Mark of the Wicked
Georgia Bowers
Published by: Swoon Reads
Publication date: August 10th 2021
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
A young witch tries to unravel the mystery of who is framing her for dark magic in Georgia Bowers’ creepy YA debut fantasy, Mark of the Wicked.
Magic always leaves its mark.
All her life, Matilda has been told one thing about her magic: You use only when necessary. But Matilda isn’t interested in being a good witch. She wants revenge and popularity, and to live her life free of consequences, free of the scars that dark magic leaves on her face as a reminder of her misdeeds.
When a spell goes awry and the new boy at school catches her in the act, Matilda thinks her secret might be out. But far from being afraid, Oliver already knows about her magic – and he wants to learn more. As Oliver and Matilda grow closer, bizarre things begin to happen: Animals show up with their throats slashed and odd markings carved into their bodies, a young girl dies mysteriously, and everyone blames Matilda. But she isn’t responsible — at least, not that she can remember. As her magic begins to spin out of control, Matilda must decide for herself what makes a good witch, and discover the truth…before anyone else turns up dead.
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Guest Post - Where does the author find inspiration to write books
I work in a library so have access to all the books I could hope for, plus titles that are now out of print but available in our Reserve Store collection. We also have an enormous newspaper cuttings collection which is decades of articles published in local newspapers. I love looking through the sections on ghosts, folklore, and witchcraft and letting my imagination run wild.
I feel as though I’ve been collecting ideas for Mark of the Wicked since I was kid. I was obsessed with witches and read and watched anything to do with witchcraft I could get my hands on. When I was about sixteen, I was in line at the cinema when I came face to face with Nancy, Sarah, Rochelle, and Bonnie walking towards me on a huge poster, lightening and rain crashing and lashing behind them. Needless to say I went to see The Craft the following week and it had a big impact on me!
One October years later, I read The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman. I loved that the magic was part of their everyday lives, little pinches here and there woven through the story. I had Hocus Pocus on repeat as well and the Halloween backdrop and history of the Sanderson Sisters was something that I loved. That’s when I started writing Mark of the Wicked and came up with my own witch legend and Halloween setting.
I also read an article in the Fortean Times about a skeleton found inside a wych elm tree. The poor victim’s hand had been removed and a piece of taffeta placed inside her mouth. The case was a mystery, but after a few months, graffiti began appearing around the town saying, “Who put Bella in the wych elm?”. I loved the way that sounded, like a creepy old nursery rhyme, so I played around with some ideas until I came up with Ivy-down-the-witching-well, who became the local legend in my story.
I find inspiration anywhere, but usually when I’m alone. When I’m walking through the woods and hear a twig snap or wings flapping, I know what it is, but I always wonder what it could be…
Author Bio:
Georgia Bowers lives in Bedford, a small market town in England. When it was time to decide what to do with her life, she was obsessed with two things: books and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It seemed sensible to follow in the brogued footsteps of Rupert Giles, so she became a librarian, though sadly not the demon fighting kind. But there’s still time.
Ever since her mum told her that witches used to meet in the woods near their village, she’s been obsessed with witchcraft and the paranormal. When she was a teenager, a weekly habit of Point Horrors satisfied her thirst for chilling tales before she moved on to reading Stephen King. These days she likes to give her nerves a break every now and then with a good YA romance.
After completing a course in writing YA fiction she was a winner in the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Undiscovered Voices. Since then she has dabbled with stories of chosen ones and ghostly best friends until she conjured up the magical ingredients for her debut novel, Mark Of The Wicked.
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