Housewitch

Book excerpt: A New England housewife battles her desire for perfection, her family legacy, and a coven of witches in this contemporary fantasy debut. Allison Darling, former foster child, now a stay-at-home mom of three, desperately wants to fit in with the organic-latte-drinking, hundred-dollar-yoga-pants-wearing moms who run Monrovia, her charming seaside village. Constantly feeling like an outsider, Allison dreams of more for her children. When the Glamour Girls, a soap-selling company run by the most charismatic and powerful women in town, recruits Allison, she jumps at the invitation. The Glamor Girls have a hand in everything in Monrovia, from bake sales to business deals. This is what Allison’s wanted her whole life—to be liked. To be popular. To belong. After Allison’s estranged mother passes away, she learns her family’s heartbreaking legacy and the secret Allison’s been fighting to suppress all her life emerges: she’s a witch. What’s more, she’s not the only one in town. There’s more to the Glamour Girls then it seems . . . and once you’re a Glamour Girl, there’s no going back. Allison must use her rediscovered magic to defend Monrovia, protect her marriage and her children, and reclaim her legacy. Fighting tooth and nail for her family is easy, but what about for herself? Is it too late to confront her own demons and become the woman she dreams of being? Praise for Housewitch “Schickel’s debut entertains while delightfully skewering our culture’s obsession with domestic perfection. In the spirit of John Updike’s Witches of Eastwick and Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic, Schickel casts a spell all her own. Housewitch takes us deep inside the dark arts of 21st-century motherhood and sparkles with unexpected magic.” —Amber Dermont, New York Times–bestselling author of The Starboard Sea “An unforgettable cast of characters and a powerful story about family, secrets, and magic. A magical, beautifully entertaining debut.” —Suzanne Palmieri, author of The Witch of Belladonna Bay