Sarah Hawley is an author of romance and fantasy novels. She co-hosts the Wicked Wallflowers Club podcast about romance fiction, which was featured on Entertainment Weekly’s “Must List.” When not dreaming up whimsical love stories, she can be found reading, dancing, or cuddling her two cats. A WITCH’S GUIDE TO FAKE-DATING A DEMON is her debut romcom.

 Social links: 

@MsSarahHawley – twitter

@mssarahhawley – insta

 Website: https://www.sarahhawleyauthor.com/ 

Welcome to the Hive, Sarah! Congratulations on your fantasy romcom debut, A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon! Firstly, how does it feel to have your book out there in the wild?

Surreal! I’ve been writing for so long, dreaming of this day, and it’s hard to believe it finally happened.

Can you tell our readers a bit about it? What can they expect? 

It’s a fantasy rom-com with a whimsical tone and a fair amount of spice. The heroine, Mariel Spark, is prophesied to be the most powerful witch in generations of her family, but she’s terrible at spellwork. When trying to summon flour for baking, she accidentally summons a demon for an unbreakable soul bargain. The demon, Ozroth the Ruthless, can’t leave her side until she signs over her soul–aka her magic and emotions. Oz is anything but ruthless, though–he recently came into possession of a soul himself during a bargain gone wrong and isn’t sure how to navigate his new emotions. Rather than confess to her mistake and disappoint her family further, Mariel announces that Oz is her boyfriend. The two end up fake dating while navigating their opposing goals–and fall in love, of course!

Your book is set in America but in the fictional town of Glimmer Falls which is ripe with a variety of magic and magical species. What was your inspiration for this juxtaposition of a suburban setting that attracts so many fantastical creatures?

I really liked the idea of an alternate version of our world where magic is celebrated openly (so my characters don’t have to lurk in the shadows or hide from non-magical people). The worldbuilding can be so rich when you think about what that would look like. How is the world made accessible for people with wings or hooves? What holidays would that town celebrate? What are the hazards of living in close proximity to spellcasters or magical creatures? I actually wrote 11 monthly papers from The Glimmer Falls Gazette that you can read here: https://www.sarahhawleyauthor.com/glimmer-falls-gazette. They build out the town and its characters more (and tease at future books).

Oh excellent!

So let’s talk about your characters! What inspired Mariel Spark’s wildly chaotic and Ozroth the Ruthless’ brooding personalities? How easy was it to develop their erm… steamy attraction for one another?

I love a good grumpy/sunshine romance, and with Mariel I wanted to create someone whimsical, lovable, and fundamentally kind, despite her flaws. Her random train of thought is very much how I think, but her incessant questions also served a practical purpose–worldbuilding that comes via dialogue and internal monologue, rather than just an info-dump on the page.

For Oz, I adored the idea of a ferocious, ruthless demon who suddenly discovers Feelings and has no idea how to process them. He thinks he’s big and bad, but he’s actually very earnest and sweet under the gruff exterior (and honestly kind of hilarious, though he would be offended if you told him so).

When crafting a romance, I always think about what fundamental strength the characters can provide each other. Mariel is sweetly chaotic but insecure and needs someone to look after her and stand up for her (and encourage her to stand up for herself). Oz has cut himself off from emotion and interpersonal connections for a long time, and he needs someone to be kind to him and offer all the unconditional love (and cookies) he never got a chance to experience. They’re stronger together than they would be apart.

In terms of the steamy attraction, I actually like writing sex scenes. Not just because I like reading them, but because emotion and connection is a fundamental part of them, and you can develop a relationship further while the characters are having a steamy good time. Each couple’s scene I write is different based on who the characters are and what they fundamentally need or want (who’s on top, is it gentle or adversarial, are they laughing or serious during the act, etc.).

Sarah, I have to ask… did you really give your parents a redacted version of A Witch’s Guide?!

No, I did not ahaha. I have warned them about the book’s content approximately 8,000 times, though. I trust them to skip anything that makes them uncomfortable, and if they do not skip anything, to never, ever talk to me about it.

Haha! I hope they keep their lips sealed then!

Ok, back to the characters! Mariel’s mother, Diantha Spark and her great, great, great (times a lot) grandfather, Alzapraz, were both hilariously eccentric side characters. How much fun did you have writing their scenes?

So much fun! Part of the joy of this series was building out side characters–because the setting is fantastical, I can push the envelope in terms of character behavior and backstory. (There’s a discussion in the third book about how “is it reversible?” is an essential question when determining how bad a crime is, which is why Diantha is not in jail for transforming her enemies into lizards.) I know Diantha is an upsetting character for some people because she’s honestly an awful, toxic narcissist, but I find her hilarious, too. (My own mother is wonderful and nothing like Diantha).

Honestly, Diantha made me laugh time and time again. I feel like you balanced her character well, yeah she’s a narcissist, but because she’s so ignorant towards her own behaviour she’s actually hilarious.

Which of Diantha’s speeches made you laugh the most whilst writing them? (I laughed the most at her birthing story 😂)

The birthing story is one of my favorites, too! It’s so horrible!! I also adore Alzapraz in all his ancient, grumpy, eccentric glory. He plays a role in the next two books, as well, and I like to think about all the things he’s gotten up to over the many centuries of his life.

So if you were invited to one of Diantha’s Sunday Dinner Parties, which of your characters would you choose to accompany you for moral support and why?

Alzapraz in his banana hammock. Seeing him spar with Diantha would be great fun.

Oh my god! YES!!

I’d also love to bring Calladia because she doesn’t back down when one of her friends is in trouble. She’d probably say something rude to Diantha, drag me out of there, and take me for a milkshake or a margarita to decompress.

In between the humour you also explore more poignant themes from dysfunctional parental  figures to environmental issues. How important was it to you to represent these topics?

Protecting the environment is hugely important to me, and since Mariel’s magic is plant-based, that provided a vehicle for exploring the beauty and vitality of the natural world. The ley lines under the soil bring magic to Glimmer Falls, which is why deforestation from the construction project would be devastating, but they’re also a metaphor for what’s happening in our world today. We might not have magic in the soil, but we do have plants and animals in desperate need of protection. There’s a ripple effect when one part of the ecosystem is disrupted, and we’re seeing the consequences of bad environmental policies and practices now.

In terms of parental figures, I’m very lucky to have supportive, loving parents, but many people aren’t so lucky. I read a lot of posts on reddit.com/r/raisedbynarcissists and reddit.com/r/JUSTNOMIL and find the complexity of those situations both interesting and heartbreaking. What do you do when the person who ought to keep you safe and love you more than anyone ends up being the person who hurts you most? Both Mariel and Calladia’s stories involve learning to seize their own power and self-validation in the face of emotional abuse.

Now let’s discuss your beautifully whimsical covers! How involved in the process were you? Was there a particular aesthetic you hoped the artist would portray, particularly when illustrating Mariel and Ozroth?

For the US cover I was given a few artists to chose from and gave some general ideas about what I’d like to see. Since Mariel’s magic is nature-based, having a plant border of some kind seemed like a great visual choice, and that carried over to the UK cover. Overall, I was hoping for something whimsical and pretty, and I’m delighted with both covers.

This question is just for fun and is one of our favourite questions here on the Fantasy Hive: which fantastical or mythical creature would you ride into battle and why?

Hmmm I think I would ride a griffin! They can fly and their beak and claws would be deadly, but the lion’s pelt means you can pet them between battles, which is very important to me as a cat owner.    

So Sarah, what can we expect from you next? Will there be a sequel to A Witch’s Guide? Any teasers you can share? 

There are two more books coming! The next one, A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch, comes out later this year and features Calladia and a certain handsome, insufferable demon you meet in A Witch’s Guide. It involves amnesia, explosions, a road trip, competitive intimacy, rugby-playing werewolves, and more!

Finally, what is the one thing you hope readers take away from your writing?

I hope readers get a few chuckles out of the book and finish it with a smile on their faces. Romance novels have brought me so much joy over the years, and I hope I can provide the same for someone else.  

Thank you so much for joining us today!

A Witch’s Guide to Fake-Dating a Demon is out today from Gollancz! You can order your copy HERE