As part of the Witches: Tea Party blog tour, I got a moment to sit down and chat with the author of this newly released novella. Check out our Q&A below.

1. Every author has a story about how their work first came to them. Tell me a little about how you came up with Witches: Tea Party.

Women kicking ass? The Devil? Well, it’s all me, isn’t it. I was looking to write something featuring a witch, or some witches, and I started playing with the idea of them historically. I was thinking of having the whole story set hundreds of years ago. Then, when plotting The Devil’s Hand, I considered writing them contemporarily. The Clucky Bucket scene is what swung it for me. As I planned it, it had to be modern. I felt I would have struggled defining characters and themes without things of this period.

2. Who is your favorite character in Witches and why?

Well that just has to be Excalibur. I mean, how can it not be? She’s the feisty, sulky, loud-mouth of the group who’s always got your back. Plus she likes fried chicken. How much fun is that?

3. The major characters in your novella are female, but obviously, you aren’t. How difficult was it to write in-depth characters of the opposite gender?

It’s a cake walk. A lot of men say that writing developed female characters is tough, but I ask them why? They’re people. They are characters. Honestly it’s a bug bare of mine when writers say how hard it is.

4. Your story begins with the Salem Witch Trials. How much research did you have to do regarding the accuracy of the descriptions?

While I don’t usually do a lot of research I do for historical events. A lot of people will know the truth of what happened, and sometimes even purchase a fiction book based within a time period because of that, so I think it’s really important.

5. The majority of your stories are horror based – what is it about this genre that you prefer?

Gotta love the scares, right? I’ve always been into the genre, even from an early age. I used to read (still own, in fact) The Little Vampire books, by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg. I watched Nightmare on Elm Street too young. I suppose I got the taste for it, and it stuck. It seemed only reasonable that I stick with it with my writing.

6. What is your favorite work of literature?

I truly adore Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers. That, and the Star Wars screenplay. What? It’s a work of literature.

7. If you could rewrite any story, with a slight twist, what would it be?

I always wanted Tiny Tim to go postal on old Eb Scrooge in an orgy of blood, beating the crazy hallucinating old man to death with his crutch. A retribution killing. So…that.

8. Can we expect more from the Witches?

Of course! Although Tea Party is an enclosed story, it’s very much the beginning for the coven. I’ve already started planning two further books.

9. What’s next for author Mark Taylor?

I have the third part of the Devil’s Hand coming out in March, and the fourth and final part sometime later in the year (and the paperback omnibus), although I have two further stand-alone books to add on next year. I have two more Witches books on the cards. I’m currently plowing my way through a dark science fiction novel that I’ve been contracted to write, and I have another dark science fiction novel in editing called Trinity, and a half finished detective noir horror/thriller novel, Vampire Blue.

So not much, really.

10. Where can we find out more information about you?

You can always find me at my website, www.authormarktaylor.com, and I always love to see people on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMarkTaylor/.

You can pick up a copy of Witches: Tea Party on Amazon now along with Mark’s other works. You can also try your hand at winning a free copy of Witches: Tea Party by entering the raffle here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author Bio:

Mark Taylor’s debut novel crash landed on planet earth in 2013. Its dark brooding style benchmarked his writing and has led to further releases of novel and short story collection alike.

While most of Mark’s work is macabre, occasion has it that he will write about kittens and daisies. Just not very often.

Some say he is a product of his environment, others, a product of his own imagination.

In Salem, 1692, Marie-Anne witnessed the death of her friend and confidant, Sarah Good. Charged with being a witch, Sarah goes to the gallows to protect Marie-Anne, a true witch.

Three hundred years later, Marie-Anne, under the name Mary Anson, vows to put things right.

With a new coven – Dina, Excalibur, and Lady – Mary puts in motion the steps to right what went wrong…and what followers is a chase across the country, a chase against time, pursued by monsters and darkness…

…will Mary put things right?

…or will she die trying?