It took hold in my brain and never let go. I’ve thought about The Twilight Series every day since I was 13. I opened my laptop and started the first draft of what would become The Witch Haven. I was, in that moment, sitting in my childhood home after graduating college and feeling completely unmoored. I read an interview where she said she wrote the book the summer after college, living at home with her parents. The book that made me want to become an author was Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen.

I read what feels like one hundred of them. The first book I remember reading by myself was the Dinosaurs Before Dark Magic Treehouse book. I want to do more of this.” Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about! It wasn’t until fanfic gave me my first taste of writing for an audience that I took a step back and finally had the lightbulb moment of “oh, this really matters to me. I entered college as a STEM major, but spent my evenings secretly writing fanfic. In high school I wrote truly terrible poetry about the boys who didn’t like me back and devoured every young adult novel I could get my hands on. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love writing, but I never really identified as a writer. When did you first discover your love for writing? I’m passionate about well-curated road trip playlists, soup recipes and stories about complicated girls. In addition to being a writer I’ve worked as a scientist, a camp counselor, and for one single night, the world’s worst waitress. Hi Nerd Daily! Absolutely! I’m originally from Utah but ended up in DC for school and accidentally never left. We chat with debut author Sasha Peyton Smith about The Witch Haven, along with book recommendations, writing, and so much more! Hi, Sasha! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself? The Last Magician meets The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy in this thrilling and atmospheric historical fantasy following a young woman who discovers she has magical powers and is thrust into a battle between witches and wizards.

Sasha peyton smith the witch hunt