The Witch follows a young and powerful witch who has to hide her abilities while trying to help secure a future for her people. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

The inspiration came from a writing prompt that gave me the idea for Harper. Once Harper Grim was created, the world formed around her, a world that she was going to have influence over.

What were some of the emotional and moral guidelines you followed when developing your characters?

The emotional and moral guidelines that I followed come from my belief as a Christian. Being in the only monotheistic culture, Idrudelia has a fear of magic, but Harper proves that the gifts given to her are gifts that she uses for good. The moral guideline that Harper follows are that of using her gift for the benefit of those around her instead of a selfish gain as that of the evil power-rising Dark Sword.

Did you plan the tone and direction of the novel before writing, or did it come out organically as you were writing?

I wrote a plot that reaches over each of the stories while still having a separate plot for each book. With a rough outline, the direction and tone came organically as I was writing. I had the points that I was trying to get to, but I let the characters lead me to those points.

Will this novel be the start of a series, or are you working on a different story?

This novel is the start of a series. There are three more installments of this story: The Tree, The Soldier, and The Stone. One book for each piece of the prophecy that the characters are fulfilling.

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