How a Coven is like The Mafia - Guest Post and Giveaway with Laura Powell

It’s not surprising witches are popular. They’re sexy, scary and have great accessories. The challenge for an author is to find a new way of writing about them.

The idea for Burn Mark came about because I started thinking about the ways in which a witches’ coven is like the mafia: they’re both secret criminal organisations hunted by the law, a source of fear to most people, but seen as quite cool and glamorous by some. And so Burn Mark imagines a modern world where licensed witches work for the state, but those who use magic illegally form gangster covens, which are hunted by the Inquisition. 

My witches have the ability to create storms, shape-shift, see through walls, possess souls and fly through the air. None of it, however, involves wands or cauldrons or pointy hats. The source of their power is a mental instinct similar to Extra Sensory Perception, which can be channeled into other people, animals and objects. Witchwork is a ritualistic yet messy process, using bits of rubbish and mud and bodily parts. To get ideas for this, I did a lot of research into British folklore, as well as the African-American magical practises of Hoodoo.

The other research I did was historical. The Age of Witch-hunting lasted in Europe and North America from the end of the 15th century to the middle of the 18th, during which an estimated 40 to 60 thousand people lost their lives. The most bloodthirsty guide to stamping out black magic is The Hammer of the Witches, a fifteenth century inquisitors’ handbook that was a bestseller of its day. Think “witch-hunting for dummies” crossed with “50 Shades of Grey”. It pretends to be very serious and respectable, and is actually quite pervy…

Although the inquisitors in Burn Mark are similar to modern policemen, they use techniques inspired by The Hammer of the Witches and historic witch-trials. So they test witches for the mark of the Devil by piercing them with needles, encase their heads in metal cages (the Witch’s Bridle) and duck them in tanks filled with ice water. And they burn them too. But because this is the twenty-first century, human rights have taken some effect. When witch criminals are burned alive, they’re drugged to anesthetize the pain. 

One of the first scenes in the book is the burning of a witch, show on giant TV screens in Trafalgar Square. Lucas, the son of a famous inquisitor, is watching. He’s been brought up in a world of privilege, and thinks all witches are deviants. In contrast, my heroine Glory belongs to a criminal coven, and feels that becoming a witch is her only chance of getting power and respect. But even though Lucas and Glory hate everything the other stands for, once a series of witch-terrorist attacks hits London, they have to team up to find out who’s responsible.

So on one level, the book is about how the fear of terrorism impacts on civil liberties and human rights, and how far both individuals and organisations are prepared to compromise themselves for vague notions of "the greater good". Burn Mark is a fantasy novel, but that doesn’t mean it’s not about our world. Good stories are always, on some level, about the here and now. And that’s the true magic of fiction.

Title:  Burn Mark
Series:  Burn Mark #1

Author:  Laura Powell
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal /Urban Fantasy

Release Date: June 19th 2012
Publisher: Bloomsbury

Size:  416 pages

Find the book: Goodreads | Amazon | BN | The Book Depository   

In a modern world—where witches are hunted down and burned at the stake—two live interact. Cleo is from a family of witches, and is desperate to develop the ‘Fae’ and become a witch herself. Lucas is the son of the Chief Prosecutor for the Inquisition and his privileged life is very different from the witches he is being trained to prosecute. And then one day, both Cleo and Lucas develop the Fae. In one fell stroke, their lives are inextricably bound together, whether they like it or not.

I was born in London, but grew up in the Brecon Beacons. Our house looks across the valley to Carreg Cennen Castle, quite possibly the most romantic ruin in Wales (see the picture above!). It was a very old-fashioned country childhood, and I spent most of it with my nose in a book. I also devoted quite a lot of time plotting ways to escape school. I went to a girls’ boarding school from the age of eleven and absolutely hated it.

University was much better. I studied Classics at Bristol and Oxford, then spent five years working in the editorial departments of both adult and children’s publishers. I now live in West London. My desk is by the attic window so I can daydream over the rooftops - it's perfect for procrastination.

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Bloomsbury has been kind enough to offer a Hardcover copy of Burn Mark to one lucky winner! (US Only)

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