I’m often asked, why witches? Why the pagan stories with all the Wiccan spells? Oh, and are you Wiccan? How do I answer, well, I shrug. As far as the stories go, I ask, why not. I say Wicca fascinates me. I wonder why more people are so concerned with the fact I write witch stories and are less upset about the erotic content.
But, to answer these questions truthfully, I’m not sure I could even to myself, because I’m still working on the answer. I could go back through my life, tell you as I child I was obsessed with shows like Bewitched. The idea of wiggling my nose and getting whatever I wanted was a strong dream for an over-active imagination like mine. Now, to wiggle my nose and clean my house, well, I’d just about give my right arm for that one. I could learn to type with one hand! LOL Any TV show, movie, book, my whole life that I could get my hands on involving paranormal witches, the ones who could make it storm with just a thought or shoot real fire out of their fingertips, I watched and read, and re-watched and re-read. So, obviously Wicca interested me too. But it wasn’t until I could call it research that I actually started buying the books. Prior to that, I just read them in Borders when I was alone. Didn’t feel like being questioned about something I had no answer about yet. What was the draw? I still can’t tell you. But, I can’t explain a lot in this life :) Yet, once I started reading the non-fiction books on Wicca, mainly those published by http://www.llewellyn.com/, I can now tell you what I do love about the Wiccan religion. 
I’ve read sooo many good books: Witchcrafting by Phyllis Curott, If You Want to Be a Witch by Edain McCoy, Mindlight by Silver Ravenwolf, The Way of Four by Debroah Lipp, The Cauldron of Memory by Raven Grimassi, The Path of A Christian Witch by Adelina St. Clair, etc. My bookshelves are brimming, and my kids now laugh each time another comes in the mail, “Another witch book, mom.” I’m already a certified Feng Shui Practioner, so working with the elements and energy is no stretch for me. I’ve even heard it said that Wiccans have been practicing Feng Shui for centuries. It even shows up in their books, especially one’s by say Kitchen Witches. 
I have always had a thing about candles, water, and the moon—feeling the energy from, the power in each. In fact, my ability to read energy is what got me into Feng Shui in the first place, so anything nature-oriented pagan, is not a stretch. 
Yet, I remember reading one of my first Wiccan books on becoming a solitary witch. In the book it spoke of gaining self-knowledge, self-respect, just simply knowing who you are and then choosing your beliefs. I was blown away. In a household where we celebrate both Christian and Jewish holidays, and tell our kids they don’t have to pick, and never have to feel they are picking between mom or dad, it made so much sense. 
Anyway, am I a practicing Wiccan? I guess the answer at the moment is no, not officially. I have learned so much that Wiccan practices, rituals, shows up in my Feng Shui practices. And, I do see it creep into my now more eclectic, more pagan holiday observances. I’m still learning, still researching, and I haven’t made any concrete decisions. I call myself Metaphysical, and leave it at that. I don’t want to be rushed. I’m no longer a religious all or nothing person, spouting back what I was told to, as I was once being taught to be. I am thinking for myself, have a belief in a higher power, in the energy all around me. I pray. I’m spiritual. But, I have no need to define myself right now. Of course, that is too long of an answer than most care to get. For them who just wish to judge me anyway, a shrug will do.
How does this all connect to my writing. Well, maybe I’m reliving those teen years, I’m only forty, but you know, on a collision path with a mid-life crisis, *giggles* but still, maybe my writing lets me try things on for size, see who I am and who I’m not. I also write for escape, and if a spell or something strikes me, gets me thinking, then it usually gets used in a story. I have given myself the personal challenge over the past few years to write more reality based, Pagan/Wiccan stories. I like the challenge of having to stay in the real world with the spells used, of having to get the research just right.I’ve met many wonderful witches along the way. Some I’ve gotten to personally converse with, and a few I’m privileged to now call friends. As well, I’ve found many websites and blogs to continue to learn from. What I can say for sure, is that this need to learn of the Wiccan religion is not fading. I will continue to read and study and search. What will come of it? Well, who knows. I’ve gone far beyond caring what others think. I will continue to do what I do and ignore the masses who think it their right to lump me into some precise category of their own making so they can stand on their judgment box and look down their noses at me. What is it Detective Hallet said near the end of Practical Magic? “Why don’t you do what you do, and I’ll do what I do, and we will see where we end up.”
Author Bio:
Ever since she was young, Kiki Howell has loved to listen to a well-woven tale with real characters, inspired plots, and delightful resolutions. Kiki could spend hours lost in a book, and soon she knew that creating lives, loves, and losses with just words had to be the greatest thing that she could do. To that end, she pursued her study of literature and writing, earning a bachelor’s degree in English. She then followed in a Master’s program in Creative Writing.
“After a long break having my boys, I finally just had to write again. And, as soon as I gave the stories the space, they entered it. It’s both awesome and humbling to find the words in my mind become characters on a page and create their lives.”
She has now had over twenty stories published between seven different small presses. She could not be more thrilled or grateful to see her creations polished and out in the real world. Please look around. Although, a bit of caution, most of her stories tend to hang out on the graphically sexy side of town.In May, 2011, Kiki was chosen as an Ohioana Book Festival author for her novel, Torn Asunder.
Kiki resides in the Midwest with her incredibly handsome and talented, singer/songwriter husband and two children. When she is not writing, she is spending time with her family, reading, baking or knitting.
Her biggest dream is to have a novel she writes be made into a movie that her husband creates the soundtrack for, and then cruise to Alaska with her family on the money they make.
Kiki loves to hear from fans! Email her at [email protected]You can also find out more about Kiki at http://www.kikihowell.com/2007/11/about-author.html
