{"id":2631,"date":"2025-04-30T13:00:49","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T12:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londoncomicconwinter.com\/YALC\/?p=2631"},"modified":"2025-04-29T16:52:23","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T15:52:23","slug":"qa-with-annaliese-avery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londoncomicconwinter.com\/YALC\/qa-with-annaliese-avery\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A with Annaliese Avery"},"content":{"rendered":"

– We\u2019re delighted to welcome you to the YALC socials, would you like to introduce yourself?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you so much for having me, I am Annaliese Avery author of The Wycherleys. I love writing fantasy fiction it is my happy place; I feel like most things can be improved with the addition of a dragon or a sprinkle of magic. <\/span><\/p>\n

– Could you introduce your new book to us?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Wycherleys is an epic romatasy adventure set in an alternate Regency England where the young witches of the Ton become debutantes of magic after receiving their magic on the full moon after their seventeenth birthday. They then enter into a magical season of balls and trials, sabbats and spells. During this time, they must find a fellow witch to tether their magic to because without another witch to be their tether their magic will fade away. When our main character Aurelia Wycherley received her magic she also gained her family curse \u2013 a curse that must be carried by one Wycherley woman and that makes her magic incompatible with other witches. Faced with the prospect of losing her magic forever she forms an unlikely alliance with family rival Jules Nightly descendent of the witch responsible for the Wycherley curse that affects her. <\/span><\/p>\n

Expect family secrets, generational curses, forbidden romance, gorgeous ballgowns, bribery, extortion, trespass, magic and kissing . . . lots of kissing.<\/span><\/p>\n

And if you had to do it in just 5 words or less, what would they be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Debutante witches finding their power. <\/span><\/p>\n

– THE WYCHERLEYS is an exciting new magical romantasy \u2013 what inspired the world and the storyline for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am a huge explorer when it comes to my writing, I usually have an idea or two and then I set off armed with those and I see where the path takes me. The seed of the story for The Wycherleys actually started off in a Middle Grade book proposal about a large family of witches who lived in a magical house that was being attacked – think Magical Home Alone!- in that family there were twin siblings who had tethered magic – they needed to be near one another to perform it which created all kinds of limitations and problems. I kept thinking about this idea of tethered magic and how hard it might be to find the right person to join your magic to forever, and what if there was a witch that no one wanted to tether their magic to but what if she would lose all her magic if she didn\u2019t. <\/span><\/p>\n

My main character Aurelia arrived pretty quicky (as did her older brother Vaughn, both growing from that earlier idea but also becoming their own people), she was not happy about the idea of losing her magic or giving up the life she had thought would be hers, and this was something that I personally resonated with as I was going through a similar situation of having something in my life turn out to be wildly different to how I had envisaged it. <\/span><\/p>\n

The ideas flowed after that and when I realised that the Regency Season finished just as the Season of the Witch was ramping up, I decided that I could fuse magic and witches with the balls and debutantes of that time period. From there on I was just having fun with ideas and playing with the mixing of these two ideas – Regency and witches. <\/span><\/p>\n

– What is your favourite thing about the world you\u2019ve built?<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of my favourite things to do is worldbuilding, I really enjoy discovering what a world is like and how it has got to where it is now. One of the things I knew early on was that this story took place in the Third Age of Magic. So naturally I wondered what had happened in the two previous ages of magic; when did these occur, and what happened to each of these ages to usher in the new one? Looking at our real history and thinking about how it may have been altered by the presence of magic and then figuring out where historical events were shared and where they were different was a lot of fun. <\/span><\/p>\n

As was researching the science behind the magic system, as well as establishing the lore of it. I love science, always have, especially physics and astronomy, so if I can find a way to put something real and scientific into my magical system, even if I never talk about it in the story, then I do. In the Wycherley\u2019s I used ionic bonding as a base for the magic system to grow from. This helped me to see the world as being plausible and possible and that in turn helps me to make it vivid and real for my reader. <\/span><\/p>\n

One of the things that I do for every story I write is to create a world bible, this is a huge document that outlines everything. It is full of images and facts, explanations and musings. There are links to YouTube videos and research papers, that explain how the science of the world fits together, as well as to Spotify playlists and Pinterest boards that give the vibes of the world and story. It also has the history of the world in it and a detailed explanation of the magic system and how and why it works the way it does. <\/span><\/p>\n

– Are there any real-world locations you\u2019ve taken inspiration from? Did you do any in person research?<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a reader I enjoy exploring real life settings that have been reimagined in some way, Magical London was such a fun setting to navigate, taking places that already exist and then thinking of what they might be in this alternate magical history. I don\u2019t live too far from London, and I get to visit a few times a month, I enjoy just walking about; soaking in the mix of architecture, moving through time as your travel the streets. I do love visiting museums, galleries and libraries too, I try to get in at least one quick visit every few trips. One of my favourite museums is Sir John Soane\u2019s Museum in Lincoln\u2019s Inn Field, it is bonkers and brilliant \u2013 in my imagination the museum is the Wycherley\u2019s house and Lincoln\u2019s Inn Field is Hemlock Square. <\/span><\/p>\n

– The witches in THE WYCHERLEYS tether their magic to another to be able to practise their craft to its\u2019 fullest extent \u2013 can you tell us a little about this process, and why it\u2019s so important?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tethering is such a key element in the worldbuilding and is a driving force for most of the action in the story. <\/span><\/p>\n

The aim of the magical season is to find another witch that you can connect your magic to, without a tether a witch will lose their magic, it will slowly fade away.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even though the magical season was initially inspired but the Regency debutante season with its main aims of marriage and love matches I knew that tethering ones magic did not need to be done for love, in fact, I personally think it is probably best not to tether for love, not all of my characters agree though!<\/span><\/p>\n

You can make a magical connection through friendship, or because you have particularly strong magic with someone or maybe for political reasons or those of family connection. Tethering is a necessity in this world but I also love the idea that magic is strongest when we perform it together, tethers and covens rely on more than one witch to make powerful lasting magic. <\/span><\/p>\n

– Why did you decide to set the book in a regency-like era? What should we expect from the society\/ structures in this world and the time it is set?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I often feel that I don\u2019t actually ever get to decide anything in my stories. I write in a very open and fluid way, I know very little about the adventure I am about to go on when I start writing and I tend to just see where the characters take me. The Regency-like era probably came from many different places; watching <\/span>Bridgerton<\/i><\/span>, reading Susanna Clarks <\/span>Ladies of Grace Adieu<\/i><\/span>, and when I made a mental reach from The Debutante Season to the Season of the Witch. In the melting pot of inspiration, I think all of these things, plus many others, coalesced into the world and because of this the society and the structures of this magical world are not entirely like those of Regency England, I think readers will connect with the differences and easily identify the similarities. <\/span><\/p>\n

-Who is your favourite character – tell us something unexpected about why they are so?!<\/strong><\/p>\n

I know that an author shouldn\u2019t have favourite characters but in every book there are always characters that I have a soft spot, in The Wycherleys it is Aurelia\u2019s best friend Constance, and Frances, Aurelia\u2019s mothers tether. <\/span><\/p>\n

Constance is such a wonderful character, I wish I was best friends with her. She is bold, bright and brilliant. The youngest of seven sisters Constance has all of the tenacity and tenderness that comes with having a big family full of people that love you but also are all older than you! She cares fiercely and fights for those she loves a trait that she shares with Frances, although Frances is more subtle, stoic, and reserved. I think that the traits of both characters are things that I aspire to be like, and I admire them a lot because of that. <\/span><\/p>\n

Aurelia lives in a non-conventional family, as a lot of witches do, Witches are close to their tethers, and they are not always their life partners. Aurelia\u2019s mother and father, Ulric, not tethered to one another. Aurelia\u2019s mother, Nell Wycherley is tethered to Frances whom she loves just as much as she did Ulric and Frances has always been in Aurelia\u2019s life, in her family, in her home. When Ulric died it was Frances who comforted them all in her quiet and deliberate way. I think she is a wonderful parent to Aurelia and Vaughn and the kind of calm, steady and supportive influence that allows all around her to thrive in safety. She is also shrewd and savvy, which I love about her. <\/span><\/p>\n

So although Constance and Frances are very different in character I think their motivations and reasoning is very similar, they are two sides of one coin in that way. <\/span><\/p>\n

– What was the book that made you a reader, and was there one that made you a writer?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The book that made me a reader was The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. I read a lot of nonfiction as a child but when I was in my first year of secondary school my English teacher gave me a copy of The Hobbit to read. I ran through the hills of Hobbiton out into the wider terrain of Middle-Earth, of fantasy fiction, and never looked back. <\/span><\/p>\n

The book that made me a writer was Northern Lights, by Phillip Pullman. Many years ago, I was working in a very large castle that is open to the public and there were long hours of manning the ticket office, in the quiet times I read. I was already entertaining the idea that I would like to be a writer specifically for children and young adults, but it wasn\u2019t till I read Northern Lights, while I was sitting in those castle walls which already felt powerful and otherworldly, that I realised that the type of characters, worlds, and stories that I wanted to share were possible, and I realised what I wanted to share through my words.<\/span><\/p>\n

– What is your favourite genre to read\/ write in?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I can\u2019t see me ever writing anything that is not speculative fiction \u2013 magical realism, epic fantasy, science fiction, dystopia, alternate histories \u2013 give me the space to create a rich setting, with a lot of room for worldbuilding, and some kind of science based magic system, and I am joyful. <\/span><\/p>\n

These are the types of books that I delight in reading too, but I am open to reading most things. I can always imagine a dragon in it if I need too. <\/span><\/p>\n

– Where do you write?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I mostly write in my study, which I recently named The Imaginarium \u2013 thanks to a fun Instagram poll I held! I am quite a messy person, and my family are all super tidy, so they often despair at the state of The Imaginarium. However, it is my space; I have everything I need in there and I know where everything is \u2026 most of the time. <\/span><\/p>\n

When I am working quite deeply on a book The Imaginarium gets extremely unruly, and the space on my desk gets smaller and smaller as things pile up around me, almost cocooning me in so all I can see is my screen and the story. <\/span><\/p>\n

When a project is done, I then have a big purge – it usually takes me a whole day to get everything straight again. Ready to get messy on the next project. <\/span><\/p>\n

– Have you read anything brilliant recently?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last year I read two books that have stayed with me, Songlight by Moira Buffini and The Principle of Moments by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson they both resonated deeply with me as a reader and a writer: beautifully crafted stories with incredible worldbuilding and characters who I am still thinking about. <\/span><\/p>\n

I am so looking forward to reading Torchfire, book two in The Torch Trilogy, which is out later this year, Moira very kindly sent me an advance copy and I am very impatiently waiting to get to it on my TBR. And I am so excited for Esmie\u2019s new book Gutterwitch, it\u2019s not out until next year and I have already pestered her for a proof. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

– We\u2019re delighted to welcome you to the YALC socials, would you like to introduce yourself? Thank you so much for having me, I am Annaliese Avery author of The Wycherleys. I love writing fantasy fiction it is my happy place; I feel like most things can be improved with the addition of a dragon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":2634,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-qa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncomicconwinter.com\/YALC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncomicconwinter.com\/YALC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncomicconwinter.com\/YALC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncomicconwinter.com\/YALC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncomicconwinter.com\/YALC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2631"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/londoncomicconwinter.com\/YALC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2636,"href":"https:\/\/londoncomicconwinter.com\/YALC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2631\/revisions\/2636"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncomicconwinter.com\/YALC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncomicconwinter.com\/YALC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncomicconwinter.com\/YALC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncomicconwinter.com\/YALC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}