'Scottish Witch' author Cathy Maxwell: Power of a curse

Cathy Maxwell's second Chattan Curse book is out this week, The Scottish Witch (book one was Lyon's Bride). How appropriate that it came out the week of Halloween! Cathy joins us to wonder whether the power of our thoughts can affect our everyday lives.

Cathy:

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

— Hamlet, 2.2.237

I have friends who are witches. They are reasonable, modern people with families and jobs. They do not twitch their noses or traipse around in black velvet and chiffon. The only time they use a broom is to sweep the floor, and, yes, knowing them, hearing them speak about people's superstitions, helped me create and form the Chattan Curse Trilogy, including my current The Scottish Witch.

Here's what they do believe: We all possess unimaginable powers and can tap into unseen forces.

This is not so strange. For example, we define ourselves through our fears, doubts and beliefs. All unseen; all not necessarily based upon fact. However, whatever we give conscious thought to will rule how we think and act.

I have a friend who suffers from fibromyalgia. She is convinced that her ailment isn't from something physical but from being "cursed." She fears she crossed someone in her past and they have given her this pain. I can't convince her otherwise. After all, doctors don't know what causes fibromyalgia and that only proves her case.

My sister sent me a text this morning saying she's finally figured out what she thinks follows her around for the day. "When you say things like 'I am fat' or 'I am dumb,' then that negative word follows you all day, but if you say 'I am smart' or 'I am going to exercise today,' the positive follows you." She calls this her Oprah moment.

I call it unleashing the power of belief. It can work for our best interests, and against them, such as my friend who believes she is cursed.

In The Scottish Witch, I play with the idea of reality and fantasy. Is there such a thing as magic? Or is it because we don't believe, because we can't or won't open our minds, we do not see what is true?

Yes, in the first book, Lyon's Bride, and in this second, there is a curse. It is a powerful one, placed upon the Chattans by an outraged mother. I can't imagine any force more commanding than grief.

But is it possible that the Chattans have invited their own curse?

I've played with this idea through all three books. The final one is titled The Devil's Heart and will be released in May. The curse is that when a Chattan male falls in love, he will die.

This is an easy curse to conquer: Just don't fall in love.

But can any of us live without love? Would we want to?

And what does it say if we are wishing this curse upon ourselves? If our best impulse is for our own destruction?

Harry Chattan is a man pursued by his own demons. Portia Maclean thought that if he was willing to pay good coin for a witch, well, she could pretend to be one. Little does she know the price Harry will extract for playing him for a fool ... and is she willing to meet his demands? Maybe even raise the ante with a few desires of her own?

And that is not only when the fun begins, but also the magic.

To find out more about Cathy and her books, you can visit her website, CathyMaxwell.com.