. Harry can call up the perfect
outfit, listen in on conversations, and sort out plumbing problems.
But you know what? Being able to do – well,
everything – gets boring too. And that’s when I started having fun. Putting my
heroines in situations where their magic just can’t help them. For Esme, in Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, it’s
a sick relative and a family crisis. For Harry, in I Put A Spell On You, it’s someone who’s out to get her. And in the
third book in the series, which I’m writing right now, it’s the weather.
It’s a lot of fun putting the women into situations where their magic
can help or hinder them and to be honest – given my track record – it’s probably a lot safer too!
The Author
The Author
Kerry Barrett was a bookworm from a very early age, devouring
Enid Blyton and Noel Streatfield, before moving on to Sweet Valley High and
1980s bonkbusters.
She did a degree in English Literature, then trained as a journalist, writing about everything from pub grub to EastEnders. Her first novel, Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, took six years to finish and was mostly written in longhand on her commute to work, giving her a very good reason to buy beautiful notebooks.
Kerry lives in London with her husband and two sons, and Noel Streatfield's Ballet Shoes is still her favourite novel.
She did a degree in English Literature, then trained as a journalist, writing about everything from pub grub to EastEnders. Her first novel, Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, took six years to finish and was mostly written in longhand on her commute to work, giving her a very good reason to buy beautiful notebooks.
Kerry lives in London with her husband and two sons, and Noel Streatfield's Ballet Shoes is still her favourite novel.
The Book
A Kind of Magic
Part-time witch, full-time glamorous high-flyer Esme Mcleod rubs shoulders with celebrities for a living, has a sort-of-boyfriend …and just enough magic in her fingertips to solve life’s little irritations; why shouldn’t she cast a little spell to catch the busy barman’s attention, or to summon a latte to aid her all-nighters?
Called back to her small Scottish home town and meddling family, stiletto-clad Esme is way out of her comfort zone… But Esme must embrace her abilities as a witch, or watch her family lose their beloved café.
Except Esme has never claimed to be a whizz at witchcraft, and her charms are starting to go awry - she certainly never meant to cast a love spell on her ex-boyfriend Jamie! It’s time for urgent lessons in magic as well as love – it seems there’s only so much that muttering a few words over cupcake batter will fix…
Part-time witch, full-time glamorous high-flyer Esme Mcleod rubs shoulders with celebrities for a living, has a sort-of-boyfriend …and just enough magic in her fingertips to solve life’s little irritations; why shouldn’t she cast a little spell to catch the busy barman’s attention, or to summon a latte to aid her all-nighters?
Called back to her small Scottish home town and meddling family, stiletto-clad Esme is way out of her comfort zone… But Esme must embrace her abilities as a witch, or watch her family lose their beloved café.
Except Esme has never claimed to be a whizz at witchcraft, and her charms are starting to go awry - she certainly never meant to cast a love spell on her ex-boyfriend Jamie! It’s time for urgent lessons in magic as well as love – it seems there’s only so much that muttering a few words over cupcake batter will fix…
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