Magical Powers: A guest post by Holly Webb

Rose isn’t like the other orphans at St Bridget’s Home for Abandoned Girls. Instead of dreaming of getting adopted by loving, wealthy parents, Rose wants to get a job and be independent. She doesn’t need anyone but herself. She finds her escape working as a maid for Mr. Fountain, an alchemist. Unable to ignore the magic that flows throughout the grand residence, Rose realizes that just maybe; she might have a little bit of magic in her too. This new series featuring magicians, witches, talking cats, mist-monsters, and friendships will have young readers in a trance!

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Magical Powers

1. Flying. Oddly enough, this isn’t because I actually want to be able to fly anywhere. I had a recurring dream as a child (and still occasionally now) that I could jump from a particular staircase in my parents’ house (which had a lot of stairs, as it was tall and Victorian, but it was only this one staircase in the dream) and I would be able to float down to the bottom.(Freddie mentions doing this by accident in Rose.) I can still remember the amazing swooping sensation inside, even when I’m awake. I’d love to be able to do it for real. But I don’t think I’d ever fly very high – I’m slightly scared of heights!

2. Talking to animals. Because I would love to know what they think. I had a cat and two dogs growing up, and one of the dogs I was very close to. She was a grumpy English Bull Terrier, and we got her when I was seven. She chewed everything, and never learned to walk to heel, but I think that was our fault rather than hers. She and I used to go on long, sulky walks when I was a teenager, and it would have been wonderful to be able to talk to her properly. Although I should think she would have been very bossy. She already had me convinced that she could never walk over sand because it hurt her paws, so whenever we went to the beach, I had to carry her. And she was a big dog…

3. To make things grow. I love the idea of plant magic – the episode in Rose where she accidentally makes the wisteria vine catch her as she’s trying to climb down the wall of the house is one of my favourite bits. I’d love to be able to grow strange plants, flowers that opened up to reveal people, or perhaps secret rooms that you could get into if you were small. I loved the Narnia books as a child (I still do), and the talking animals and the dryads (the tree people) were my favourite parts.

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Holly Webb is the author of Dog Magic, Cat Magic, and Lost in the Snow. She has always loved animals and owns two very spoiled cats. They haven’t said a word to her yet, but she’s always listening, just in case! She lives in England.