Welcome to the latest installment of the Witches Save the World Micro-Interviews! In honor of the upcoming Halloween/Samhain holiday, and in celebration of the release of Witches Save the World, Forests Haunted By Holiness will be featuring a series of interviews with the contributors throughout October.
Witches Save the World was a labor of love. Across these two volumes you will find poems, short stories, and essays celebrating the witch and their role as wisdom keeper, protector of nature, avenger of the forgotten, and defender of the oppressed. Individual poems and stories range from historical fantasy to contemporary horror to science fiction, with many questioning the nature and cost of honor, integrity, and freedom.
In concert with these interviews, one physical copy of Witches Save the World — either Hags, Harridans, and Hexes Gone Right or Covens, Cauldrons, and Curses Gone Right— will be given away at the end of the month! Two books, two winners! To enter the drawing, just comment below and share the interview on your favorite social media platform.
Ready? Let’s get started!
Forests Haunted By Holiness: What is the title of your essay and can you give us a spoiler-free summary?
Francesca De Grandis: Miracles and Magic—Grassroots Pagan Ministry —is an essay about
* the history of the “village Witch” in disenfranchised groups
* how the village Witch continues to serve communities today
* and the discrimination against grassroots Pagan ministers.
FHBH: How did you go about writing your essay? Lot of research? Or did you just wing it?
FDG: Years as a grassroots Pagan minister informed my writing. The biases against my work are so strong that I couldn’t find words to fight them for a long time. My attempts spanned decades.
FHBH: What draws you to the character and theme of “the witch”? What do you find so compelling about it?
FDG: Hah, because I am “the Witch!” Or, rather, one of them. I am writing about my life experience and others who do the same work alongside me. Also, the “village Witch” continues to be an important support in oppressed groups, doing work that is nearly invisible, even to many Pagans. So Witches Save the World was a chance to address this. When I saw the anthology’s title, I had to contribute a piece because Witches saving the world has been one of my soapboxes for decades. I’m grateful to Rebecca for the anthology. So mote it be!
