In a vastly different and darker
Philadelphia of 1844, steam power has been repressed, war threatens from deep,
dark waters, and one young lady of high social standing is expecting a surprise
at her seventeenth birthday party–but certainly not the one she gets!
Jordan Astraea, who has lived out
all of her life in Philadelphia’s most exclusive neighborhood, is preparing to
celebrate her birthday with friends, family and all the extravagance they might
muster. The young man who is most often her dashing companion, Rowen Burchette,
has told her a surprise awaits her and her best friend, Catrina Hollindale,
wouldn’t miss this night for all the world!
But storm clouds are gathering and
threatening to do far more than dampen her party plans because someone in the
Astraea household has committed the greatest of social sins by Harboring a
Weather Witch.
I asked Shannon what the inspiration behind the Weather Witch was and the location she chose, this is what she had to say...
I've always loved storms and
ships and the idea that someone might be able to control the weather, and I
grew up about an hour outside the city I set the opening action in--a city I
return to whenever I can.
Philadelphia. I love it so
much I started the Weather Witch series there. My brother says his favorite
city in the US is NYC, but for me it's Philly with its remnants of colonial history,
its spirit of revolution and innovation and its wide variety of immigrants.
Philadelphia doesn't swallow people up the same way other cities do--it allows
their fingerprints to remain as a part of it and every person has the real
opportunity to make it a better place because of their involvement.
Philadelphia is my big city
crush and I had to use it. Of course I did change some aspects of it
significantly... Although there is a "Society Hill" it's not like my
"Hill". There's no real "Below" although the city breaks
into different neighborhoods and I'm sure there've been some that some people
would suggest as being the "Burn Quarter" at different times. But
there are plenty of references to actual places and even some people (and one
ghost).
To say Philadelphia
influenced this series would be an understatement. Yes, we do visit a few other
locations I love like Bangor, Maine, Herkimer, New York (and reference others:
Baltimore and Salem) but we come back to Philadelphia for some of the most
important moments because I love it so much.
~About the Author~
Shannon Delany grew up in a
community that was traditional and respectful of superstitions and old
religions and was very creative. She was surrounded by arts, crafts, and other
languages from a young age and enjoyed sampling everything that atmosphere had
to offer. Her childhood directly impacted her fascination with myths, legends,
and the paranormal and has enjoyed using that information to write her 13 TO
LIFE and WEATHER WITCH novels and her short stories.
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