LEGACY OF THE WITCH

April 23, 2024

LEGACY OF THE WITCH

Kirsten Weiss

GENRE: paranormal women's fiction mystery

Seeker: As societies grow increasingly fragmented, hopelessness, nihilism, and division are on the rise. But there is another way—a way of mystery and magic, of wholeness and transformation. Do you dare take the first step? Our path is not for the faint-hearted, but for seekers of ancient truths...

All April wants is to start over after her husband’s sudden death. She’s conjuring a new path—finally getting her degree and planning her new business in bucolic Pennsylvania Dutch country. Joining an online mystery school seems like harmless fun.

But when a murdered man leaves her a cryptic message, she catches glimpses of another reality she’s unwilling to acknowledge. A reality where bygone enchantments cast cryptic shadows, and the present brims with unanswered questions.

As April works to unearth the mystery, every step brings her closer to a truth she’s been evading. And to a conspiracy of hexes that may end in her demise.

Legacy of the Witch is a spellbinding, interactive tale of a woman’s midlife quest to understand the complexities of her own heart. A paranormal women’s fiction murder mystery for anyone who’s wondered if there might be more to their own life than meets the eye…

Book 1 in the new Mystery School Series featuring the UnTarot, a deck of cards for meaning making. Start reading now!

UnTarot deck app included!

Enjoy an Excerpt:

And there was someone inside the yellow coat. A silver-haired man.

For a moment I thought it was a bad joke, he wasn’t real. Then, heart banging, I hopped over the stone ledge.

Heedless of the brambles tugging at my clothes, of the muck squelching beneath my shoes, I stumbled to the supine man. He lay staring with one broad hand pressed to his chest. Blood stained his neck and pooled in the hollows around him.

“Oh my God,” I breathed, fumbling for the phone in my jacket pocket.

His head turned toward me, and I yelped.

I dropped to my knees beside him. “You’re alive. It’s okay. I’m calling for help now.” What had happened to him? Had he tripped and fallen? But what had he been doing in the circle?

“Can you put pressure on the wound?” I asked. If he couldn’t, I’d need to. I’d need a cloth, something to staunch the flow.

But first, help. Hands shaking, I called 9-1-1.

He lifted a hand and pointed toward the trees. “Look beneath,” he whispered. “The brotherhood.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m calling now.” I pressed the phone to my ear. “I’m calling...” My voice faded.

His blue eyes grew as cold and impersonal as the Atlantic, and he stared without seeing at the sky. A thick dullness fogged my chest. I was too late. He was dead.

About the Author:

I believe in free-will, and that we all can make a difference. I believe that beauty blossoms in the conscious life, particularly with friends, family, and strangers. I believe that genre fiction has become generic, and it doesn’t have to be.

My current focus is my new Mystery School series, starting with Legacy of the Witch. Traditionally, women’s fiction refers to fiction where a woman—usually in her midlife—is going through some sort of dramatic change. A lot of us do go through big transitions in midlife. We get divorced or remarried. The kids leave the nest. Our bodies change. The midlife crisis is real—though it manifests in different ways—as we look back on where we’ve been, where we’re going, and the time we have left.

Now in my mid-fifties, I’ve spent more time thinking about the big “meaning of life” issues. It seemed like approaching those issues through witch fiction, and through a fictional mystery school, would be a fun and a useful way for me to work out some of these ideas in my own head—about change and letting go, faith and fear, and love and longing.

After growing up on a diet of Nancy Drew, Sherlock Holmes, and Agatha Christie, I’ve published over 60 mysteries—from cozies to supernatural suspense, as well as an experimental fiction book on Tarot. Spending over 20 years working overseas in international development, I learned that perception is not reality, and things are often not what they seem—for better or worse.

There isn’t a winter holiday or a type of chocolate I don’t love, and some of my best friends are fictional.

Q&A With the Author:

What was your inspiration for writing this book?

I’ve always loved mysteries and especially supernatural mysteries. This one is set in Pennsylvania Dutch country, which has its own form of folk magic called braucherei. The rolling hills and old barns with hex signs and the spooky old forests are so charming—and a part of my family history—that I really wanted to set a mystery there.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

In addition to getting to spend time in my head in Penn-Dutch country, I really enjoyed the more experimental elements, like creating the UnTarot app that's included in the book, and the emails from the mystery school the heroine, April, joins, and the curious worksheets she receives from that school.

Do you have any other books you are working on that you can tell us about?

Right now I'm working on the sequel, Shadow of the Witch. The heroine, Brandy, is dealing with a big loss and has become obsessed with the workings of luck and fate, and it gets her into quite a bit of trouble (and a murder).

Can you tell us about what you have planned for the future?

I'd like to turn the UnTarot deck app into a physical, pen-and-ink deck. I've found working with my prototype deck really helpful, and I think people might enjoy having a deck of their own that's not online.

Anything more you would like to say to your readers and fans?

Legacy of the Witch started off as paranormal women’s fiction mystery about a woman who joins an online mystery school, and the messages she gets from the school parallel what’s happening in her life. That genre usually features a woman in mid-life who is going through a dramatic change (plus a murder mystery). But I quickly realized that it provided an opportunity for readers who wanted to go deeper into the big metaphysical questions that can strike us at any transition—am I on the right path? What’s the meaning of my life? Am I following my soul’s calling or what other people want me to be? So I included the actual emails and worksheets from the school for readers to contemplate and play with should they wish. Readers don’t have to participate in the fictional mystery school lessons—they can just read and enjoy the supernatural mystery. But so far, the feedback about the downloadable worksheets and included UnTarot app has been really positive. I think it’s an ideal book for a book club!