❤Author Interview: Historical Paranormal Fantasy Author Kayleigh Kavanagh: One Foot in the Ether: Whispers of the Pendle Witches #authorinterview

 

  

Kayleigh Kavanagh is a disabled writer from the North-West of England. Growing up in the area, she learnt a lot about the Pendle Witches and launched her debut novel around their life story. Her main writing genres are fantasy and romance, but she loves stories in all formats and genres. Kayleigh hopes to one day be able to share the many ideas dancing around in her head with the world.

Her latest book is the historical fantasy, One Foot in the Ether: Whispers of the Pendle Witches. 

You can visit her on Facebook, Instagram, Goodreads and Tiktok. 

I am so excited about your book, One Foot in the Ether: Whispers of the Pendle Witches. Why did you choose this particular story to write?

I wanted there to be a second book to my original (Whispers of the Pendle Witches), but I didn’t want to just cover the trials. Reincarnation and earthbound spirits seemed like a much more fun path to take. 

Can you give us a blurb so others will know what it’s about?

 

More than two hundred and fifty years after the infamous Pendle Witch Trials, the spirits of rival witches Demdike and Chattox remain tethered to their bloodlines—watching, waiting, and bound by unfinished business.

Now, in the late 1800s, a pragmatic midwife and a troubled young psychic (descendants of the two witches) are drawn into a haunting legacy. An ancient being is stirring—an angry god of the old world, hungry for vengeance and ready to consume the future.

To stop it, the living and the dead must unite, recovering the lost knowledge of their craft. Whilst facing age-old problems and new foes. Some spirits don't re

st easy, and in Pendle, they're clawing their way back from the past.

 

Can you tell us a little about the main characters in your book?

Demdike, one of the original witches, is still stuck here on earth two hundred and sixty years after her death and she’s done with everything.

Chattox, her frenemy and long-time companion in the ether, is much less serious and prone to bouts of boredom, which she does strange things to alleviate. 

They’ve been dead for nearly three centuries; they’ve got an excuse for being quirky.

Claire is the practical midwife trying to navigate her place in a changing world.

Yana is young and naive but at that age where she thinks she knows everything, her gift of foresight only adds to this assumption.

They’re all snarky and sarcastic in some way, whilst the living women also try to be ladylike and fit the mould of the era. 

 

Where and when does this book take place?

Colne is a small town in the Pendle Borough, in the north of England. The book is set in the latter half of the 1800s, around 1872. 

They say all books of fiction have at least one pivotal point where the reader just can’t put the book down. What is one of the pivotal points in your book?

When the living and the dead finally connect, and the two worlds collide. 

 

Does your book carry a message?

Not consciously, but endurance and realising you still have power regardless of the situations was something my alpha readers picked up on: this and female rage. So, I’d say personal empowerment is a strong theme.

 

Where can we pick up copies of One Foot in the Ether: Whispers of the Pendle Witches?

https://mybook.to/Pendle2

 

What's your next project?

There will be two more books in the series, which I hope to get out in 2026/7. However, between then and now, I’m currently working on a second book in the “Secrets of Olde” series. This interview series focuses on conversations with different deities, and this next one is about Hecate. The working title is Secrets of Olde: Hecate’s Hope.

 

Is there anything you’d like to tell your readers and fans?

Thank you for reading my books. I know there is a lot of choice out there, and you have limited time and brainpower, so it's an honour that you used both in my creation. I hope you enjoy my writing and the stories yet to come. 

❤Author Interview: Historical Paranormal Fantasy Author Kayleigh Kavanagh: One Foot in the Ether: Whispers of the Pendle Witches #authorinterview

 

 

 

Kayleigh Kavanagh is a disabled writer from the North-West of England. Growing up in the area, she learnt a lot about the Pendle Witches and launched her debut novel around their life story. Her main writing genres are fantasy and romance, but she loves stories in all formats and genres. Kayleigh hopes to one day be able to share the many ideas dancing around in her head with the world.

Her latest book is the historical fantasy, One Foot in the Ether: Whispers of the Pendle Witches. 

You can visit her on Facebook, Instagram, Goodreads and Tiktok. 

I am so excited about your book, One Foot in the Ether: Whispers of the Pendle Witches. Why did you choose this particular story to write?

I wanted there to be a second book to my original (Whispers of the Pendle Witches), but I didn’t want to just cover the trials. Reincarnation and earthbound spirits seemed like a much more fun path to take. 

Can you give us a blurb so others will know what it’s about?

More than two hundred and fifty years after the infamous Pendle Witch Trials, the spirits of rival witches Demdike and Chattox remain tethered to their bloodlines—watching, waiting, and bound by unfinished business.

Now, in the late 1800s, a pragmatic midwife and a troubled young psychic (descendants of the two witches) are drawn into a haunting legacy. An ancient being is stirring—an angry god of the old world, hungry for vengeance and ready to consume the future.

To stop it, the living and the dead must unite, recovering the lost knowledge of their craft. Whilst facing age-old problems and new foes. Some spirits don't rest easy, and in Pendle, they're clawing their way back from the past.

 

Can you tell us a little about the main characters in your book?

Demdike, one of the original witches, is still stuck here on earth two hundred and sixty years after her death and she’s done with everything.

Chattox, her frenemy and long-time companion in the ether, is much less serious and prone to bouts of boredom, which she does strange things to alleviate. 

They’ve been dead for nearly three centuries; they’ve got an excuse for being quirky.

Claire is the practical midwife trying to navigate her place in a changing world.

Yana is young and naive but at that age where she thinks she knows everything, her gift of foresight only adds to this assumption.

They’re all snarky and sarcastic in some way, whilst the living women also try to be ladylike and fit the mould of the era. 

 

Where and when does this book take place?

Colne is a small town in the Pendle Borough, in the north of England. The book is set in the latter half of the 1800s, around 1872. 

They say all books of fiction have at least one pivotal point where the reader just can’t put the book down. What is one of the pivotal points in your book?

When the living and the dead finally connect, and the two worlds collide. 

 

Does your book carry a message?

Not consciously, but endurance and realising you still have power regardless of the situations was something my alpha readers picked up on: this and female rage. So, I’d say personal empowerment is a strong theme.

 

What's your next project?

There will be two more books in the series, which I hope to get out in 2026/7. However, between then and now, I’m currently working on a second book in the “Secrets of Olde” series. This interview series focuses on conversations with different deities, and this next one is about Hecate. The working title is Secrets of Olde: Hecate’s Hope.

 

Where can we pick up copies of One Foot in the Ether: Whispers of the Pendle Witches?

https://mybook.to/Pendle2

 

Is there anything you’d like to tell your readers and fans?

Thank you for reading my books. I know there is a lot of choice out there, and you have limited time and brainpower, so it's an honour that you used both in my creation. I hope you enjoy my writing and the stories yet to come. 

❤Author Interview: Contemporary Romance Author Paula Onohi Omokhomion: Shape of the Sun #authorinterview

 

Paula Omokhomion is a Master of Public Policy student at the UC Riverside School of Public Policy, though she’s fairly certain that won’t be forever. She holds a B.S. in Public Health Nutrition from UNC Chapel Hill, where she also minored in Creative Writing (Fiction) and graduated with highest honors for her 120-page thesis novella, New Age Taffeta.

Paula developed her skills and love for writing fiction in a very, very interesting Nigerian boarding school, where the lack of television meant she had to invent entertainment for everyone else. She loves reading manhwa, watching Indian TV dramas, listening to music, and writing short stories.When not doing any of those or in the classroom handling R code, she’s refining her LinkedIn or taking Instagram selfies.
She lives in California with her family, including her two fellow triplets, and is currently dreaming of a future PhD in public health—and maybe another novel.

Visit her website or connect with her on Facebook and Instagram.

I am so excited about your book, Shape of the Sun. Why did you choose this particular story to write?

I think circumstances made writing Shape of the Sun pressing. I had watched and read works back to back that made attempts to whitewash characters for the sake of being the lead. Thus, I really wanted to write characters that weren’t perfect but weren’t presented as being misunderstood or confused about their actions. Because if we are being honest, many people like that exist, and I believe fiction should give breathe to all sorts of people, even if its hard to see gray characters win while thriving in their actions. It exists and so this book was really placing this self-awareness beside romance and family saga.  

Can you give us a blurb so others will know what it’s about?

There is a longer blurb, but this is the shorter version:

A proud Child Trauma Pediatrician, who is the heir to an Indian construction empire, with a moral compass the breadth of superficial and an acting portfolio the level of an Oscar winner, falls for his old high school classmate - a deeply inconvenient development because it requires sincerity.

Sincerity looks like it will bring him less money (he’s that shady already), and it certainly doesn’t protect the inheritance he believes is his from falling into the hands of his half-brother, who is literally descended from hell.

Isn’t being rich better than falling in love?

Rajkumar ‘Raj’ Reddy thinks that too, but his traitorous heart cannot seem to understand the trappings of illogical emotions....

Shape of the Sun is literary fiction mixed with a cross of dark romance and family saga. Set in the wealthy and dangerous side of contemporary India and the UK, it follows the most consciously unreliable, avaricious, and gorgeous-eyed male lead to exist. SOTS is perfect for fans who want Romance with Accountability, and ever wonder if love can really mean anything when the rot is just too much.

 

Can you tell us a little about the main characters in your book?

The main character, Raj is a child trauma pediatrician; handsome and wealthy like many leads; consciously unreliable and morally flexible, like few male leads. He falls for the female lead, Manmeet,his old classmate and an architect, and knows he is in love but its in conflict with his greed and plans built on that greed. Then, there is also the villain, Prithvi, who is his step-brother and completely subversive, but at the same time is a victim of stigma that happens in elitist families. Raj also has childhood trauma too, and so these characters are adults that are carrying a lot, while also dumping a lot on others. 

 

Where and when does this book take place?

It shifts between Contemporary India and the United Kingdom and the timeline spans from 2022 to 28 years in (so late 90s). I took care with the locations because I have watched and read works from those places for over 10 years. 

They say all books of fiction have at least one pivotal point where the reader just can’t put the book down. What is one of the pivotal points in your book?

I don’t want to spoil too much, but I think a pivotal point is when the male lead, Raj, experiences trauma as a child. The way the time is interwoven among the present, you’d see what predates much of his actions in their earlier half. I’ve had many people read and when they get there, are so shocked and gripped by the story. That’s all I’ll say, so if you want to find out what it is, you should get your copy. 

 

Does your book carry a message?

Yes, it deals with how parental failures affect the next generation, and how society can be superficial. At the same time, it also highlights the tension around accountability despite past trauma, hints at classism and foreign consumerism (especially when the characters straddle privilege between a western country and a non-western one), and the pressures of womanhood in relationships and the workplace. Because the book is so subversive in that its really carrying on directly, you’d see a lot of social issues embedded in it and its left to the reader to decode if this can be isolated from the mindset of many unreliable narrators. I think it also helped that I study and have interested in these issues, so my work tends to involve them in some capacity. 

 

Where can we pick up copies of Shape of the Sun?

There are many places you can pick it up. Here’s some:

Amazon - https://a.co/d/08aegtL

Selar (best for those in African countries) - https://selar.com/1e14w45058

Apple Books - https://books.apple.com/us/book/shape-of-the-sun/id6748542719

Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/shape-of-the-sun

Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shape-of-the-sun-paula-omokhomion/1147818407

Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1808497

 

Is there anything you’d like to tell your readers and fans?

Its totally okay to interact with whatever literature or art you are with in real-time. I believe that we, as authors, need that reiterative feedback, whether positive or not, because it helps us grow and develop to be better. So, I await your feedback. In addition, when you get your copy of Shape of the Sun, try to read it in a relaxed position with a glass of juice or water beside you. You might need it. 

Inside the Pages: Fighter Pilot's Daughter: Growing Up in the Sixties and the Cold War by Mary Lawlor

 

Title: Fighter Pilot's Daughter: Growing Up in the Sixties and the Cold War
Author: Mary Lawlor
Publisher: Rowman and Littlefield
Pages: 323
Genre: Memoir

Fighter Pilot’s Daughter: Growing Up in the Sixties and the Cold War tells the story of Mary Lawlor’s dramatic, roving life as a warrior’s child. A family biography and a young woman’s vision of the Cold War, Fighter Pilot’s Daughter narrates the more than many transfers the family made from Miami to California to Germany as the Cold War demanded. Each chapter describes the workings of this traveling household in a different place and time. The book’s climax takes us to Paris in May ’68, where Mary—until recently a dutiful military daughter—has joined the legendary student demonstrations against among other things, the Vietnam War. Meanwhile her father is flying missions out of Saigon for that very same war. Though they are on opposite sides of the political divide, a surprising reconciliation comes years later.

★★★★★ ORDER YOUR COPY ★★★★★

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The pilot’s house where I grew up was mostly a women’s world. There were five of us. We had the place to ourselves most of the time. My mother made the big decisions—where we went to school, which bank to keep our money in. She had to decide these things often because we moved every couple of years. The house is thus a figure of speech, a way of thinking about a long series of small, cement dwellings we occupied as one fictional home.

It was my father, however, who turned the wheel, his job that rotated us to so many different places. He was an aviator, first in the Marines, later in the Army. When he came home from his extended absences—missions, they were called—the rooms shrank around him. There wasn’t enough air. We didn’t breathe as freely as we did when he was gone, not because he was mean or demanding but because we worshipped him. Like satellites my sisters and I orbited him at a distance, waiting for the chance to come closer, to show him things we’d made, accept gifts, hear his stories. My mother wasn’t at the center of things anymore. She hovered, maneuvered, arranged, corrected. She was first lady, the dame in waiting. He was the center point of our circle, a flier, a winged sentry who spent most of his time far up over our heads. When he was home, the house was definitely his.

These were the early years of the Cold War. It was a time of vivid fears, pictured nowadays in photos of kids hunkered under their school desks. My sisters and I did that. The phrase “air raid drill” rang hard—the double-A sound a cold, metallic twang, ending with ill. It meant rehearsal for a time when you might get burnt by the air you breathed.

Every day we heard practice rounds of artillery fire and ordinance on the near horizon. We knew what all this training was for. It was to keep the world from ending. Our father was one of many dads who sweat at soldierly labor, part of an arsenal kept at the ready to scare off nuclear annihilation of life on earth. When we lived on post, my sisters and I saw uniformed men marching in straight lines everywhere. This was readiness, the soldiers rehearsing against Armageddon. The rectangular buildings where the commissary, the PX, the bowling alley, and beauty shop were housed had fallout shelters in the basements, marked with black and yellow wheels, the civil defense insignia. Our dad would often leave home for several days on maneuvers, readiness exercises in which he and other men played war games designed to match the visions of big generals and political men. Visions of how a Russian air and ground attack would happen. They had to be ready for it.

A clipped, nervous rhythm kept time on military bases. It was as if you needed to move efficiently to keep up with things, to be ready yourself, even if you were just a kid. We were chased by the feeling that life as we knew it could change in an hour.

This was the posture. On your mark, get set. But there was no go. It was a policy of meaningful waiting. Meaningful because it was the waiting itself that counted—where you did it, how many of the necessities you had, how long you could keep it up. Imagining long, sunless days with nothing to do but wait for an all-clear sign or for the threatening, consonant-heavy sounds of a foreign language overhead, I taught myself to pray hard.

– Excerpted from Fighter Pilot’s Daughter by Mary Lawlor, Rowman and Littlefield, 2013. Reprinted with permission.

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Mary Lawlor is author of Fighter Pilot’s Daughter (Rowman & Littlefield 2013, paper 2015), Public Native America (Rutgers Univ. Press 2006), and Recalling the Wild (Rutgers Univ. Press, 2000). Her short stories and essays have appeared in Big Bridge and Politics/Letters. She studied the American University in Paris and earned a Ph.D. from New York University. She divides her time between an old farmhouse in Easton, Pennsylvania, and a cabin in the mountains of southern Spain.

You can visit her website at https://www.marylawlor.net/ or connect with her on Twitter or Facebook.