Exploring Amy Wilson's The Trouble With Magic (The Hexton Chronicles)
About Author
ReadingZone caught up with author Amy Wilson to talk about magic, shadows and world building in her new Hexton Chronicles series, beginning with The Trouble With Magic.
Amy Wilson has written several middle grade books including Carnegie nominated, Branford Boase-longlisted A Girl Called Owl. She is a former journalist and graduate of the MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, and lives near Bristol with one husband, three children, two dogs and a very special wooden horse called Felicity.
Her website is amywilsonbooks.com and you can find her on Instagram at @amywilsonbooks.
Interview
September 2026
Explore a hidden world of magic in Amy Wilson's The Hexton Chronicles
ReadingZone caught up with author Amy Wilson to talk about magic, shadows and hidden worlds in her new Hexton Chronicles series, beginning with The Trouble With Magic.
The Trouble With Magic: Fray Mantel has always felt different from the other children in his class, but that's probably due to the shadows that swirl around him and the magic running through his blood . . . When he's given the chance to return to the magical part of town where he was born, Fray seizes the chance to return to his roots. But finding his place in this world might be even harder than the non-magical world . . .
Review: "I can highly recommend this darkly magical book." - Beverley, ReadingZone. Read a chapter extract.
Q&A with Amy Wilson: Introducing The Hexton Chronicles series with The Trouble With Magic
"I love writing stories where anything is possible, and finding new characters,
it feels like the world opens up a little bit."
1. Hello Amy, thank you for joining us on ReadingZone to talk about your new series, The Hexton Chronicles, and the first book, The Trouble With Magic. Can you tell us how you became a writer and what kinds of stories do you enjoy writing?
I was always fascinated by words, and the magic of being transported to other worlds in books. I struggled with quite a few subjects at school but reading and writing felt very natural, so I don't think I ever really thought of doing anything else!
I love writing stories where anything is possible, and finding new characters, it feels like the world opens up a little bit.
2. What draws you to bringing magic into so many of your stories?
I don't seem to be able to write a story without at least a little magic in it! I think it's a really interesting way to think about the world and the people in it - if my characters have magic, I see it as an extension of their true nature.
It can be quite difficult to understand what's really going on in other peoples' lives, what drives them and how they're feeling, and that's what's so beautiful about reading, we get that insight. On top of that, when magic is involved, I think a character's true self becomes quite transparent - whether they like it or not!
3. Can you tell us a little about your new series, The Hexton Chronicles, and what happens in the first book - The Trouble With Magic? What else do you have planned for Hexton?
The series follows the adventures of Fray Mantel after he heads over the bridge from the relatively normal Brigstone to magical Hexton. In the first book, Fray receives the Mantel family Croxometer, and arrives in Hexton to find that not everybody is a fan of his family, because his parents broke the magic there. As he explores the town, and his own magic, it becomes clear there is trouble afoot - and whether he likes it or not, he's not going to be able to just hide in his shadows any more.
As for what else is planned for the series - More trouble! There are definitely characters with much more adventuring to do, and perhaps a few secrets up their sleeves. There are going to be newcomers, and new ways of testing and using magic.
4. The Trouble With Magic centres on Hexton, a dark corner of town where many residents have a magical ability. How did you go about world-building Hexton?
Hexton is based loosely on the older parts of Bristol. I love how the light falls down narrow lanes, and how the sun shines on wet cobblestones; how shadows fall in winter. When Fray set out on his adventure, it felt natural for him to end up in a magical version of that. Somewhere that feels familiar, only with a little extra sparkle. And a little danger too.
5. Fray, your main character, lives with shadows as his magical inheritance. Can you tell us how his character developed and what inspired his magical ability?
Fray has been hiding in Brigstone for most of his life, knowing that he has magic, and forbidden from expressing it. There is a hereditary element to his having shadows, but I think also they came quite naturally to him because there was a need to conceal himself, to blend in when he was so different from everyone around him.
6. Fray has also inherited a 'Croxometer' - what is this, and what inspired you to include it in Fray's magical inheritance?
The Croxometer was inspired by a Chronometer that I inherited from my father. It's a ship's clock and I've always been fascinated by it - but it's a very heavy, unwieldy thing to be carrying about, and so I came up with the Croxometer, which is about the size of a pocket watch, only a lot more magical! Fray wears it around his neck, and it really comes alive in Hexton, echoing his heartbeat and urging him on to his magical path, not always to good effect.
7. Many of the people living in Hexton have a magical affinity with a particular element. Which is your favourite - and if you lived in Hexton, what would your magical ability be?
I love Fray's shadows, and Teasel's stars, but I think I've a soft spot for Tenovus and his power with the earth. It's so fundamental, that care he has for what is real and around us all the time, and what he can do with it just feels like a natural extension of what we make possible when we care for the earth around us.
If I had a Hexton ability, I think it would be an affinity with dreams - though now I say it, that does feel a potentially dangerous thing to be messing about with!
8. If you could bring home one of the magical objects from Hexton, what would it be?
Oh that's a lovely question. Right now, I think I'd love a Hot Moon, though Teasel's magical glasses would also be very useful.
9. The Trouble With Magic is a great adventure story, but it's also a story about shadows and light, outsiders and community. What would you like your readers to take from Fray's journey?
That we are all different, and that it's only through empathy and trust that we can understand what a person's life truly is: their home, their family, the things that really matter to them, are all carried on the inside. No matter how lonely we might be, there are others out there feeling the same, we just need to find them!
10. What kinds of things do you enjoy doing when you're not in the middle of writing? Are there places you like to visit or things you do to help inspire new stories?
I love to bake, and to crochet - sometimes these things work out, and sometimes they don't. I'm not especially good at following instructions, though I do know how important that is! I think I'm inspired by everything and everybody around me all the time, and though I love to be a hermit at home I know that going out and being around others is hugely inspiration to me, so I'm actively doing more of that right now.
Creative Challenge from Amy Wilson: If you had a magical ability, in Fray's world, that ability would be tied to your true nature. So what is important to you, no matter what's going on in the outside world? Have a think about what it is you would truly love to be able to do right now, and try to express it in words - think about what would happen next, if you actually made it happen. How would others react? What would you do with your newfound ability, and what sort of adventure would it lead you on?
Amy Wilson's School Events: I love to talk to young people about reading and writing, and my school visits give a little more insight into my own background and passions, as well as exploring the interests of those in the audience, and thinking about the possibilities of magic. I also talk about the logistics of writing, and editing, and the importance of world building and character development. I have a website with more details and my contact details - amywilsonbooks.com.
The Hexton Chronicles: The Trouble with Magic
Lightning Falls
Shadows of Winterspell
A Girl Called Owl
