It is an absolute pleasure to meet the witches of the Enchanted Emporium. I hope you enjoy reading our chat about Samhain, ghosts and superpowers. Alys xx The Enchanted Emporium Bookshelf Today we’re excited to chat to Alys West, author of the witchy series the Spellworker Chronicles. We hope you enjoy hearing about Samhain, her books and spells. Monday Merry Meet: Alys West Willow:Hi Alys, come in it’s blustery out there. It’s as if you brought your Storm witch with you. We’ve heard the waves hit the harbour walls all day. Usually we’re too far away. Amber:On the plus side the courtyar ..read more

I’ve recently returned from a holiday in Madeira.  One of the most unexpected discoveries of the trip was the Laurisilva Forest, an ancient forest of laurel trees.  I’d read about this area in the guidebook but the dry sentences about ‘primary forest’ and ‘ecological niches’ did little to prepare me for the reality. Laurisilva Forest in Madeira The trees are extraordinarily tall with slender trunks. The canopies start very high up.  The trees are covered with pale green lichen which hangs from branches like beards. Needles have fallen onto the forest floor deadening sound.  ..read more

As York is in Tier 2 my Halloween celebrations are going to be pretty low key this year. I’m going to miss trick and treating with my godson who thinks Halloween is the best holiday, even better than Christmas, due to the sheer quantity of chocolate on offer! I have however made a little video of me reading from ‘Storm Witch’. This is my first attempt at anything like this and this is take 381 (or maybe it just felt like that!) It’s a bit rough and ready having been filmed in my spare room on my mobile but I hope you enjoy it. ‘Storm Witch’ is on promo this weekend and is only £2.99 for the e ..read more

Mabon or the Autumn Equinox occurs in the Northern Hemisphere on Tuesday 22nd September.  Day and night will be of equal length for the second time in the Wheel of the Year (the first time was at Ostara, the Spring Equinox).  The Equinox also marks the official start of autumn, although with some of the very chilly days we’ve had in Yorkshire this September I’ve felt pretty convinced it started early this year.  I’m a big fan of autumn, it’s probably my favourite season as you can tell from this post about the joys of autumn from a couple of years ago. Mabon is actually a relat ..read more

At this time of year, grain is ripening in the fields, there’s crops of fruits ready and gardens are lush with colour.  This first harvest is celebrated as Lammas (also known as Lughasadh) and takes place on 1st August in the Northern hemisphere this year.  The word ‘Lammas’ comes from ‘loaf mass’ as traditionally bread would be taken to the church to celebrate the grain harvest. There’s a lot of folklore associated with the Corn God who dies with each harvest to be reborn in future harvests.  In some traditions this is symbolized by Demeter, the Corn Mother, who represent ..read more

I went to my local library yesterday. Normally this wouldn’t be remarkable but this was my first visit since the library reopened earlier this month. I made an appointment to pick up a couple of books I’d requested and dropped off the ones I’d had since March.  This was easily my quickest library visit ever. I was in and out in less than a minute.  And while I understand why they’ve set it up like this at the moment, I really miss the joy of browsing. I’ve been in one bookshop since shops reopened and it was a total joy. I wandered about picking up things which looked interesting, a ..read more

For me stories grow out of places and I’m always delighted when that love of place comes through to readers. One of the nicest comments I receive is when someone tells me one of my books has made them want to visit Glastonbury, Orkney or Whitby. From Under the Duvet Book Blog reviewed Beltane this week and said that she’s added Glastonbury to her bucket list after reading it.  I’ve not written any posts about the locations in Beltane so it’s time to put that right and I’m going to start with the Tor. St Michael’s Tower I’ve been up the Tor many times and, whichever way you approach it, it ..read more

I’ve been obsessed with stone circles since a family holiday to Brittany when I was 15. I remember vividly my fascination with the stone alignments at Carnac which kicked off a lifelong passion. I’m what my best friend’s husband, who’s an archaeologist, calls “a stone botherer” which doesn’t bother me at all as my stone obsession has taken me to some incredible places from Orkney to Ireland to Cornwall and back to Brittany. When I started writing ‘Beltane’ I always knew there was going to be a stone circle in it and that it’d be an important part of the story.  There’s something otherwor ..read more

Somehow despite writing a book set at Beltane, I’ve not written a blog post about it yet. So I’ve decided to put that right this year. I’ve always wanted to be in Glastonbury at Beltane as they have the most spectacular celebrations with people dressed up as Green Men and goddesses to welcome the spring.  Of course, that won’t be taking place this year but there’s lots of ways to celebrate Beltane without going far from home. Beltane is on 1st of May.  It’s a time to celebrate the fertility of the earth as spring blooms.  The earth’s energies are at their most active as the seas ..read more

A ..read more