Tuesday, 15 July 2025

Authors On Their Own Writing: Lisa McSherry

I've interviewed witch and writer Lisa McSherry about which of her own books she most liked and why, continuing the popular interview series with authors that I've run over the past few years. 

Q: Of the books you’ve written, which is your favourite?

A: Of course I love all of them as their own creations, but I admit that this newest one, A Traveler's Guide to Making Magic holds a special place for me.

Q: What’s it about?

A: The title gives it away! Little bits of magic focused on the process of traveling are sprinkled throughout a number of places, and of course the ancients had a ton of charms and talismans to keep them safe; but it was scattered. I researched and collected as much as I could find and then added in my own knowledge from decades of travel. I took my first plane ride when I was five years old and now live in Portugal; travel is very much a part of my life.

Q: Why is it your favourite?

A: It's the most personal of all of my books. I only write non-fiction and all of my books are accessible to a wide readership, but in A Traveler's Guide to Making Magic, I share quite a few stories about real-world scenarios I encountered. I also did most of the artwork, either through pictures I took, or drawings I made - and I'm no Matisse! (More like a child Picasso.) I wanted it to be as easy to use as possible, not just for witches or other magic-workers. I'd love to see it next to the latest Danielle Steel in an airport newsstand, because we're all concerned with keeping ourselves safe and our possessions with us whenever we leave the safe confines of home.

Q: Tell me a bit more about yourself and any other books you’ve written.

A: I've been writing professionally since the turn of the century, literally dozens of articles and hundreds of blog posts on top of my five books. I'm not much of a "niche" writer as I am more interested in writing to fill a need I see in the vast landscape of alternative spirituality. My first book was The Virtual Pagan: Exploring Wicca and Paganism Through the Internet which I completely updated in 2021 as The Virtual Pagan 2.0. Between the two came Magickal Connections: Creating a Lasting and Healthy Spiritual Group, which I would love to update as I have learned so much more about leading a magical group. My last book was A Witch's Guide to Crafting Your Practice: Creating a Magical Path That Works for You which focused on foundational practices that anyone can use to create a magic-based spiritual path,

Q: Relating to your writing, what plans do you have for the future?

A: I'm not a prolific book writer, but I always have a lot going on with my various ongoing projects. My husband and I co-write a blog (the-ramble.net) about our travels and life in Portugal. I am the editor of Facing North (facingnorth.net) which publishes about 10 reviews each month of items of interest to the alternative spirituality community. I host a blog at my website, lisamcsherry.com, and of course there are the various social media channels I am on as an author. That said, I recently dreamed about writing a specific chapter of a book, so things are definitely percolating!

You can view A Traveler's Guide to Making Magic on Amazon. It is due to be published this autumn and can already be pre-ordered. 

Note: I earn commission from some links.

Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/11/authors-on-their-own-writing-daniela.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/09/authors-on-their-own-writing-rachel.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/10/authors-on-their-writing-bard-of-ely.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/09/authors-on-their-own-writing-logan.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/09/authors-on-their-own-writing-laura-perry.html

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