Hello my lovely readers. So to continue the seasonal posts this week, I am really excited to be part of the blog tour for WITCH by Finbar Hawkins. This is a historical children’s book about a girl who want to avenge her mother’s death after being tortured and killed by witch hunters. The writing is unique and beautiful and I’m really enjoying it! So today I have an amazing guest from Finbar on his Research for writing WITCH.
But before that here is a little bit more about his debut and look out for my review later this week.
Witch by Finbar Hawkins Published by Zephyr on October 1, 2020
Genres: Historical, Fantasy & Magic
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Set in the 17th century, a breathtaking debut, and a potential prize-winner, about the power of women, witchcraft, fury, revenge and the ties that bind us.
After witnessing the brutal murder of her mother by witch-hunters, Evey vows to avenge her and track down the killers. Fury burns in her bright and strong. But she has promised her mother that she will keep Dill, her little sister, safe.
As the lust for blood and retribution rises to fever pitch, will Evey keep true to the bonds of sisterhood and to the magick that is her destiny?
Cover artwork by Edward Bettison
Guest Post by Finbar – Research
When you commit to writing something with a historical setting, research is an integral, unavoidable part of the writing process. I’ll admit at the beginning I was a little daunted. How on earth to you deal with a subject as vast as the witch trials and the English Civil Wars of the 17th century? How do you do justice to them? Where do you begin?
Well firstly I needed to keep my main character, Evey, front and centre. I knew where I wanted her to go, and what she would encounter, so I wanted to make sure that the things she experienced were accurate. I would visit locations and take lots of notes, lots of photos, and make sketches. I also stopped fretting and dived into reading about the period, and started to identify authors I liked dipping into, and certain things that sparked my interest – principally how everyday people were affected by the events of the Civil War.
I started to establish a framework for how I wanted to use the research. This wasn’t a story about the Civil War, instead it was set during this period. As I read more, the specific timeframe became integral – the first Civil War ends in the summer of 1646, and during this period traditional law and order broke down. This was a perfect setting in time for Evey’s journey – she encounters people from different parts of society, all with their own experiences. And most chillingly, this was the period when the witch trials resurged, much of them driven by the infamous Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins. My research showed me how war had not only divided the country, but also brought about hysteria, persecution and blame, that the events of the war were the perfect conditions for these trials.
I knew I wanted to tell a story about how women accused of witchcraft were treated, and while I researched, this passion became all the stronger. It’s because so many names were lost, that simply so many people were killed and were forgotten. Research gave me the impetus to try and put something out there for these people – we may have lost their names, but we can at least remember their struggle for survival. Research started out as something I feared, but ultimately it became something much more emotional for me – unearthing all those long-buried stories and bringing them out into the light.
About Finbar Hawkins
Finbar is a graduate of the Bath Spa MA in Writing for Young People. He grew up in Blackheath, London, where vikings once made their camp, and highwaymen would roam the old forests. Along with his wife, daughter and son, he now lives in Wiltshire surrounded by myth and legend.
He is a creative director for Aardman Animations in Bristol, where he makes fun interactive things for children of all ages.
WITCH by Finbar Hawkins is out now in hardback (£12.99, Zephyr, an imprint of Head of Zeus)
Follow Finbar Hawkins @finbar_hawkins and find out more finbarhawkins.com
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