The Last Magician meets The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy in this thrilling and atmospheric historical fantasy following a young woman who discovers she has magical powers and is thrust into a battle between witches and wizards.
We chat with debut author Sasha Peyton Smith about The Witch Haven, along with book recommendations, writing, and so much more!
Hi, Sasha! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi Nerd Daily! Absolutely! I’m originally from Utah but ended up in DC for school and accidentally never left. In addition to being a writer I’ve worked as a scientist, a camp counselor, and for one single night, the world’s worst waitress.
I’m passionate about well-curated road trip playlists, soup recipes and stories about complicated girls. The Witch Haven is my debut novel.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love writing, but I never really identified as a writer. In high school I wrote truly terrible poetry about the boys who didn’t like me back and devoured every young adult novel I could get my hands on. I entered college as a STEM major, but spent my evenings secretly writing fanfic. It wasn’t until fanfic gave me my first taste of writing for an audience that I took a step back and finally had the lightbulb moment of “oh, this really matters to me. I want to do more of this.”
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
The first book I remember reading by myself was the Dinosaurs Before Dark Magic Treehouse book. I lived for the Magic Tree House Books. I read what feels like one hundred of them.
The book that made me want to become an author was Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen. I read an interview where she said she wrote the book the summer after college, living at home with her parents. I was, in that moment, sitting in my childhood home after graduating college and feeling completely unmoored. I opened my laptop and started the first draft of what would become The Witch Haven. She gave me the courage to start.
I’ve thought about The Twilight Series every day since I was 13. It took hold in my brain and never let go. I could write a PhD thesis on my criticisms of the series, but still my goal as a young adult author is to somehow bottle the feeling Twilight gave me the first time I read it in the 8th grade. It is my longest and most complicated relationship!
Your debut novel The Witch Haven is out August 31st2021! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Witches, Friendship, Murder, Revenge, Twists
What can readers expect?
The Witch Haven takes place in 1911 New York and follows Frances Hallowell, a 17-year-old seamstress reeling from mysterious death of her brother 4 months prior. When her predatory boss ends up dead at her feet, her scissors in his neck and she can’t explain how they got there, she’s taken to Haxahaven Academy, a school for witches disguised as a tuberculosis sanitarium. Once there, she begins to suspect the magic underworld of the city may be related to her brother’s death and attempts to unravel the mystery. She finds herself in over her head pretty fast.
The Witch Haven is a book about angry teenage girls, grief, friendship, and the question of what true power is. My hope is that it feels vivid and exciting and keeps you guessing until the very end.
Where did the inspiration for The Witch Haven come from?
Strangely enough, the idea of a school for witches disguised as a tuberculosis sanitarium came from my own grandmother. Immediately after finishing nursing school in New York in the 1930s, she was diagnosed with tuberculosis and taken to a sanitarium where she stayed for 2 years. She spoke very little about her time in the sanitarium, but I thought about how strange it must have been to be locked up so near New York City. I wondered what the relationships were like between these women who must have felt so trapped. It was that nugget of an idea, combined with my lifelong love of YA fantasy novels that first spawned The Witch Haven.
Can you tell us about any challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
I wrote The Witch Haven mostly in secret as a project just for me. I was terrified to tell anyone I was writing a book. Getting over that insecurity and sharing it with my friends and family was really heartening, they were universally supportive. Knowing people were rooting for me was huge.
I also had to teach myself how to write on a deadline. Learning to write not only when I was inspired, but because I had people counting on me and this book was a massive challenge. It felt like learning how to rewire my brain. Developing a routine and letting go of some perceived, unreachable level of perfection was really helpful.
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I wrote my favorite scene in the book, a scene affectionately referred to as “magic fight club” in a coffee shop, sitting across from a friend of mine. I have the most distinct memory of looking up from my computer at her and saying “I think I understand what this book is now.” It’s a scene that takes place in this creepy, candlelit basement and captures this atmospheric historical thing I was trying so desperately to achieve, but it was also just….fun. I let myself have fun and that was revelatory. It was in that moment, that I realized if I wasn’t having fun writing it, people probably weren’t going to have fun reading it.
What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
Surprising at every step of the way! I genuinely didn’t think the manuscript of The Witch Haven would ever go anywhere. I was back in my hometown, waiting in line for a book signing, talking with my little sister about the book, when a woman tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I’d ever heard of Pitch Wars. Pitch Wars is a mentorship program where un-agented writers apply, and if selected, work with a publishing industry professional to edit their manuscript. At the end of the three-month revision period, pitches for the manuscripts go in front of agents. I applied, got in (the woman who tapped me on the shoulder ended up being my mentor!) I got an incredible response and signed with my agent right after. From there, we edited the book for a few more months before sending it on submission to publishing houses. The book sold so quickly, I couldn’t believe it. I celebrated by eating takeout Cheesecake Factory on the floor of my tiny apartment. I spent so long in denial about wanting to be a writer. I still sometimes have moments when I’m writing and I have to stop and look around because I’m so thankful and amazed that this is my life.
What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?
My favorite piece of writing advice is to simply let first drafts be bad. There has never once, in the history of writing, been a perfect first draft. I once heard the metaphor that first drafts are like shoveling sand into the sand box, you can make castles with it later. That perspective is really helpful for the way my brain works. Comparing your first draft to the finished drafts of the books you love will make you think you’ll never measure up as a writer. I truly believe that the real magic comes when you edit.
I think the perennial “write every day” advice doesn’t work for a lot of writers. It’s an easy way to burn yourself out and if you trick your brain into thinking of writing as a chore, you won’t want to do it. Of course, I write every day when I’m on a deadline, but outside of that, I try to give myself space to breathe. Some days are reading days, some days are thinking days, some days I need to get out into the world and live a life so I have things to write about. All of those days are still productive days.
What’s next for you?
I’m currently working on the sequel to The Witch Haven which will be out next year! I can’t wait to expand the world of The Witch Haven and send readers into different parts of the magical world of the early 1900s.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
We’re really in a Witch Renaissance right now! There are so many incredible Witchy debut novels out in 2021. Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury, Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart, Sweet and Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley, Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin and Bad Witch Burning by Jessica Lewis. Each has such a unique take on the genre and what magic means. It’s an honor to be writing witchy books alongside them!
