Q&A: Morgan Ryan, Author of ‘A Resistance of Witches’

We chat with author Morgan Ryan about A Resistance of Witches, which follows a witch as World War II rages around her and abandoned by her coven, so she must journey to find a book of unspeakable power before it lands in Nazi hands

Hi, Morgan! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

I’m a Chicago-based writer who was raised by a family of writers in upstate New York (my mom and aunt are also both authors!). When you’re growing up surrounded by writers, people always ask if you want to be an author like your mom, and of course, as a kid, the answer is a resounding NO. Which is how I ended up going to college for theatre performance instead. It all worked out, though, because that’s how I met my husband, honed my ear for dialogue, and now I get to tell stories from the privacy of my home instead of on a stage.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

There were definitely signs that I would become a writer, even when I was pretty young: I remember writing stories on long car rides to entertain myself as a kid. I also recall writing a very complicated mystery for a class assignment, and another time when a one-page fiction assignment in grade school ballooned into a fifteen page story. I just couldn’t seem to put it down! The first time I wrote a full length novel was when I was laid off from a job in my twenties. That story was also about a witch, but in that instance it was a witch who used cooking as her medium (I was doing a lot of cooking around that time as well). That was the first time I realized that I might like for writing to be my career, but it would be more than a decade before I wrote something I felt was strong enough to attempt to publish.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola
• The one that made you want to become an author: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Circe by Madeline Miller

Your debut novel, A Resistance of Witches, is out July 15^th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Dark Academia Witches Fighting Nazis

What can readers expect?

A Resistance of Witches is the story of what might have happened if the witches of Britain had fought in World War II. The story follows Lydia Polk, apprentice to the Grand Mistress of the Royal Academy of Witches, who must enter occupied France after the murder of her mentor, searching for an evil spell book before a Nazi coven can find it first. This book explores multiple magical systems from different worldviews, as well as themes of motherhood, sacrifice, and doing what’s right, even when the stakes feel impossibly high, and the odds are stacked against you.

Where did the inspiration for A Resistance of Witches come from?

It was quite literally the book I wanted to read! I was scrolling onling on my morning commute on the Chicago El, looking for my next read, and saw a book cover that immediately made me think it must be about witches during World War II. It was not, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the concept. A few weeks later Covid hit, and although I was able to keep my job, I suddenly had a lot more free time on my hands. My sister (also an aspiring writer) issued me a challenge a few weeks into quarantine, to help keep us both sane: I would produce twenty pages of something, and she would do the same, and then we would swap, and critique each other’s work. What I wrote turned out to be the first chapter of A Resistance of Witches.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

Lydia’s mother, Evelyn, was meant to have a single appearance in chapter two and then disappear. But Evelyn being Evelyn, she absolutely would not let me tell this story without her! I kept coming back to her. She’s so warm and funny, such a mom. She turned into this wonderful foil for Lydia, who has a tendency to be a little uptight, a little straight laced, while Evelyn is this earthy, messy, confident hedge-witch. They were constantly chafing at each other, which turned out to be such a fun dynamic, and opened up a completely different magic system to explore.

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

I hit a moment at the halfway point of this book where the characters were in a deep, dark mess, and I realized that although it was an incredibly dramatic, compelling moment, I also had absolutely no idea how they were going to get out of it. I ended up walking away from the book for a few weeks, and doing what I always do when I’m stuck—I brainstormed with my husband every night at the kitchen counter over drinks until I figured it out. When I came back, I had a solution, and the outline for the second half of the book.

This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like?

Long! I spent a year drafting and revising the book, during which time I quit my job, with absolutely no promise that I would actually achieve my publishing dream. I do not recommend doing this unless you have a rock solid support system (in this case, my extremely supportive spouse). I then spent fifteen months sending the book to literary agents. I was close to giving up when I finally got up the nerve to query my now agent, Jenny Bent, who had only just re-opened to queries. Jenny read the book in two days and made me an offer of representation. She and I then spent nine months editing, and another couple of months making up a plan of attack before going on submission. All in all it was three years from the moment I began writing until we went on submission, and then another two years after it was sold, getting it ready for publication.

What’s next for you?

I’m writing a follow-up to A Resistance of Witches, this time following another witch from the same Academy, who is tasked with hunting down escaped Nazis after the end of the war. It’s an exciting blend of post-war drama and politics, magic, Norse mythology, and some werewolf lore as well. And it’s a love story!

Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?

I read Alix E. Harrow’s Starling House with my book club and we were all obsessed. Something about the story feeling both gritty modern and gothic was so incredibly satisfying. And I’ve been dying to read Bury Our Bones In the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab. I had that one on pre-order for months before it came out, and now I’m just waiting to have enough time to sit down and devour it.

Will you be picking up A Resistance of Witches? Tell us in the comments below!