AH: Witches are said to have familiars, animals or birds who are soul mates. My soul mate was a German shepherd named Houdini, my dearest companion for sixteen years.

There are different types of love in the novel. There is romantic love, demonstrated in the relationship between Maria and Samuel Dias. There is also familial love between Maria and Faith. What did you want readers to learn from these different relationships?

AH: The book is about love in its many forms. I think most readers take away what the story means to them, and what love means in their own lives.

Faith’s journey is a realistically dark one. She is taken from her mother and held captive for years, and subsequently turns to the Dark Arts for revenge. Did you plan her story beforehand? Or did her character evolve in the process of writing the novel?

AH: I didn’t plan Faith’s story. She was such a strong character, she took charge of her own life and I just sat by and watched. She’s so complicated and hurt and brave. I grew to love her, despite her turn to the Dark Arts.

This book thematically resonates with Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic in that powerful women are at the forefront of the story. What women have inspired you in your life?

AH: My mother and grandmother always inspire me. My mother was a single mother in the early sixties, a social worker, a rebel, and a wonderful friend. My grandmother was a Russian immigrant who supported her family and who loved me unconditionally. My first story was about her, and I would likely not have been a writer without her support.

Your interest in fairy tales, myth, and fantasy comes through in many of your novels. Did you read any works which inspired you while writing Magic Lessons? How did this interest influence the writing of Magic Lessons?

AH: I don’t read while I’m writing fiction—–I don’t want to be influenced by other stories or ideas. But the stories I read as a child and the books that I love are with me always. The Grimms’ fairy tales, the myths and legends, and the stories my Russian grandmother told me are always a part of what I write. In this case, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic novel The Scarlet Letter was hugely influential.

Can you tell us what you’re working on now?

AH: I’m working on the fourth book in the Practical Magic series, called The Book of Magic. It’s likely the last of the series as well, and takes place in modern times, so that readers find out what happened to Sally’s daughters, Kylie and Antonia, and they also discover what happened to Vincent Owens. For me, it’s been a pleasure to spend more time with the Owens family.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

© ALYSSA PEEK