Lenora Henson: Finding Inspiration

The Wicked Garden Series - A prophecy brought them together. A curse tore them apart.

She was a redhead and her name was Gretchel. That was the vision I saw as I came to after a deep meditation almost four years ago. Who is Gretchel? She is the main character in The Wicked Garden Series, a saga of witchy fiction based in reality. Magic never seemed so real.

The wicked project really got its roots as I was doing some personal genealogical research that winter. I had traced my paternal family back to 15th century Scotland. It sparked my curiosity and I felt a sense of connection to the female family members, none of which were noted in the earlier research I had found. I wondered if any of them were witches. The meditation came later, and yes – Gretchel was Scottish – and yes, she was a witch.

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I had meditated with the intent of inspiration. I was ready to start a new writing project, and this definitely sent the creative juices flowing. I spent the next eight months writing the first drafts of four of the six books in this series.

Book one, The Wicked Garden was published in May of 2013 and book two, The Witches of Snyder Farms was published in September of 2013. Book three, Beltane is currently in the works with an expected publish date of Spring 2014. I intend to publish two per year until the series is complete.

In The Wicked Garden we meet Gretchel Shea, the redheaded witch with Scottish ancestry. Gretchel is strikingly beautiful, six foot tall and appears to be living the American dream. She lives the small town country club lifestyle with her husband and two children. It’s just that behind the veil the dream is really a nightmare.

Across the country, Eli Stewart pines over Gretchel’s memory. He has spent seventeen years since their breakup trying to build a new life and failing miserably. He blames his mother, Diana Stewart for his heartache. A transpersonal psychologist, she has spent her life trying to fulfill a prophecy that involves redheaded Scottish witches, her son and a priceless amethyst pendant. Diana swears Gretchel is not part of the prophecy and wants his son to have nothing to do with her. But forces, voices and redheaded ghosts beyond their control begin to set the prophecy in motion again, seventeen years later.

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Set in Southern Illinois, I used my homeland to set the scene of Snyder Farms, where generations of redheaded witches have called home. The Wicked Garden itself was inspired by my late brother’s poppy garden. Poppies are a main theme in the book. This is an adult series with gritty subject matter and psychological undertones.

This series is a multigenerational saga, zigzagging gracefully from the 15th century witch trials, to the present day and everywhere in between. The Wicked Garden series explores mythology, archetypes and the elements. It explores the beauty of humanity. It explores true love. It explores the role of mythic resonance and familial inheritance in our lives and asks if it’s possible for the present to heal the past. 

~About the Author~

Lenora Henson is a writer, e-course facilitator, and blogger living in the Midwest with her fiancé and their children. She is an earthy girl with an affinity for air and fire. She is a bookworm, photographer, and a student of the Tarot.
She loves exploring the world of mythology, symbology and archetypes. If you'd like to know how they can bring meaning and connection to your world, check out her website. 

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