I am a complete fangirl for Josie Angelini’s Starcrossed trilogy. I loved Trial by Fire, the first book in this series (which I apparently never reviewed?!?!) so I jumped at the chance to be on this blog tour. And of course I wanted to know more about the Salem aspect! Check out the schedule for the blog tour here!
About the Book:
**spoilers for Trial by Fire**
Worlds divide, magic slays, and love lies in the second book of Josephine Angelini’s The Worldwalker Trilogy.
“You think I’m a monster, but my choices, as ruthless as they seem, are justified.”
Lily is back in her own universe, and she’s ready to start a new life with Rowan by her side. True, she almost died in the Pyre that fueled their escape from New Salem, and must hide her magic for the safety of everyone she cares about, but compared to fighting the Woven, the monstrous creatures inhabiting the alternate Salem, life is looking pretty good.
Unfortunately, Lillian, ruthless ruler of the 13 Cities, is not willing to let Lily go that easily. If she can’t persuade Lily to return to her world, she will force her to come back by doing away with the ones she loves.
Picking up right where Trial By Fire left off, Firewalker is another sexy, fast-paced, heartbreaking thrill ride from internationally bestselling author Josephine Angelini!
Guest Post:
Salem
by Josephine Angelini
I grew up in Massachusetts. My family farm is in Wenham, one town over from Salem, but the town I actually grew up in was called Ashland. My house was right across the street from the town forest, and on the other side of that forest is a street called Salem End Road. There’s a reason for that. The story goes that people accused of witch craft fled Salem and came to settle in my area—hence the name “End”.
I was told a lot of stories about that forest. Stories that scared the wits out of me a child. Mostly, my rotten big sisters were the source of this trauma. They told me that there were caves in the woods where witches had taken shelter during the winter. My rotten sisters also told me that the witches froze to death there, and haunted it ever since. I used to lie in my bed at night, staring at the dark trees across the street. The branches would stretch shadows across my bedspread like the spindly, skeletal hands of dead witches trying to snatch away my spirit. Obviously, if I let a toe out from under the protection of my witch-repelling bedspread I was a gonner. It’s no wonder I used to think about those witches a lot. The thought of them had me trapped in my bed all night long, no matter how desperately I had to pee.
The caves are real. The stories of them being haunted not so much, but they are unbelievably creepy regardless. I knew that someday I was going to have to put my emotional scars to some use. Most people would just get a cat and name it Salem or somesuch, but I wrote a whole book series. It’s a good thing, too, as I already have three cats and my allergic husband would probably leave me if I got any more. Basically, I set my books in Salem to save my marriage and work through my issues with witches. I even found a way to include the dreaded caves in good ‘ole Ashland in Firewalker. An important scene occurs at the caves, and on the street where I grew up. (And for those of you who’ve read it, yes, it really is that snowy there in the winter.)
The research I did was minimal. The stories of the Salem Witch Trials were sort of in my bones already, thanks to my rotten sisters, and the alternate universe that I created was pure fantasy world-building—so again, no research required.
One of these days I’m going to have to do research for a book, I know it, but so far I have enough psychic wounds from being the youngest of eight kids to keep me going with writing material for quite some time yet.
Ah, family.
Thanks so much, Josie! I can’t imagine growing up with those stories!!
About the Author:
Josephine Angelini is a Massachusetts native and the youngest of eight siblings. She graduated from New
York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in theater, with a focus on the classics. She now lives in Los Angeles with her husband.
Giveaway:
Thanks to the publisher I have one finished copy of Firewalker to giveaway. US only. Must be 13 or older to enter. Use the rafflecopter below.
Ashley R.
My favorite tv show with witches is Charmed! It is my favorite show of all time!! I fell in love with Charmed from the very first episode and seeing prue, phoebe and piper fight evil and protect the innocent! The power of three were amazing and I tuned in to the WB and watched each week and all new episodes with my bowl of popcorn and cookies & cream ice cream and was glued to the couch! My sisters grew to love it as well and it became our sister weeknight tv fest! As each new season started, I became more excited and jumping with joy what new battles my favorite characters would face and my heart soared when Leo and Piper finally got married! This show was special in every way and it made my life filled with happiness! Even though it ended, the creators provided an awesome series finale tying everything together and it was beautiful! They celebrated family which is so important. This is why it will always be my favorite show!! Thank you for this giveaway!!
Susan
I loved watching Bewitched as a child.
Kayla C
I adore Trial by Fire (duh) but I’m also in love with Manon Blackbeak from Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas. I’m super excited for that next book too to see how her story continues (especially once she meets up with Aelin… talk about epic!)
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I always loved Charmed when it was on – years ago. (I’m totally showing my age here.) 🙂
Josie Angelini
Thanks for hosting me, Heidi!
Cali W.
Thanks for the giveaway! Trial by Fire is my favorite witch book of course and Bewitched is my favorite witch TV show. 🙂
Kayla
I loved Charmed and the recent Hallmark tv show spin-off of The Good Witch is really good too. And Trial by Fire of course! That book blew me away. Can’t wait for this sequel 😀
Cassie H
Harry Potter. 🙂 Hermione rocks!
Sui Generis
Definitely Harry Potter! I love all the characters, adventures and just how magical it can be.