Today we are very excited to share an interview with Author Sasha Peyton Smith (The Witch Haven and The Witch Hunt)!
Meet the Author: Sasha Peyton Smith
Sasha Peyton Smith grew up in the mountains of Utah surrounded by siblings, books, and one very old cat. She attended the University of Utah and the George Washington University where she studied biology and public health. She is not a witch, though she does own a lot of crystals and always knows what phase the moon is in. She currently lives in Washington, DC.
About the Book: The Witch Haven
In 1911 New York City, seventeen-year-old Frances Hallowell spends her days as a seamstress, mourning the mysterious death of her brother months prior. Everything changes when she’s attacked and a man ends up dead at her feet—her scissors in his neck, and she can’t explain how they got there.
Before she can be condemned as a murderess, two cape-wearing nurses arrive to inform her she is deathly ill and ordered to report to Haxahaven Sanitarium. But Frances finds Haxahaven isn’t a sanitarium at all: it’s a school for witches. Within Haxahaven’s glittering walls, Frances finds the sisterhood she craves, but the headmistress warns Frances that magic is dangerous. Frances has no interest in the small, safe magic of her school, and is instead enchanted by Finn, a boy with magic himself who appears in her dreams and tells her he can teach her all she’s been craving to learn, lessons that may bring her closer to discovering what truly happened to her brother.
Frances’s newfound power attracts the attention of the leader of an ancient order who yearns for magical control of Manhattan. And who will stop at nothing to have Frances by his side. Frances must ultimately choose what matters more, justice for her murdered brother and her growing feelings for Finn, or the safety of her city and fellow witches. What price would she pay for power, and what if the truth is more terrible than she ever imagined?
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~Author Chat~
YABC: What gave you the inspiration to write this book?
The Witch Haven was my debut novel and was originally inspired by the time my grandmother spent in a tuberculosis sanitarium in New York in the 1930s. From there, I threw in all the things I’ve always loved most about YA novels, love triangles, found families, a murder mystery. In its sequel, The Witch Hunt, I most wanted to deepen and expand both the magical world we were introduced to in book one and the relationships between the characters.
YABC: Who is your favorite character in the book?
I love all my children equally, but Maxine. I also have a soft spot for Oliver, he gets to get angry in this book and that was really fun to write.
YABC: Which came first, the title or the novel?
In the cases of both my books, the titles came super late in the process. The Witch Haven was called Haxahaven for years. We went right up to the wire coming up with a title for that one. We almost called it Gilded and Grim but The Witch Haven felt more right. For The Witch Hunt, the document was titled “Witch Haven 2” in my computer for the entire writing process. I reached out to my most trusted group chat for title suggestions and my friend Mary came up with The Witch Hunt. I sent it over to the team and they loved it! We really didn’t have any backup options.
YABC: What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?
There are so many scenes I had a blast writing in this book, but I think I’m most proud of the final chapter. It was cathartic to close the chapter on this book series I’ve been working on for the better part of a decade. I didn’t feel the need to wrap things up in a bow because I don’t think that’s how life works when you’re 19, but I did want to write something that felt emotionally satisfying and interesting. Writing that final sentence felt like closing a chapter in my own life.
YABC: Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?
That there’s no level of success, no external metric or validation that will make me feel like a “real writer.” When I wrote my debut I kept waiting for this feeling of finality, I kept waiting for some kind of shift in my psyche. Now I know, the only thing that matters is putting my head down and doing the work. There’s freedom in that, I think.
YABC: What do you like most about the cover of the book?
I’m obsessed with the embossing on both the hard covers! The moon on on the first book and the bird on the second are so stunning.
YABC: What new release book are you looking most forward to in 2022?
So many! I’m obsessed with Ava Reid’s Juniper and Thorn which came out in June of 2022 and am eagerly waiting Kelly Andrew’s The Whispering Dark and Tracy Deonn’s Bloodmarked.
YABC: What’s a book you’ve recently read and loved?
I’m finally getting around to the Inheritance Games series, I’ve been listening to the audiobooks while traveling on my tour for The Witch Hunt and I’m having so much fun. I can’t figure out the mystery and it’s driving me crazy! Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a plotting wizard.
YABC: What’s up next for you?
I’m currently working on a YA stand alone historical that I’m not allowed to say anything about!
YABC: Which was the most difficult or emotional scene to narrate?
The climax in the catacombs for sure. Frances goes through so many big life or death questions in such a short period of time, capturing her emotional state in that moment was like doing a puzzle.
YABC: Which character gave you the most trouble when writing your latest book?
Definitely the narrator, Frances. She’s a character who is so reluctant to be vulnerable for reasons even she doesn’t totally understand. Making sure the reader understands things about Frances that she doesn’t necessarily understand about herself is an interesting writing challenge.
YABC: What is the main message or lesson you would like your reader to remember from this book?
That love requires vulnerability but it doesn’t require being a perfect person.
YABC: What would you say is your superpower?
I am extraordinarily determined. Once I’ve set my mind to something, there’s little that will stop me in pursuing it, haha for better or for worse.
YABC: Is there an organization or cause that is close to your heart?
In my pre-writing life I was a sexual assault crisis counselor at The Rape Recovery Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. I worked in emergency rooms across the Salt Lake Valley, but they have wrap around services from hotlines to on-going therapy. The work they do is extraordinary and they do it on a shoestring budget. If I ever make a pile of money, they’re the first people I’ll give it to.
YABC: What advice do you have for new writers?
Before you do anything else, finish your drafts. Get comfortable writing drafts that totally suck, you can’t edit an empty page.
YABC: Is there anything that you would like to add?
You can keep up with me on instagram @ sashapeytonsmith and on tiktok @ sashapsmith!
Title: The Witch Haven (Book 1 ) The Witch Hunt (Book 2)
Author: Sasha Peyton Smith
Release Date: 08/31/21 (Book 1) 10/11/22 (Book 2)
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for young readers
Genre: Teen Fiction/ YA Historical Fantasy
Age Range: 14 and Up
