Heart-to-Heart with K.S. Marsden

Posted on  27/12/2023 09:15:50

author : Marsden, K.S.

Today The Magic Book Corner presents you K.S. Marsden, author of The Witch Hunter, Northern Witch and Echena series.

              

Here is our little Heart-to-Heart:

1. Hi Kelly and welcome to our little Magic Book Corner. Could you please tell us a little about yourself? 

I am a UK Fantasy writer, first published in 2013. My writing is in addition to my full-time job, which is an equine nutritional advisor in Yorkshire. I have had a history of horsey roles around the UK, having worked in Wales, Ireland, London, Bristol… taking on every job that interested me, from a Riding Instructor to a Stallion Handler. 

I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the top horses and riders in the country, including Olympic competitors. 

Don’t worry, though – there are very few horses in my books. 

2. What inspired you to become a writer? 

I’ve always been a complete book addict, and can’t remember a time when I wasn’t making up my own stories. Above all, I loved Fantasy, because of the escapism. 

I only seriously started to write with the aim of publishing when I was about nineteen. I’d become disheartened by the books available in the shops – at that time, all the new releases seemed to be regurgitations of the same story, or written by “celebrities”. 

I realised that, if I wanted to read something that would appeal to me, I might as well try and write it. 

3. Will you tell us a little about your books? 

All of my books are based in the UK. 

I always wanted to be a British writer, writing British stories that are not based in London. Growing up, books were always set in America, or if I was lucky, London. I’ve always made an effort to include at least one Yorkshire character or setting in all of my books! 

The Witch-Hunter series is following modern-day witch-hunters with the premise that all witches are evil and power-hungry. 

Hunter and his colleagues have to deal with a dangerous new witch threat that will change everything. 

The Northern Witch series follows Mark, a good witch-in-training; and his new boyfriend Damian, who just happens to be possessed by a demon.

The Enchena Duology is an Narnianesque adventure, where a couple of teens are dragged into another world, to fight a king who can resurrect the dead. 

I always wanted to write a book with evil unicorns, and good monsters! 

4. Among all these books you’ve written, is there any that’s closest to your heart? 

That’s a hard one to judge. My favourite would have to be “The Shadow Falls”, because of all the twisty goodness. 

But the one I feel emotionally closest to would have to be “Sophie: Witch-Hunter”. 

This is a prequel (although it is highly recommended you read the main trilogy first), that follows Sophie’s formative years. It’s the darkest book I’ve ever written, but I think it needed to be, to do justice to her background. 

I happened to write this book after I had been in a bad car crash, which coincided with a time of great stress in my personal life. 

I wasn’t in a very good space. I’d originally planned on writing one of the Northern Witch books, and nearly turned a very light-hearted series down a very dark path. Luckily, I decided against this and worked on a different project instead. 

I found it very therapeutic to pour all of the dark twistiness of my life into Sophie’s book, and I think it is the most honest and raw work I may ever produce. 

5. I just finished your Witch-Hunter trilogy and loved it. Where did the idea for it spring from? 

The Witch-Hunter idea started with the villain. 

A witch whose magic was without limits. Their followers seduced by power and their actions easily read as evil. Witches are a different breed of human (I felt the distinction was important, these aren’t humans using magic). 

From there, I worked out who would stop this witch. I took inspiration from the very real and bloody history of witch-hunting. I decided that at some point in history, the official witch-hunters saw how dangerous it was to trust people to persecute witches, so they vowed to work in the background, secretly keeping people safe from real witches. 

I liked the fact that the witch-hunters become stronger and faster with each generation. They can also perceive magic and are immune to some spells. It was fun to play with the line of – how far can this go, and will they ever see any similarity between their skills and magic?  

6. Could you please tell me a little about the themes embedded in your Witch Hunter series? 

Despite being quite a light-hearted (and hopefully entertaining) story on the surface, I really liked the notion of getting to play with the idea of heroes and villains. 

It starts out very straight-forward. We get to see Hunter save a girl from being sacrificed by evil witches. This introduction sets everything up, casting very black and white, with the witch-hunters as the heroes, and the witches as the villains. 

But as the series goes on, everything becomes a little more grey. As in reality, the witch-hunters aren’t very good “good guys”. They are prejudiced and most are narrow-minded in their view of witches. 

Likewise, it’s perhaps unfair how the witches have been stripped of all rights throughout history. You can kind of understand how they can go to such extreme lengths. 

This story is from Hunter’s point of view, but I wanted to write something that could very easily be flipped. If this was from the Shadow Witch’s point of view, the witches would be the rebel heroes, and the witch-hunters the villains. 

7. I loved the rituals and spells. What was the inspiration behind them? 

I dabbled in Wicca when I was younger, and that has been the basis of many of my spells and rituals. 

I felt that it was very important that when I write about magic, it is respectful to Wicca. I do a lot of research into any new spell, and keep a catalogue of what I have used. 

Above everything, I want magic to feel real. I want readers to get swept away with the story, and never stumble over unrealistic magic; or magic that feels like too much hard work. I aimed to make everything as natural as possible.  

8. The friendship and family relationship you portray are one of the highlights of the tale for me. Tell me a bit about how and why you ended up writing them? 

I think that family (or the family that you make), is very important, as no one goes through this world alone. 

When I was writing the Witch-Hunter Trilogy, I’d moved away from home (as far away as possible without crossing the sea). I wasn’t close to my family, and it was good to move away and let some tensions settle. 

I think this was reflected in how important Hunter’s friends are to him (and how little he gets on with his mother). He trusts them completely, and they are a solid part of his story; even when they’re not getting along! 

The Northern Witch Series is much more current. After a decade away, I’d moved back to my hometown, because my oldest friends were getting married and having babies, and I felt like I was missing out on all the important parts of their lives. I realised how important family can be, even if you don’t always see eye to eye. 

The Northern Witch is much more family-focussed. Mark has his blood family, his coven family, and his closest friends around him. I wanted the whole cast of characters to be well-rounded and memorable. 

9. And how did the sassy witch granny come to be? She is absolutely awesome! 

Thank you, Nanna does seem to be a firm favourite with everyone! 

Quite simply, Nanna is who I’d like to be when I’m older. She’s totally confident in who she is, and says whatever is on her mind. 

When I decided that Mark would be learning magic from his grandmother, it all just fell into place. Her scenes were so much fun to write – Nanna is definitely one of those characters that I have limited control over, despite being the author! 

10. What readership do you think your books would appeal to? 

I think all of my books are suitable for teens and adult readers. Both are written in a similar tone - when I’m writing, I don’t like to alter the process for the different audiences. 

I think you have to respect young readers, and I try not to dumb anything down for them. There is nothing explicit and unsuitable for younger readers in the Witch-Hunter series, despite it technically being aimed at adults. 

The Northern Witch is Young Adult and LGBTQ (with gay main characters). I hope it appeals to a wide range of readers. 

11. And what should a reader expect when picking them up? 

My terrible sense of humour. 

There will also be witches, demons and magic. 

Loyalty; love; and a little bit of heartache. 

There will be plot twists, which hopefully catch the readers by surprise!  

12. What’s next for K.S. Marsden the writer? 

I am currently working on the 4th book in the Northern Witch series. 

“Summer Sin” will hopefully be released in Spring 2021. 

It’s quite hard to describe without spoilers to the earlier books, but Mark gets a new housemate; he also gets to visit the demon realm; and Nanna finally gets a date with a hot farrier.  

I am also planning to publish another Witch-Hunter prequel. 

“Kristen: Witch-Hunter” was originally published as a short story, as part of the Awethor anthology; but I plan to re-write and re-release it as a full-length novel. 

 And when all of that is wrapped up, I have another project that has been sitting (im)patiently for years, waiting for me to get around to it. 

This one will include more demons, have a female MC and is set in the 90’s. 

13. Have there been any difficulties in your writing career and if yes, how did you overcome them? 

I’ve had ups and downs over the years, but even when I’m struggling with writer’s block, I know it’s just temporary; and at the end of the day I’m still a writer. 

I think the hardest part for me was getting started. 

I tried to get published via the traditional route of finding an agent or publisher, because I really didn’t have a clue how to publish a book. 

After several years of no success, a friend persuaded me to try self-publishing, as it was starting to become more popular. 

I went into it completely blind, I was completely useless! In all the years of dreaming of being a writer, I’d never considered all the rest. 

I guessed about editors and covers, and bumbled my way through those; but I didn’t know about beta readers, or formatting, or social media platforms, or marketing, or promo materials, or newsletters… 

I really laugh at my naivete! 

Luckily, the online writing community is amazing. Every single person I’ve come across has been beyond helpful. They are able to answer all questions, and raise suggestions, because they’ve come across all of these issues themselves. 

I’m so grateful to all the people that have helped me over the years, and I hope to pass that aid on for years to come. 

14. And lastly, do you have any advice for other writers out there or perhaps a message for the readers? 

For writers, it’s important to keep reading, to help hone your own writing. You can find out what works, and what doesn’t. See what appeals to you. 

It helps you broaden your knowledge, and experience a connection with other author’s books. 

It is also an excellent way to relax, and inspire you for another writing burst. Thank you to all the readers, and for you interest in my books. 

Thank you very much to The Magic Book Corner for hosting me today! 

About the author: K.S. Marsden

Kelly S. Marsden grew up in Yorkshire, and there were two constants in her life - books and horses. 

Graduating with an equine degree from Aberystwyth University, she has spent most of her life since trying to experience everything the horse world has to offer. 

She is currently settled into a Nutritionist role for a horse feed company in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. She writes Fantasy stories part-time. 

Her first book, The Shadow Rises (Witch-Hunter #1), was published in January 2013, and she now has several successful series under her belt. 

You can get in touch with Kelly here:

Website: www.ksmarsden.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ksmarsden

Twitter: www.twitter.com/ksmarsden

Instagram: www.instagram.com/ksmarsden