Hi Cait! Welcome to Taliesin.
Cait: Hey. Thanks for having me. This is kinda weird. Not sure why you're talking to me. I'm not special or anything.
Tell me about your connections to Manchester Central library.
Cait: So, my gran works there and I go and see her after school some times. My gran's cool. Nothing fazes her. She's always happy to see me. It can be a bit strange at the library sometimes though. There's a deep basement only staff are allowed into and there are all these old books down there, like they're being kept locked away. It's sort of spooky.
Are you much of a reader?
Cait: Uh huh, sure. I like reading. My gran's always suggesting books I might like. She tends to suggest books with strong female characters like I'm not going to notice what she's up to, trying to tell me I can do anything if I put my mind to it and all that blah blah. I quite like books with real people in, you know, set in the real world and that. I'm not really one for scifi and that.
Do you believe in witches?
Cait: Like, cackling crones on broomsticks? Er, no, don't think so. Although, like, who knows? Sometimes strange things do happen to me. It's crazy, I know, but occasionally I feel like I'm making things happen, if you know what I mean. Things that I can't possibly be making happen. Things that make no sense. I'm obviously just imagining it, I'm sure.
Tell me about your family.
Cait: So apart from my gran there's just my mum and me. My dad, well, he died in a fire a few years back. It was pretty grim. Still is, I guess. We were close and my mum, well, she's never really got over it. I still miss him. It's like I keep thinking of things I want to tell him or show him but I can't because he's not there any more. It's hard to get your head round.
What do you know about your ancestors?
Cait: My mum's family are from Chorley in Lancashire, which isn't too far away. Don't know much more than that. Except, from what I can gather, we're not from there originally. We're from somewhere else completely. Somewhere a long way away, but I don't actually know where. I should find out. My surname is Weerd which is pretty, well, weird I guess. And yes, I have heard all the jokes. Trust me.
If you could change the fate of the world, would you?
Cait: Sure, who wouldn't? But I'm not going to be able to am I? I'm just a schoolgirl. I don't have any superpowers. No one pays much attention to anything I do or say.
Do you have any conspiracy theories or do you believe the world is exactly as it seems?
Cait: You should speak to Danny. Danny's this boy I hang out with. He's always talking about conspiracy theories. Like, dark forces secretly running the world and that. He's OK, though. He's not crazy or anything.
What is your favorite flavor of jelly bean?
Cait: Lemon or lime or something like that. Nothing too sweet.
One last question. Who's this Danny fellow you've been spending so much time with?
Cait: So, like I say, he's this boy. We hang out together. We like the same bands. He's not my boyfriend, he's a boy friend. With a space. A space makes all the difference. Danny's fun. We're mates. That's all.
Thank you Cait for coming by. It was great talking to you :-)
Cait: No problem. Great to talk to you, too. Still don't know hy though? Like I say, nothing unusual ever happens to me...
Two worlds, one nightmare...
Fifteen year-old Cait Weerd has no idea she's being sought by the undain: sorcerous creatures that feed off the spirit of the living. She doesn't know they need her blood to survive. She doesn't even know she's a witch, descended from a long line of witches. Cait Weerd doesn't know a lot, really, but all that's about to change.
At Manchester Central Library she's caught up in sudden violence. In the chaos she's given an old book that's been hidden there. Given it and told to run. Hide the book or destroy it. The book contains all the secrets of the undains' existence. They and their human servants want to find it as much as they want to find her.
Cait learns the fates of two worlds are at stake. Just what she needs. Along with definitely-not-a-boyfriend Danny, she has to decide what the hell to do. Run, fight or hope it all goes away.
It's only then she learns who she really is, along with the terrible truth of what the undain have been doing in our world all this time...
You can check HEDGE WITCH out here on amazon!
The second part of the trilogy - WORM LORD - will be out this year, with the final part hopefully next year. Simon Kewin is also just finishing off a prequel novella that will be available for free later this year...
You can find out more about Simon Kewin
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Thanks for having Cait on your blog today, Taryn. Much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteIt was great to have her!
DeleteSounds like a roller-coaster of a read. :-)
ReplyDelete