We chat with author Julia Bianco about Witch Season, which is an action-packed and fiercely romantic contemporary fantasy.
Hi, Julia! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m an author and screenwriter who lives in Los Angeles with my fiancé and our cats, S’more and Rigatoni. In addition to working on Witch Season and its TV adaptation (ahh!), I’m currently in a writers’ room for an upcoming Amazon drama TV series. In my free time, I love baking, reality TV, musicals (especially musicals based on teen movies), doing crafts, leaving half-finished crafts all over my apartment, buying things to do more crafts, and everything that ever aired on The CW/The WB/UPN.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I grew up in a small town in New Jersey, and there wasn’t much to do– but we did have a very well stocked library. I spent a lot of time in those stacks, escaping to new worlds and finding new friends among those characters. I became a big daydreamer, and it was only natural that I eventually started writing those stories down!
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Tris’s Book by Tamora Pierce
- The one that made you want to become an author: A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. I wrote a ton as a kid, but this is the first book I read as an adult that made me think seriously about writing a novel. Her command of structure is just phenomenal.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The Poet Empress by Shen Tao. What a stunning, beautiful book– can’t recommend it highly enough!
Your debut novel, Witch Season, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Exciting, gritty, steamy, fun, dangerous.
What can readers expect?
Witch Season is an urban fantasy romance that takes place in modern day Los Angeles. The main characters are all witches, but it’s not quite witchcraft in the way that you’d normally think of it. In this world, a strict, corporate magic system has overtaken the potions and herbs of old. But some witches– including the book’s main character, Katherine– come from outside that system, and are born with a wild, uncontrollable power that can be extremely dangerous to those around them. Katherine’s life is upended by an explosive magical crime in LA, and when she’s forced to team up with the haughty heir to the country’s head coven to solve it, sparks fly in more ways than one. The book is high-octane, with a lot of action, romance, and intrigue. I hope it’s a fun read, and one that’s accessible for not just fantasy fans, but also fans of mysteries, thrillers, romance, and even contemporary.
Where did the inspiration for Witch Season come from?
For years, I felt like I was always searching for a particular book that I couldn’t find. I wanted a real world, contemporary fantasy with a politically-driven magic system that demanded a cost from its users. I wanted it to have a romance at its center, but to also have important friendships, mentorships, and family relationships. And I wanted it to have the strong, distinct voice I loved in shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Veronica Mars. I kept searching and searching for a book with all of those elements, and while I’d find stories that had pieces of them, I couldn’t find one that had all of them together. So I decided that if I wanted to read it, I would have to write it!
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I really enjoy writing people who are complicated, damaged, and a bit messy, a description that fits all of the book’s main characters! But I did especially love writing the book’s villain. (I can’t say their name since it’s a spoiler!) They really believe that what they’re doing is the right thing, but they’re also not blindly evil, and they recognize that their choices are going to have negative impacts on the people around them, including the people they love. It was really fun and juicy for me to dig into, and I hope it’s the same for the reader!
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
Quite a few! Witch Season is my first published novel, but I’d written other books (plus lots of screenplays and short stories) before it. I’m a huge outliner, and every time I do an outline, I think I’ve figured out alllll my plot problems and my first draft is going to come out absolutely perfect– which of course is not the case. There were a lot of things about this book that were very sticky for me. I wish I had some magic trick I could tell you for working through them, but I don’t. I use what a writing mentor of mine describes as the push lawnmower method– you just keep going over it again and again and again until you get it right. That starts with that first outline, then goes through more outlines, more drafts, back to outlines, to drafts again… it’s a labor of love!
This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
Long and twisty, but fun! I loved writing as a kid, but I never pictured myself becoming a writer. My dad worked in IT and my mom was an actuary, and I always thought I’d do something similarly reasonable. That changed when I was in college and got a call from my parents telling me that they were taking early retirement to pursue their dream– running a tandem bike touring company. (Not kidding! They still do it to this day, they’re very happy.) Suddenly, I thought, if they could do their dream job, couldn’t I do mine? I started pursuing writing both in novels and TV. But it took three manuscripts and six years to find an agent for Witch Season, and two and a half more for it to make its way to shelves. I learned so much along the way, and ultimately, I’m so happy that it wasn’t my first book that got published. I feel like I’m such a better writer and so much more prepared for everything publishing has to throw at me now than I was then. When you’re in it, the journey can feel really hard and slow, but it’s all a learning experience in the end!
What’s next for you?
I’ve been hard at work on Witch Season’s sequel, and I can’t wait for everyone to read it! People who have finished the book will know that the ending is a doozy, and the second book doesn’t let up. It’s high stakes, high action, and high heat, and I hope people love the conclusion to Katherine and Silas’ story as much as I do. I’ve also been working on Witch Season’s TV adaptation with Lionsgate and Made Up Stories, and I’m really excited to bring this world to the screen!
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up? Any you’ve read so far this year that you’ve enjoyed?
Oh gosh, so, so many! 2026 has been such a great reading year for me. I’ve been picking up a ton of other 2026 debuts, and all of them have been so phenomenal. Some of my favorites, in no particular order: How To Kill A Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson; It’s All In Your Head by Sabina Nordqvist; Bad Words by Riognach Robinson; Every Version Of You by Natalie Messier; Burnout Summer by Jenna Ramirez; Thunderstruck by Lissa Layland; and This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum. And some non-debut books I’ve loved that I’ve read this year: Trad Wife by Saratoga Schaefer; Enemies to Lovers by Alisha Rai; and Warrior Princess Assassin by Brigid Kemmerer.
And I don’t think the great reading year is slowing down any time soon! There are so many exciting books coming up. Just a few of the many I’ve got on my pre-order list: Wench by Erynne Rivers; Death Card by Jasmine Smith; Henry Tudor Must Die by Jillian Laine; Now That We Don’t Talk by Rachel Pologe; Love, Witches, and Wahala by Christine Cowan; The Flayed Man by Chloe Lauter; Flickerstate by F.A. Davidson; An Immaculate Deception by Isabela Livino; and Witch Daughter by Tanaz Bhathena. (Yes, my bookshelves are already overfull– what of it?)
