Author Chat: Carolyn MacCullough

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• Read My Review for Once a Witch

Tamsin Greene comes from a long line of witches, and she was supposed to be one of the most Talented among them. But Tamsin's magic never showed up. Now seventeen, Tamsin attends boarding school in Manhattan, far from her family. But when a handsome young professor mistakes her for her very Talented sister, Tamsin agrees to find a lost family heirloom for him. The search—and the stranger—will prove to be more sinister than they first appeared, ultimately sending Tamsin on a treasure hunt through time that will unlock the secret of her true identity, unearth the sins of her family, and unleash a power so vengeful that it could destroy them all. This is a spellbinding display of storytelling that will exhilarate, enthrall, and thoroughly enchant.

Once a Witch is a fun, enchanting story, a seamless blend of magic and time-travel in a thrilling race-against-time adventure, where Tamsin Greene must somehow stop the sinister stranger hoping to release a very dangerous, deadly power that jeopardizes the past, present, and future as Tamsin and her family know it!

Today I have Carolyn MacCullough stopping by to answer some pre-Always a Witch questions that plagued my mind as soon as I was done with its predecessor.

Thank you, Carolyn, for helping me piece together the following interview...

Hi, Carolyn!

I've been totally and completely ensnared by your first book, Once a Witch, and I have to say, I'm tremendously excited to get going on the sequel, Always a Witch. First of all, what drew you to writing about witches?

I love a good witch story! Something about Halloween has always seemed wonderful and mysterious and magical to me--and so I thought of a girl born on that night into a family of modern day witches.

How did this story come about? What inspired the Once a Witch series?

It started when I tried to become a runner. And I'm not great at running--or any other form of exercise, really. But I was running every day or every other day through beautiful brownstone Brooklyn and I always passed this one little gargoyle statue who seemed to be grinning at me. And I wondered just what kinds of stories he could tell if he could talk. Then I started thinking about a character who had the power to make stone speak and then I started thinking about another separate character who didn't have any power whatsoever, but had the misfortune of being born into a family of very Talented witches. What would she be like? What would she do to gain a power for herself? Then I ran home and started writing.

How would you describe Tamsin Greene?

Prickly. Loyal. Sensitive. Deeply attached to her family even though she pretends not to be.

Your novel is really the perfect blend between time-travel and magic. Have you always had an interest in them? Was it difficult incorporating and melding the two?

I was a little scared to mess around with time travel since it's a delicate topic. Pull one thread and another unravels. But in the end I really enjoyed it.

Was it always you're intention to write out Tamsin's story in two novels? Was it challenging to accomplish that?

I didn't think there was enough material for a third. So this is a duology.

Did you have a favorite character you loved writing for?

Aunt Beatrice! I do love her. I want to be her in the 1930's in New York City.

Could you share one best-loved line or scene from the book?

When Gabriel asks Tamsin out for the first time:
     "So," Gabriel continues. "Dinner?"
     "I don’t know. I mean, you just took me back, like, a hundred years. Dinner would probably be so . . . anticlimactic now." There is a small silence and finally I dare to look up at him.
     One eyebrow jabs upward. "If you and I went out on a date, the last thing it would be is anticlimactic."

(I can't believe I didn't include this scene in my review!)

One of my favorite things about book one is Tamsin and her gorgeous love interest, Gabriel, who's pretty patient with her as far as starting up a romance. Are we going to see more of Tamsin's romantic side in Always a Witch?

Of course. But Tamsin does make a mistake and tries to protect Gabriel without really consulting him about it and well... he's not too delighted with her for it.

I'm definitely itching for what's to come, and I, and I imagine others, want to know what to expect. What else can you unveil about the sequel, Always a Witch? Any sneak peeks you care to share?

More Travelng, more Talents, spy work, the evil Knights. Oh, and Tamsin gets kissed early on in the book by someone who is definitely not Gabriel!

Being that Always a Witch is the final book in this two story arc, what can we expect to see from you in the future? Any projects currently underway?

Yes--I'm working on a YA paranormal set in a fishing village where a girl attempts to rescue her drowned sailor love from the depths of the sea.

Have you read anything particularly awesome so far this summer? Are there any books you're looking forward to getting your hands on before the year fades out?

I've got a 2 year old and a 4 month old--my reading is limited to some pretty amazing picture books right now! :)

Thank you for stopping by the blog!

Thank you for such a fun interview!

---

I can't wait to find out more about that mysterious YA paranormal you've got cooking, Carolyn. Especially if mermaids are involved... I have a fetish for 'em.

I hope to have you back on the blog soon!

Review: Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

Once a Witch

By Carolyn MacCullough

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Release Date: September 6, 2010
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Source: borrowed/Public Library
Purchase: Book Depo. | Amazon | Kindle
About the Book:

Tamsin Greene comes from a long line of witches, and she was supposed to be one of the most Talented among them. But Tamsin's magic never showed up. Now seventeen, Tamsin attends boarding school in Manhattan, far from her family. But when a handsome young professor mistakes her for her very Talented sister, Tamsin agrees to find a lost family heirloom for him. The search—and the stranger—will prove to be more sinister than they first appeared, ultimately sending Tamsin on a treasure hunt through time that will unlock the secret of her true identity, unearth the sins of her family, and unleash a power so vengeful that it could destroy them all. This is a spellbinding display of storytelling that will exhilarate, enthrall, and thoroughly enchant.

That's not the cover that was originally published, but I like this one so much better!

I received Always a Witch, the sequel, a few months ago for review from NetGalley, and I haven't thought of it since. Well, other than it's immensely attractive cover (like a sexy guy (or girl) you saw in passing awhile back--a fleeting image that gets called up every now and then because of the appealing, yummy outside) I haven't. But, recently a few reviews have cropped up, and I was intrigued. So I went to the local library and picked up its predecessor, Once a Witch.  And I was mightily pleased to discover that this book is as incredible as it was rumored to be!

It's been awhile since I've actually sat down with a book about witches. Psychics, yes. Humans with super abilities, also a yes. But witches, I haven't had the pleasure recently. And it felt wonderful and refreshing to delve into the story of Carolyn's impressive, fun witch family, the Greenes. Not only was it fascinating as I navigated my way through all the simplicities and complex rules, the reinvented witch lore, but the Greenes themselves, their dynamic, are entertaining, amusing, and relatable. The wise, old grandmother, the flighty, scatterbrained great aunts and uncles, the nosy relatives, the bunches of cousins, the Golden, picture-perfect sibling, the outcast, black sheep... I swear there's at least one family member that could be the clone of one of your own. I know I thought it while immersing myself in the intricacies of this family.

Tamsin Greene is one such outcast, and what evoked my deepest sympathies toward this girl lay in the fact that she did nothing that truly forced her into that mold. Other than being born for greatness, and, apparently, ending up a disappointment to everyone. You see, it was proclaimed by the matriarch of the family, her grandmother, that she would be a "beacon" for them all, a great witch. And on her eighth birthday, she turned up with nothing special. In fact, she turned up with no magic at all, Talentless. This automatically set up a wall between her and her family, a block that prevented her from participating and bonding with her family. Any childhood friends made within the family forsook her because of her lack of Talent, including--or so she thought--Gabriel, her best friend and a very distant family relation. I could understand why Tamsin was bitter about her family, resentful toward her perfect older sister, whose Talent surpasses many, and distant. I know I wouldn't want to be where I felt like I an alien, like something was wrong with me, like I didn't belong and wasn't wanted.

Going along with Tamsin around NY, to school with her bff Agatha, to her family farm with the rest of the Greenes, to a local club for Gabriel, and, best of all, to the past, was so much fun! I loved seeing the closeness, that strong bond between Tamsin and Agatha, Agatha being that best friend you wish you had during your teen years. I want an Agatha as a gal-pal, that's for sure. And as Tamsin and Gabriel reconnect... well, I was mentally nudging Tamsin closer and closer to Gabriel, forcing her to realize how he feels about her. And how she, deep down, feels about him. She blushes enough times for it to become pretty obvious, at least to the reader, and, oh, Agatha. I was cheerleading for Gabriel, growing frustrated with Tamsin, and that almost-but-not-quite-there-yet aspect to their blossoming romantic relationship kept me on my toes and my nose firmly in the book.

My only concern was the faint connection I felt with Tamsin. Yes, I sympathized with her. She's had it rough up until this point. BUT, I felt like Tamsin erected a wall right from the beginning, separating us. And, unfortunately, I didn't feel like it came down at all. There was that faint, but traceable distance between us, a gap that needs to be closed come the next book. Otherwise, I don't think I'll enjoy this series as much as I potentially could.

Surprisingly, I'm not as disappointed with the plot/adventure as I thought I'd be once I finished. Because, I reasoned with myself, this is the intro book. A prelude to the magical face-off fast-approaching. I'm GLAD things happened the way they did. Time-traveling back into the past is one of my bookish pleasures, and so I was delighted to find that I got a great blend of both time-travel and magic. The best of both worlds. And that feeling that worse things are about to happen, that darkness and evil and battles (oh, I can't wait!) are coming, had me trembling with undeniable anticipation. There's absolutely no other way to describe it. I thought because I wanted more magic, and maybe a fight or two, that I'd be discontented with what was given to me, and I realized, by the time I finished, that I was utterly wrong. Any more and it probably would've resulted in overload, which DEFINITELY would've turned me off. So that race-against-time feeling combined with the hard search for the Domani (you'll have to read the book to find out what that is!) both satisfied me and makes me yearn. Yearn for what I know is going to be an incredible finale.

---------------------------------------------------

"I'm going to keep a few feet between us. Maybe about six."
"Sorry," I murmur as we walk toward the house. My bike is making little clicking
sounds that can't be healthy. And just then it occurs to me that I've forgotten to
pick up the ice cream. I try not to sigh too loudly. My only consolation is that
Rowena will have expected me to have forgotten. Which isn't much of a consolation at all.
When we reach the porch, I lean my bike against the rail, turn
to him, and open my mouth to say something like I'm sorry again, but the words
evaporate in my throat. The guy standing next to me is undeniably beautiful. He
has dark shoulder-length hair, dark eyes, and a lean face. His long, supple
mouth quirks up in a smile as he says,"Who knew you'd turn out to be so klutzy, Tamsin?"
I make a futile swipe at the mud crusting along my forearm while staring at the blue moon tattooed on the right side of his neck. Who knew you'd turn out to he so hot? I swallow and say only, "Hi, Gabriel." (25)

"Would you not be such a guy about this? You can't 'take' him because he's
not. . . normal, really. He's evil. I shouldn't have to explain this to you, of all
people." I take a breath. "Please. I don't want him to know that you're . . . important to me. He can't know that." The engine mutters and skips beneath us and I stare at the green blinker light flashing on the dashboard. And then without warning Gabriel turns to me, grips the back of my neck with one hand, and pulls me to him.

(219)