Guest post written by Soul of a Gentleman Witch author David Ferraro
David Ferraro grew up in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, where he was raised on a steady diet of comic books, horror movies and YA novels. He graduated with a B.A. in English and creative writing from St. Cloud State University, and currently resides in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with his partner and a very spoiled tortoise. He is represented by Eva Scalzo of Speilburg Literary.
About Soul of a Gentleman Witch: To win back his soul from the Devil, a cynical witch must decide if his own freedom is worth delivering a selfless boy to damnation.
I’ve always been fascinated by witches. I remember watching the movie Witches starring Anjelica Huston (adapted from the Roald Dahl novel), when I was very young and it scared the bejeezus out of me. But I couldn’t help but be drawn to the idea of people gifted with magical powers. Jadis the White Witch in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, and the Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus, continued to fuel my interest before I started reading regularly. Once I read L.J. Smith’s The Secret Circle, I was fully onboard, leading me on a path that would later point me toward Hayao Miyazaki and the wonderful witches populating his films Kiki’s Delivery Service and Howl’s Moving Castle, and L. Frank Baum’s Oz books.
My latest novel Soul of a Gentleman Witch has been influenced by witches throughout pop culture, but drawing pretty significantly from those last few examples, with a dash of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. I wanted to create the ultimate witch book, with a black cat familiar, flying on broomsticks, using potions with eye of newt – everything that makes witches so delightfully witchy. And then make it queer. To this day, I still love delving into everything witches, so I wanted to share a few recent YA witch novels that I loved.
The Devouring Gray by C.L. Herman
This title reminds me so much of those books I grew up reading. It’s very The Secret Circle, with our protagonist discovering that she is a descendant of one of four founding families with magical abilities meant to protect their town from a monster in the “Gray.” I love how the discovery of powers plays out, when the protagonist understands why she has been kept away from her hometown for so long. As she becomes drawn deeper into the mysteries surrounding the town, and becomes friends with some of the odd residents, she realizes just how dangerous it was to return.
Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker
This book is just epic. Two warring powerful families use magic against one another as they fight for justice and dominance in New Orleans. While trying to understand the curse placed upon their mother, twins Clem and Cris discover a plot that led to the murder of their grandmother, leading to her disgrace. To get retribution, they must tear down old allies in their quest to bring the truth to light, meanwhile realizing that not everyone around them is who they pretend to be.
Fraternity by Andy Mientus
The Craft is a cult classic movie, for very good reasons, and this very much has those vibes. A new student at an elite boarding school joins a secret society of queer students, where he learns firsthand just how dangerous using magic can be. As a seductive tome corrupts them with its promises of protection and power, they unwittingly release an ancient, malevolent force that they must work together to thwart before it consumes them all.
Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire by Don Martin
This one has more cozy fantasy vibes than the others on this list. It would sit comfortably on a shelf next to Kiki’s Delivery Service. Verity Vox is a witch-in-training who struggles to break a curse put upon a struggling Appalachian town. It’s very whimsical and charming, and reading this is almost like wrapping yourself in a warm blanket, as Verity attempts to earn the trust of the townsfolk she’s meant to help, while putting a foul, slick-tongued beast to rest for good.
The Diviners by Libba Bray
Taking place in Jazz Age New York, this novel features a group of teenagers, each with different paranormal powers, as they work together to solve a series of occult-based murders around the city. This book actually gets pretty scary, with this sense of dread threaded throughout. These characters are some of the most fully-developed I’ve ever read, and I loved experiencing their journey through this book and its three follow-ups.
