The Dazzling Magic of a Petit Four follows a grieving potions witch whose enchanted baking draws her into the secret magical world of 1920s Paris, where a deadly anti-witch forces her to decide how to carry the past. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

Thanks for having me! The original inspiration, and my go-to description of the book, came from having watched Practical Magic one day. When the credits rolled, Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby was suggested as the next film to watch. I thought it’d be a lot of fun to write about witches in the Roaring Twenties, and then I watched Chocolat a few weeks later and realized my love for baking also had to play an important role in the plot.

Serena’s magic is expressed through baking, with ingredients carrying different magical properties and intentions. How did you develop the rules for her culinary magic, and did any real-world traditions involving herbs, flowers, or food inspire it?

I learned a lot about the mystical properties of botanical ingredients from social media accounts from real-life practitioners of witchcraft. These content creators are incredible in how much they teach their followers about divinity in nature, and I’m forever grateful for the knowledge and wisdom they pass on to their followers. I also referenced books about herbal magic when necessary. Sometimes you come across differences in opinions, but the research on this topic helped me learn the guidelines of these practices and to focus on what Serena’s intentions would be. I kept a document as I wrote of all of the ingredients Serena uses throughout the story and what charm would accompany each ingredient so as to keep my rules in order.

Paris feels almost like a character in the novel, from pâtisseries and speakeasies to glamoured flower shops and wintry train stations. What drew you to 1920s Paris as the setting for Serena’s story?

Paris is one of my favorite cities, so perhaps there’s a bit of bias that I set the story there, but I also feel like it was a good location because it was only nine years or so after the Art Nouveau movement, so the artistic whimsy of the city fits in well with the glamor and glitz of the world Serena was coming from in New York and the overall fantasy element of the story.

The novel connects romantic love, friendship, chosen family, and remembrance rather than treating them as separate emotional journeys. What did you most want readers to take away from Serena’s evolving understanding of love after loss?

I hope they take away the idea that grief is not always linear; nor is it simple. Sometimes it’s filled with moments of heartache and longing for the person who has passed, and other times, it’s still present while you laugh with new friends, find love, or eat a slice of lemon cake. I didn’t want Serena to be sad and sad only in this story. First of all, that would be a really hard book to read, but secondly, it’s also not realistic. Love after loss doesn’t mean that the relationship is gone; it’s just different now.

Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website