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 story and can you give us a spoiler-free summary?
Katie Collan: My story “Emet” is a short Jewish folklore fantasy about a witch searching for value in a community who demonizes her.
FHBH: How did you go about writing your story? Lot of research? Or did you just wing it?
KC: This short story was actually my own introduction to the main characters of my Jewish horror manuscript. I wanted to get a feel for writing them in an alternate setting while integrating aspects from the Jewish mythology I’d spent months researching. It’s just a step into the culture, and I plan to explore it much further in the future!
FHBH: What draws you to the character and theme of “the witch”? What do you find so compelling about it?
KC: Jewish people have been labeled under malicious titles as long as history can remember, and the term “witch” is no exception. “Emet” exists to show that we — whether you’re a Jew or any marginalized group — can embrace the things people see as ugly or evil, and learn to take pride in them. Witches have always been perceived as villains in folklore, and this wonderful anthology proves how deceiving appearances can be. If being a witch means loving myself and my identity, then I will gladly be a witch.
