Writing the Broomstick

Last week we obsessed over plants, this week we swoon over trees. And who better to discuss trees and their magical properties than tree expert, landscape architect, and novelist Sonja F. Blanco. 

We were so beyond thrilled to have such a fascinating guest on today’s episode. Her upcoming fantasy novel, Witch of Ware Woods (set to release in October 2021), promises to make you fall in love with trees and enchanted forests. We wished we had time to cover all the trees on the planet, but Sonja carefully hand-picked her favourites, most of which are featured heavily in her novel:

• Sugar Maple
• White Pine
• Black Birch
• Willow
• American  Chestnut

She then blows our minds about all the many magical and medicinal properties of each tree (and their historical significance), and Katrina and Genny spend most of the episode “ooohing” and “awwwwing” over every little tidbit. We’re certain you’ll gobble up everything Sonja has to say.

Let this episode restore your faith in nature and inspire your writing.

P.S. We had some sound issues on our guest's end, but we promise it's worth it!

You can follow Sonja here:

• https://sonjafblanco.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/sonjafblanco
• https://twitter.com/sonja_blanco
• https://www.instagram.com/sonjafblanco/

Sonja’s Recommended Readings and Links

• The Overstory by Richard Powers
• Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest by Suzanne Simard
• Into the Heartless Wood by Joanna Ruth Meyer
• American Chestnut Foundation: acf.org
• Lady Jesamyn Angelica: sisterhoodofthemoon.org and womensmysteryschool.com

★  ★  ★

Let us know what you thought of our episode! You can reach us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or email [email protected].

Hey! Do you like Celtic folklore, YA urban fantasy, AND free stuff? Read the first three chapters of Katrina’s debut novel, “The Wise One”.

And, if you want to see what Genny’s reading lately, check out her Goodreads review page.

What is a witch’s spell without plants? In today’s episode, Katrina and Genny dive into the world of herbalism and magic. Every plant on the planet is imbued with magical properties and health benefits, so we aren’t even going to try and tackle them all in one episode, cuz ain’t nobody got time for that. Instead, we pick a handful of the most interesting herbs and plants that your character might use to cast spells, heal their friends, and harm their enemies. 

Our picks for today’s episode are:

• Angelica
• Belladonna
• Cactus
• Basil
• Lemon Balm
• Mugwort
• Yarrow
• Wolfsbane
• Rue
• Dittany of Crete
• Dragon’s Blood

We simply cannot help but release a few giggles when we read to you these amazing folk names (you’ll understand when you hear them). With each reading, we give a list of its magical and medicinal uses that will hopefully inspire your writing, BUT, as we reiterate 100 times in the episode, please use the information ONLY for writing inspiration. 

If you’re writing about a green witch or a kitchen witch, this is the perfect episode to tap into the wonderful world of herbalism and folk magic. 

Happy listening!

Sources and Recommended Readings

• Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham
• https://www.iamhrsinclair.com/

Want to start a podcast? Join over a hundred thousand podcasters already using Buzzsprout to launch your own podcast today. They’ll get your podcast listed on every major platform and they’ll build you a customizable audio player that you can embed on any site. Sign up for Buzzsprout and get a $20 Amazon Gift Card, which may just be the money you need to DIY your own soundbooth. 

Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com

★  ★  ★

Let us know what you thought of our episode! You can reach us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or email [email protected].

Hey! Do you like Celtic folklore, YA urban fantasy, AND free stuff? Read the first three chapters of Katrina’s debut novel, “The Wise One”.

And, if you want to see what Genny’s reading lately, check out her Goodreads review page.

We’re back! Not exactly from a long, summer holiday, but after two weeks, it felt like forever. In the first episode of our second season (yay!), we explore the topic of fantasy tropes. What are they? Do we love them? Do we hate them?

Welp, the consensus is that tropes, in of themselves, are neither good nor bad, but if we rely too heavily on precedent, they can become cliché, tired, and make your readers roll their eyes and mutter, “Oh, here we go again.” So, if you find your WIP uses one of these tropes, don’t worry about it! But do spend some time adding your own beautiful and unique spin on it to keep your readers thirsty. Here are some of the tropes we look at:

• Everything takes place in Medieval Europe
• There’s good, there’s evil, but there’s nothing in between
• All is right in the world until someone releases the evil from its dormant pit
• The prophecy
• The perfect “Mary Sue-style” protagonist or character...

Deborah Harkness makes yet another appearance, and both Katrina and Genny try out their best Moira and Alexa Rose impression. Genny mispronounces the word “mentor” a bunch of times and Katrina educates Genny on the word “insta”. 

God, it’s good to be back! Even if we are a little rusty.

★  ★  ★

Let us know what you thought of our episode! You can reach us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or email [email protected].

Hey! Do you like Celtic folklore, YA urban fantasy, AND free stuff? Read the first three chapters of Katrina’s debut novel, “The Wise One”.

And, if you want to see what Genny’s reading lately, check out her Goodreads review page.

In today’s episode, Katrina and Genny give you a blueprint (or questionnaire) to help you in the worldbuilding stage of your fantasy writing. Let these questions act as your worldbuilding guide:

1. Ask yourself what kind of society your character lives in
   1. What are the different forms of governance?
   2. Is there a well-established class system? (low, middle, upper-class)
   3. Is there a strong proletariat? Do they feel exploited?
   4. How are labourers perceived by others? Are merchants respected by the upper-class?
   5. How does your character’s society treat the poor, sick, elderly, and marginalized?
   6. Do mythological creatures mix with humans? How are these creatures (or humans) treated? Who’s at the top of that food chain?
   7. Do people own pets? How are animals treated?
   8. What role do children play?
2. Rule of law
   1. Who’s in charge?
   2. Who enforces these laws?
   3. Are they fair? tyrannical? peaceful?
   4. How would you compare your world’s justice system to your own country’s?
3. Relationships, sex, and gender
   1. How are men and women treated differently by law and society?
   2. How are non-heteronormative people treated?
   3. Is sex taboo? What is the acceptable age to have sex and get married?
   4. Do people marry for love, money, or alliances?
   5. How is infidelity treated?
4. Economy and politics
   1. What currency does your world use?
   2. Is bartering a thing?
   3. Is there peace amongst nations? Who are the allies of your character’s country, and why?
   4. Is the world divided by kingdoms, empires, or countries?
5. Religion
   1. How many belief systems are there?
   2. What is the dominant religion? 
   3. Is there bias or prejudice towards any?
6. Magic and the Supernatural
   1. Who possesses magical abilities? All citizens or certain races?
   2. What are the rules around its uses?
   3. Are there limitations? 
   4. Is it teachable? Is it innate?
7. Geography
   1. This is the fun part...what are the different regions?
   2. Is the land separated by realms, kingdoms, countries…?
   3. Where does your character live? What does the landscape look like? How does this influence the character’s journey?
8. Science
   1. Is there any?
   2. Is there a kind of logic or science to the magic systems?
   3. How advanced is scientific study?
   4. Does it look more like alchemy?
9. Entertainment, Art & Music
   1. What do the people of your world do for fun?
   2. What sort of instruments exist?
   3. Is there any importance placed on art or music?
   4. What do teenagers do for fun on a Friday night?
10. Eating and Cooking
    1. Signature dishes? Drinks? Butterbeer comes to mind…
    2. What are the customs around the dinner table?
    3. What is your character’s favourite dish? Who makes it? Is it easy to get? Where do the ingredients come from?

★  ★  ★

Let us know what you thought of our episode! You can reach us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or email [email protected].

Hey! Do you like Celtic folklore, YA urban fantasy, AND free stuff? Read the first three chapters of Katrina’s debut novel, “The Wise One”.

And, if you want to see what Genny’s reading lately, check out her Goodreads review page.

Last week, the literary world was shook by an author’s craptastic idea to publicly insult people who left 4-star reviews on her GoodReads book page. She was so horrible about it that BookTwitter unleashed the type of vengeance only avid book lovers could devise…they attacked this author’s GoodReads book page with 1-star reviews. 

That’s right. Before the book was even a few days old, Lauren Hough’s (let’s just say her name, we all know who we’re talking about, right?) book, which was a widely anticipated collection of personal essays, had over 1,500 1-star reviews, which means that her book rating is now essentially meaningless.

Wow, there is so much to learn from this. In today’s episode, Katrina and Genny explain why any writer, even a famous one, should never ever talk to reviewers like that (as if we really need to explain this one). We also talk about why giving a book a 1-star review simply because the author is an asshole misses the whole point and importance of these review sites. 

By the way, did we mention that getting a 4-star review on Goodreads is actually amazing? Many writers would swoon over a review that good, but we’d settle for any, ANY review at all. 

This is where Katrina’s personal experience with launching her YA novel, The Wise One, comes in handy. She tells us how to get reviews in really effective ways but warns that some of these methods are a lot of work (but totally worth it!).

Last week, we polled a few of our Facebook followers to get their advice on how to handle bad reviews, and their answers will definitely inspire you! 

Meanwhile, Genny’s hair gets caught a bunch of times in her headphones, and we manage to throw shade on a whole cast of Hollywood actors. All in a day’s work!

★  ★  ★

Let us know what you thought of our episode! You can reach us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or email [email protected].

Hey! Do you like Celtic folklore, YA urban fantasy, AND free stuff? Read the first three chapters of Katrina’s debut novel, “The Wise One”.

And, if you want to see what Genny’s reading lately, check out her Goodreads review page.

Have you decided to self-publish your novel, or are you set on going after a traditional publisher? Guess what: It doesn’t matter which publishing route you take because no matter what, you’re going to have to self-promote your little heart out, my dears.

But don’t take our word for it! In today’s episode, we’re interviewing Alexa Bigwarfe, the founder and CEO of Write, Publish, Sell—not to mention Katrina’s publisher! Alexa’s company offers authors writing and publishing solutions from marketing to launching to printing to cover design and TONS more. Alexa floors us with her solid advice on how we need to market ourselves (and not just on social media) in order to find our readers and build our audience. She’s been in the business for a long time, so writers, take notes!

Alexa has some solid marketing advice for authors out there, and here’s just a short highlight reel:

1. If you haven’t started marketing your book by now, for the love of god, START!
2. Traditional publishers don’t automatically have the budget to promote your book
3. Witchy books are in!
4. Don’t let your friend design your cover, unless said friend is, in fact, a book cover designer.
5. No matter how hard you market your book, it still has to be written well (duh)...

We know you’ll be as excited listening to Alexa as we were interviewing her. Writing a book is a long and arduous journey, and no matter where you are in the process, you could probably use a little dose of expert advice. And in the crazy competitive world of publishing, self-promotion is so gosh-darn-tootin'-frootin' important.

You can find Alexa’s contact details on her website (writepublishsell.com), PLUS you can also listen to her on her own podcast, the PublishHer Podcast with Alexa Bigwarfe.
★  ★  ★
Let us know what you thought of our episode! You can reach us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or email [email protected].

Hey! Do you like Celtic folklore, YA urban fantasy, AND free stuff? Read the first three chapters of Katrina’s debut novel, “The Wise One”.

And, if you want to see what Genny’s reading lately, check out her Goodreads review page.

What is impostor syndrome? Maybe you’ve heard this pop psychology phrase buzzing around social media lately, or maybe you’re hearing it for the first time. Put simply, impostor syndrome is the belief that you are a fraud. If you’re a writer and you have impostor syndrome, you don’t feel like you’re really a writer, no matter how much evidence there is to the contrary. We’re here to tell you that impostor syndrome is a load of codswallop!

In this episode, Katrina and Genny explore this phenomenon in an effort to demonstrate why impostor syndrome is not only a bunch of nonsense, but also why it’s a complete waste of your time and creativity. 

And yet, we understand that even though you may not actually be an impostor, your fears and doubts about yourself can be managed in a constructive way that stops giving those feelings of doubt any power. 

Need more proof that impostor syndrome is a whole lotta BS? What if we were to tell you that even some of the most famous and successful writers, actors, and entrepreneurs (people whom nobody on the planet would call frauds) also suffer from it? 

We give some advice on how to recognize this creativity killer (whom Katrina has decided to name Burt, btw) and what to do when you notice it operating on you. We end the podcast with our own personal dealings with impostor syndrome—sorry, Burt—in hopes that you find inspiration, hope, and advice on how you too can ignore, de-escalate, and/or destroy your own Burt. 

P.S. Technology had a vendetta against us this week, so we have to apologize for the iffy audio.

One last thing: If you’re new to podcasting, you should definitely check out Buzzsprout. Buzzsprout lets us launch, promote, and track our episode stats and so much more. We probably wouldn’t have even started WTB without Buzzsprout’s easy-to-use site that’s designed for newbies like us. 

Join over 100,000 podcasters already using Buzzsprout to launch your own podcast today. They’ll get your podcast listed on every major platform, plus build you a customizable audio player that you can embed on any site. Sign up for Buzzsprout and get a $20 Amazon Gift Card, which may just be the money you need to DIY your own soundbooth. 

Consulted Materials:

• 57 famous people reveal how to overcome impostor syndrome
• 12 successful women on impostor syndrome and self-doubt

★  ★  ★

Let us know what you thought of our episode! You can reach us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or email [email protected].

Hey! Do you like Celtic folklore, YA urban fantasy, AND free stuff? Read the first three chapters of Katrina’s debut novel, “The Wise One”.

And, if you want to see what Genny’s reading lately, check out her Goodreads review page.

What’s the difference between magic and witchcraft? Are faeries big or small—and why, pray tell, are there so many variations of them? What is the connection between black cats and witches? And what are warlocks, really, because they’re actually not what most people think they are.

These are the questions we hope to answer in today’s episode. These questions were asked by listeners, and we have to admit that we had a lot of fun diving right into fantasy land. 

But what did we really learn from this little investigation? It’s that you should never rely on pop culture references to learn the truth about witchy topics and fantasy characters. We said it once and we’ll say it again: Do your research! If you’re planning on writing about mythical creatures, don’t rely on “common knowledge”. Dig a little deeper.

Due to scheduling conflicts, Katrina and Genny had to record their parts separately, which made it easy to edit, but you won’t hear any of the usual banter or (never once asked for) impromptu song interludes. We didn’t even mention Deborah Harkness, for crying out loud!

If you’ve ever wanted to know the real answer behind these questions, sit back, relax, and hit play. 

Before you go: Are you interested in starting a podcast but have zero clue where to start? If you’re new to podcasting, you should definitely check out Buzzsprout. Buzzsprout lets us launch, promote, and track our episode stats and so much more. We wouldn’t have been able to get our podcast going without Buzzsprout’s easy-to-use site that’s designed for newbies like us. We especially like the Magic Mastering function that makes our audio sound much better than it would if left to our own devices.

Join over 100,000 podcasters already using Buzzsprout to launch your own podcast today. They’ll get your podcast listed on every major platform, plus build you a customizable audio player that you can embed on any site. Sign up for Buzzsprout and get a $20 Amazon Gift Card, which may just be the money you need to DIY your own soundbooth. 

Consulted Materials:

• http://crescentmoonschool.blogspot.com/?m=1
• “Paltrie Vermin, Cats, Mise, Toads, and Weasils”: Witches, Familiars, and Human-Animal Interactions in the English Witch Trialsby Helen Parish, University of Reading [download full text]

★  ★  ★

Let us know what you thought of our episode! You can reach us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or email [email protected].

Hey! Do you like Celtic folklore, YA urban fantasy, AND free stuff? Read the first three chapters of Katrina’s debut novel, “The Wise One”.

And, if you want to see what Genny’s reading lately, check out her Goodreads review page.

Fantasy: Anything not based in reality. Seems like a simple enough definition, but when it comes to literature, there’s so much more to it than that. In this episode, Katrina and Genny break down the fantasy genre and take a closer look into the most popular fantasy subgenres:

1. Urban fantasy
2. Magical realism
3. Paranormal fiction

We also explain the difference between high and low fantasy, but even we have trouble applying these definitions to real-life examples. You’ll quickly see that as clear-cut as these definitions are, there’s always obvious overlap. 

Having said that, it’s SUPER important to know the correct genre of your book, and Katrina explains why. Genny gets a tad emotional when talking about Gabriel García Márquez, and Katrina explains why we might hear her say the word “genre” a little strangely. Of course, Deborah Harkness makes yet another appearance and Genny nearly forgets to sing!

If you’re interested in writing in these subgenres, our best advice is to start reading! Here’s our reading list from episode 5:

• One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
• Works by Salman Rushdie, such as Midnight’s Children and Satanic Verses
• The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende
• Beloved, Toni Morrison
• Big Fish, Daniel Wallace 
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, F. Scott Fitzgerald 
• Works by Neil Gaiman, such as Stardust, Coraline, American Gods, Neverwhere
• The Wise One, K.T. Anglehart (duh)
• The Dark Tower series, Stephen King
• A Song of Ice and Fire series, George R.R. Martine

Question: Are you interested in starting a podcast but have zero clues where to start? Buzzsprout lets us launch, promote, and track our episode stats. We wouldn’t have been able to get our podcast going without Buzzsprout’s easy-to-use site that’s designed for technically challenged folks like us. 

Sign up for Buzzsprout and get a $20 Amazon Gift Card, which may just be the money you need to DIY your own soundbooth. 

Consulted materials:

• https://thoughtsonfantasy.com/2015/12/07/17-common-fantasy-sub-genres/
• https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-recognize-urban-fantasy#15-iconic-urban-fantasy-books
• https://bookriot.com/what-is-low-fantasy/
• https://www.masterclass.com/articles/guide-to-supernatural-vs-paranormal-fiction#6-examples-of-supernatural-fiction

★  ★  ★

Let us know what you thought of our episode! You can reach us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or email [email protected].

Hey! Do you like Celtic folklore, YA urban fantasy, AND free stuff? Read the first three chapters of Katrina’s debut novel, “The Wise One”.

And, if you want to see what Genny’s reading lately, check out her Goodreads review page.

We have just one question: Why vampires?  In this episode, we’re taking a closer look at these blood-thirsty sons of b*t***s—from Dracula to Twilight, to everything in between—and breaking down why so many people continue to be OBSESSED.

Our spin is that we’re looking at this from two different perspectives—Genny’s swoony over them (and gets a little hyper as a result) and Katrina never really saw the appeal (and thus lets her have her moments).

Some popular opinions: They’re just plain sexy and badass, and the fact that they live forever totes gives them street cred.

Here are some of the materials we looked at for this episode:

• https://www.eonline.com/ca/news/146192/when-did-this-vampire-craze-start-anyway
• http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/s/sex-and-sexuality-19th-century/
• https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20161031-the-real-life-disease-that-spread-the-vampire-myth
• https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2018/09/victorian-vibrators-orgasms-doctors/569446/

★  ★  ★

Let us know what you thought of our episode! You can reach us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or email [email protected].

Hey! Do you like Celtic folklore, YA urban fantasy, AND free stuff? Read the first three chapters of Katrina’s debut novel, “The Wise One”.

And, if you want to see what Genny’s reading lately, check out her Goodreads review page.