Witch Wars giveaway!

We're celebrating the latest Witch Wars book, Witch Tricks, with a fabulous giveaway of two full sets of the Witch Wars series by Sibeal Pounder (Bloomsbury Children's Books).

Just tell us why you would like to have the books and we'll enter your details into the free draw for one of the two sets. The competition will close on Monday 29 October, at 6pm, and winners will be notified. Email: [email protected] Subject: Witch Wars You can find out more about the latest Witch Wars book, Witch Tricks, from author Sibeal Pounder, below. Each of the Witch Wars sets we give away will include a copy of the following titles: Witch Wars Witch Watch Witch Glitch Witch Snitch Witch Switch Witch Tricks In the latest novel, WITCH TRICKS, Felicity Bat's big sister Idabelle - who is always up to no good - plans to bring back the infamous outlaw witch gang, the Ritzy Six. We asked author SIBEAL POUNDER to tell us more: Q: Witch Tricks takes us back to the world of Witch Wars. Did you always plan to write more Witch Wars stories? A: Yes, I've been alternating between the witches and mermaids for a few years now - mermaids for spring/summer, witches for autumn/winter. I do have another one planned, which will be announced sometime this month [October], but it has a bit of a twist... Q: What inspired the first Witch Wars book? A: Dublin played a big part. It's where my family are from and I had so much fun there when I was growing up. It's a hilarious place, filled with the best characters. Mrs Clutterbuck, for example, is based on Mrs Mapother who owned the newsagent's in Sandymount. She always gave me free chocolate. I was also really inspired by Absolutely Fabulous. The first time I watched it I was about nine (not age-appropriate, most of it went over my head), but I remember being struck by the fact that the core cast was made up entirely of women - Eddie, Patsy, Saffy, Bubble, Mrs M. They drove the plot and owned the jokes and were all so different. I wanted to create something similar (but kid-friendly), with fabulous, varied witches who drive the plots and own the jokes. Q: Do you have any favourite (other) witches in children's literature? A: Mildred Hubble has a special place in my heart - I would sleep with The Worst Witch under my pillow. I also love Winnie the Witch, Meg of Meg and Mog fame and Hermione Granger. Q: How do you go about choosing the titles for your new witch books, does it get harder? A: This is a dilemma! We realised early on that we had committed to a format of Witch W-word or Witch rhyming-with-witch-word. We're running out of titles, and actually, Witch Tricks is a bit of a cheat (sssh). I always ask kids at school events if they have any ideas. My favourite so far is Witch Watford. Q: In this book, we come across the bad witches the Ritzy Six, can you tell us a bit more about them and how they came to be trapped in a bottle of jam? A: The Ritzy Six are incredibly powerful witches and they each possess a special ability - earth, wind, fire, water, jam and hair. They were imprisoned in the jam jar but someone is going to let them out... Q: Fairy Fightz! - what gave you the idea and what did you enjoy the most in writing about wrestling fairies? A: I wanted to take Fran out of her comfort zone. We've seen her presenting Witch Wars and Cooking for Tiny People and a safety documentary for fairies, so this was a new challenge for her. I watched a documentary called GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, about a bunch of lady wrestlers from the 80s (there's now a Netflix series based on it), and I instantly thought of Fran and imagined what hilarious, horrible creative choices she'd make if tasked with making a fairy wrestling show. Q: The witches - good and bad - are all brilliantly feisty and (mostly) energetic characters, but why no boys? A: Good question! Technically there is mention of boys here and there - Sluggfrey is a boy, for example. It started out with a focus of having a core female cast who own the jokes and drive the plots and then we realised there was no major mention of male characters. Weirdly, not many kids (or adults) notice, and one of my favourite things is when I meet boy readers and they say things like, "Peggy is my favourite because she's clumsy like me!" Or "I wish I was like Felicity Bat so I could levitate!" It's nice to hear them aspiring to be like, or identifying with, female characters. I don't believe there is such a thing as a 'girls book', even with an all girl cast. And I think it's important for boys to have favourite characters that are girls. I suppose I kind of manufacture it by only having female leads as options, but very interesting to see. Q: There are some great supporting characters in this book, who is your favourite? A: It changes all the time, but I adore Crispy, Fran's unofficial best friend. She has a bigger role in this book - and has some good lines. I like when she changes Fran's wrestling name to Peanut and it really takes off, much to Fran's horror. Q: There is a lot of jam, glitter and jump suits in Witch Tricks - are these things you love, or loathe? A: Jumpsuits yes. I also love jam. Jam appears frequently because I went to school in Dundee, and it's known for the three Js - jute, jam and journalism. I've been a journalist and I've filled the Witch Wars books with jam, so now I'm open to any jute ideas anyone has. No one? No? I also like glitter, in moderation. My mum tends to fill cards with glitter so you get covered in the stuff when you open it. I always have to read her mail over a bin. Q: Do you have any favourite witch illustrations by your illustrator, Laura Ellen Anderson? A: Oh so many! Can I say all of them? In Witch Tricks, I love the illustration of Tiga, Peggy, Fluffanora, Felicity Bat and Aggie Hoof at the end. And the scarf witch one makes me laugh every time I see it. Oh, and the panda one! Q: As you've mentioned, you also write the Bad Mermaids books, is it hard to swap land for water? A: It can be difficult - I'll describe a mermaid stomping out of a room, for example, which is obviously something that's impossible to do with a tail! It tends to be summer when I'm working on Bad Mermaids, so if I'm on holiday, I'll find a pool or ocean to write beside, or if I'm in Scotland, a big old loch. Writing by water definitely helps to switch modes! Q: Are you writing another Bad Mermaids book, and if so can you give us a glimpse into where you take them next? A: Yes, book three is out in June 2019 and the mermaids are headed to Frostopia, the frozen mermaid realm in the arctic. We also get a glimpse into Fortress Bay in the Arabian Sea, where there is a mermaid spy school. And Paris, the human who morphs into a mermaid, who we meet in book two, realises she's a lot more powerful than she first thought... Q: Where is your favourite place to write, and when? Can you describe your writing desk for our readers? A: My desk is always very bare - it's an old art deco one from a Paris flea market and I only ever have my notebook on it and my laptop (and coffee), so I have no distractions. My favourite place to write is probably my study, and at nighttime. It's tiny and cosy, my cat Galligan lives there, and I have an old painting of a lady pulling a dissatisfied face - we call her Disgruntled Delphine and I'm always trying to write something that'll finally impress her. Q: And what's your favourite escape from writing? A: I love going to comedy shows. I'm lucky because I'm based in London and there are so many comedians in town doing cheap gigs and testing out new material.