My dream to write about witches has come true! Now on sale and available wherever books are sold is Toil & Trouble, a fantastic YA anthology full of feminist stories about witches, edited by Jessica Spotswood and Tess Sharpe.
Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft features an incredible and diverse roster of YA authors, and it’s an honor to have my story among theirs. The authors who have stories in this collection in addition to me are: Brandy Colbert, Zoraida Córdova, Andrea Cremer, Kate Hart, Emery Lord, Elizabeth May, Anna-Marie McLemore, Tehlor Kay Mejia, Tess Sharpe, Lindsay Smith, Jessica Spotswood, Robin Talley, Shveta Thakrar, and Brenna Yovanoff. Wow, right?
In a starred review, Kirkus said, “…this powerful and diverse collection is perfect for fans of female-led fantasy stories. No damsels in distress to be found here.” And in a starred review, Booklist said, “…the collective impact is undeniably resounding, and the particularly strong back half will leave readers more than a little bewitched themselves.”
My own story, “The One Who Stayed,” is about a mysterious group of witches who secretly gather in the woods and ache to protect and wreak vengeance when they witness a girl getting hurt. I wrote the story in a fugue state of fury and firelight—it poured out of me in an intense rush, which may be what it feels like to read it. Please note, for anyone who chooses to read my story: I would offer a trigger warning (TW: sexual assault).
Thank you so much to Jess and Tess, the brilliant editors of this collection, for including me in this wild and witchy project. Now go pick up Toil & Trouble for your own bookshelves—now on sale!