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WORK TITLE: Sea Witch
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY: Lawrence
STATE: KS
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
https://www.seawitchbook.com/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married; children: two.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Worked formerly as a journalist for Palm Beach Post, Kansas City Star, and Associated Press.
AVOCATIONS:Running ultramarathons; spending time with her children and husband.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Sarah Henning is a writer and former journalist. Now a novelist, she used to report for Palm Beach Post, Kansas City Star, and Associated Press, among others. When not writing, Henning runs ultramarathons and spends time with her husband and their two children. Henning lives in Lawrence, Kansas.
Sea Witch, Henning’s first novel, tells the story of three teens living in a magical world that resembles nineteenth-century Denmark. Evie, Anna, and Nik were inseparable friends, despite their class differences. Evie is a fisherman’s daughter, Anna is a noble, and Nik is the crown prince of the kingdom of Havnestad. Evie also has a dark secret: she has the magical powers of a witch. When Anna is taken by the ocean, however, even Evie’s powerful magic cannot revive her. Four years after Anna’s untimely death, Nik and Evie are still close friends, and they still mourn Anna. As the years pass, maintaining their friendship becomes more difficult. This is not because their adoration for one another has declined, but rather because of the criticism of onlookers who view their class-defying friendship as inappropriate.
For Nik’s sixteenth birthday, he arranges to have an extravagant party on a ship. In the middle of the party, a violent storm fills the sky, and Nik is thrown overboard. Evie fears that Nik will follow in Anna’s tragic footsteps. As she helplessly watches her friend struggle in the ocean, she witnesses a magical being, who has a striking resemblance to Anna, save the teen. Nik is unconscious at the time of his rescue, and Evie is the only person who caught sight of his savior.
Soon after this disastrous birthday party, Evie meets a woman who seems to have mysteriously shown up on the shores of Havnestad. The woman, Annemette, also resembles Anna. Anna’s body was never recovered from the ocean, and Evie wonders if this woman is some new version of her late friend. The two women instantly form a bond, and Evie learns that Annemette also has magical powers. Annemette is a mermaid who only has four days to win a kiss from her love, Nik. If she can achieve this, she will become human and live on land forever. Evie, seduced by Annemette’s resemblance to Anna, agrees to help.
A contributor to Publishers Weekly noted the book’s “richly woven threads of fairy tale allusions and a surprising ending,” while a contributor to Kirkus Reviews wrote, “Readers who gobble up every watery paranormal story will certainly enjoy this angst-drenched tale of forbidden love.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, May 15, 2018, Maggie Reagan, review of Sea Witch, p. 52.
Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 2018, review of Sea Witch.
Publishers Weekly, May 28, 2018, review of Sea Witch, p. 101.
School Library Journal, May, 2018, Megan Huenemann, review of Sea Witch, p. 90.
ONLINE
Sarah Henning website, http://www.sarahhenningwrites.com (November 9, 2018).
Tor.com, https://www.tor.com/ (August 2, 2018 ), Liz Bourke, review of Sea Witch.*
No bio
Sarah Henning is a recovering journalist who has worked for The Palm Beach Post, Kansas City Star and Associated Press, among others. When not writing, she runs ultramarathons, hits the playground with her two kids and hangs out with her husband Justin, who doubles as her long-suffering IT department. Sarah lives in Lawrence, Kansas, hometown of Langston Hughes, William S. Burroughs and a really good basketball team.
Sarah Henning is a recovering journalist who has worked for the Palm Beach Post, the Kansas City Star, and the Associated Press, among others. When not hunched over her computer, she runs ultramarathons, hangs out with her husband, Justin, and goes on absurdly long walks with her two adorable kids. Sarah lives in Lawrence, Kansas, hometown of Langston Hughes, William S. Burroughs, and a really good basketball team. Sea Witch is her first novel. You can visit her online at www.sarahhenningwrites.com.
An Indies Introduce Q&A With Sarah Henning
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Sea Witch by Sarah HenningSarah Henning is the debut author of Sea Witch (Katherine Tegen Books), a Summer/Fall 2018 Indies Introduce YA selection and a Summer 2018 Kids’ Indie Next List pick. Sea Witch is a retelling of The Little Mermaid from the perspective of the girl who would one day become the witch in the classic tale.
“The siren song of redemption is hard to resist for Evie, who has been ostracized by her fishing village following the drowning of her friend Anna. Not a noble and not trusted by the villagers, Evie has attempted small magics to help turn the meager catches of the village to plenty,” said Jessica Hahl of Country Bookshelf in Bozeman, Montana, who served on the panel that selected Henning’s debut for the Indies Introduce program.
“Evie is a creative, ingenious young woman who has carried a great deal of guilt not her own. Her sorrow, guilt, and desire are very intriguing, and one can see the vestiges of the strength and insight into the human (and not-so-human) heart that could make her a formidable antagonist in someone else’s story. I look forward to revisiting Evie and seeing what else rises from the depths,” added Hahl.
Henning, formerly a journalist for the Palm Beach Post, Kansas City Star, Associated Press, and other publications, lives in Lawrence, Kansas, with her family. Here, Hahl and Henning discuss the author’s inspiration and research for her debut novel.
Jessica Hahl: Sea Witch is a reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid. Why re-tell a fairytale? What drew you to this particular tale?
Sarah Henning, author of Sea Witch
Photo by Fally Afani
Sarah Henning: Like many little girls, I loved the Disney version of The Little Mermaid, but when I read the original as an adult, I found it fascinating because it was SO different from the story I thought I knew. I was suddenly very drawn to the witch, who is a more neutral character in the original tale. She’s a feared woman, yes, but she’s not necessarily a villain in the traditional sense. This mermaid comes to her, and the witch basically grills this love-struck girl on why she’d want to give up her family, friends, and possibly her life for a boy who doesn’t even know her name — but then the witch helps her anyway. I wanted to explore what kind of person would help that mermaid despite being wise to what was truly on the line.
JH: I really appreciated Evelyn’s quest for belonging and redemption and how you characterized her magical thinking. What drew you to Evie? How would your answer be different if you were a teen?
SH: Evie is definitely someone who just wants to fix things. She’s always trying to make it all better but she definitely feels behind before she can even start. Her talents in witchcraft have been repressed by the people who raised her because of a well-founded fear — she’d be banished if anyone knew. But because her drive to help is stronger sometimes than her own sense of self-preservation, she begins to secretly study and test her powers in private.
I am a natural people-pleaser like Evie and now that I’m an adult I realize that sometimes I get completely ridiculous in my own interpretation of other people’s expectations and what is really necessary. I think if I were reading Evie’s story as a teenager, I would identify with her greatly and completely understand why she would risk everything. But viewing what Evie does through the lens of adulthood, I think I understand what’s at stake a little bit more and want to warn her — even though I know that she won’t change. Guilt would eat at her if she didn’t try to improve things, even at great risk to herself.
JH: If you could give a piece of advice to any character in the book, what would that advice be? Do you think they would listen?
SH: How do I answer truthfully without being a total spoiler? This is really hard! How about something sort of obvious that deals with the two princes (and cousins) in the book, Nik and Iker?
So here’s my advice: Iker, you indeed believe in family over everything, which is endearing, but completely annoying to Nik — let the “kid” make his own decisions. Also, you should’ve paid more attention to your heart than your reputation much sooner, my friend.
JH: The historical Scandinavian setting was very evocative. What was your favorite research tidbit that didn’t make it into the book?
SH: Thank you! Setting this story against the background of real Danish history and its consequences was so much fun. I’m a former journalist, so research is something I particularly enjoy. I did quite a bit of reading about the Danish witch trials and King Christian IV — the witch-hunter king, and a relative of Nik and Iker in the book. I think the one tidbit that didn’t get in mostly because of the first-person context is the fact that Denmark and Norway (which were joined kingdoms during the “burning times”) burned more witches than anyone else in Scandinavia, in part because of King Christian’s personal obsession with witchcraft.
JH: Friendship is such a strong link in this book. Which character would’ve been your BFF when you were a teen?
SH: Oh, Nik. A hundred percent Nik. I’ve always been good friends with boys, and Nik’s relationship with Evie is very similar to ones I’ve had in my life. Well, I suppose those friendships didn’t have the added drama of secret witchcraft or noble blood, though I wouldn’t have turned either of those things down as a teen.
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Sea Witch by Sarah Henning (Katherine Tegen Books, 9780062438775, Hardcover, Young Adult, $17.99) On Sale Date: 7/31/2018.
Find out more about the author at sarahhenningwrites.com.
ABA member stores are invited to use this interview or any others in our series of Q&As with Indies Introduce debut authors in newsletters and social media and in online and in-store promotions. Please let us know if you do.
Henning, Sarah: SEA WITCH
Kirkus Reviews. (May 15, 2018):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Henning, Sarah SEA WITCH Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins (Young Adult Fiction) $17.99 7, 31 ISBN: 978-0-06-243877-5
A retelling of "The Little Mermaid" from the point of view of the other woman.
Evie's a fisherman's daughter, a secret witch, and the best friend of Crown Prince Asger Niklas Bryniulf Oldenburg III of the Kingdom of Havnestad--just plain Nik to her. Her world is an alternate 19th-century Denmark, in a tiny kingdom composed of a single fishing village, where she's a black-haired, half-Italian girl among the mostly blond Danes. Four years ago, Nik and Evie lost their beloved friend Anna to the ocean. Now--his royalty, her poverty, and the disapproval of Havnestad notwithstanding--they continue their friendship as they teeter on the cusp of adulthood. When Nik nearly drowns, he's rescued by a girl who looks just like Anna, but he's unconscious; only Evie sees the girl. Is the rescuer a mermaid? And is she the same person as Annemette, the lovely blonde who suddenly appears in town as if from nowhere? Regardless, Annemette and Evie become the dearest of friends almost immediately. Foreboding warnings about crossing class boundaries and burning witches foreshadow a dark and unexpected twist at novel's climax. Overly stylized prose, especially in the occasional third-person perspective chapters, slow the action with their forced poetic style.
Readers who gobble up every watery paranormal story will certainly enjoy this angst-drenched tale of forbidden love, but everyone else should stay on dry land. (Fantasy. 12-15)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Henning, Sarah: SEA WITCH." Kirkus Reviews, 15 May 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A538293836/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=10b5dcac. Accessed 20 Sept. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A538293836
Sea Witch
Maggie Reagan
Booklist. 114.18 (May 15, 2018): p52.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
Sea Witch.
By Sarah Henning.
July 2018. 368p. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen, $17.99 (9780062438775); e-book, $17.99 (9780062438812). Gr. 7-10.
Evie, Anna, and Nik were inseparable, no matter that Nik was a prince, Anna a noble, and Evie a poor villager. But then Anna drowned, and even Evie, who possessed magic she hid even from her dearest friends, couldn't save her. Evie and Nik are still close, even though the other villagers ostracize Evie for acting above her station. When Nik almost drowns, Evie catches a glimpse of his supernatural rescuer. At first, she doesn't believe her eyes--she may be a witch, but surely there's no such thing as mermaids--but then a mysterious girl who bears a striking resemblance to Anna appears in the village, desperate to see Nik. As Evie agrees to help her, she starts to wonder if her friend really did drown all those years ago, or if she became something else. Though the characters and dialogue are sometimes more old-fashioned and other times more modern, this spin on The Little Mermaid is full of plot twists and heart-in-throat action. Fans of twisted fairy tales will find plenty to love.--Maggie Reagan
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Reagan, Maggie. "Sea Witch." Booklist, 15 May 2018, p. 52. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A541400930/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=4e965ab1. Accessed 20 Sept. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A541400930
Sea Witch
Publishers Weekly. 265.22 (May 28, 2018): p101.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Sea Witch
Sarah Henning. HarperCollins/Tegen, $17.99 (368p) ISBN 978-0-06-243877-5
Deftly transforming a fairy tale into a richly layered exploration of culture and relationships, Henning tells the origin story of the Sea Witch from Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid." Sixteen-year-old Evie is a child of Havnestad, a Danish fishing town, and of the sea, but she also possesses a dark secret that could see her killed by her own people. After the death of their mutual best friend, Anna, Evie and the crown prince, Nik, forge a friendship, which is tested daily by public judgment as well as their private pain from the loss of Anna. Evie finds welcome escape from her grief with Iker, Nik's cousin, a crown prince in his own right and the young man who has captured her heart. Then Annemette, a mysterious young woman, arrives in the kingdom and quickly fills the role that Anna previously held in Evie and Nik's lives. Exquisitely detailed examinations of Danish seaside traditions lend gravitas to a debut novel rooted in the sea and its mercurial moods. A focus on Evie's internal monologue and romantic attachments unfortunately overshadows the subtly nuanced explorations of magic and its uses, but readers who persevere will be rewarded with richly woven threads of fairy tale allusions and a surprising ending. Ages 13-up. Agent: Rachel Ekstrom, Polio Literary Management. (July)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Sea Witch." Publishers Weekly, 28 May 2018, p. 101. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A541638903/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=7642f97d. Accessed 20 Sept. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A541638903
HENNING, Sarah. Sea Witch
Megan Huenemann
School Library Journal. 64.5 (May 2018): p90.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
HENNING, Sarah. Sea Witch. 368p. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Bks. Jul. 2018. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780062438775.
Gr 7 Up--This prequel to "The Little Mermaid" opens with a prologue in which two girls and a boy are playing and tragedy strikes. Years later, the story continues with Evie, who is secretly a witch, and her best friend Crown Prince Nik, who is celebrating his 16th birthday with an extravagant party aboard a ship. A storm brews, and Nik is thrown overboard and almost dies; but he is saved by someone with a beautiful singing voice. Flashbacks show readers that the duo was once a trio. Anna, the third friend, had tragically drowned four years earlier, and her body was never recovered. Evie meets a mysterious girl who showed up on shore, who looks and sounds like Anna but calls herself Annemette. This young woman is a mermaid, was responsible for saving Nik from drowning, and insists that she is not Anna. She is able to take on human form for four days and can live as a human forever if she secures true love's kiss in this time. Evie vows to help and keep her secret, and Annemette will keep Evie's magic powers a secret, as well. It will become apparent to readers where the characters' hearts' desires are pointing them, especially as big twists play out. Some Norse terminology and mythology are interwoven and help create a vivid setting. The ending feels a bit rushed and the closing action happens quickly, but romance and fantasy fans won't mind. VERDICT This enjoyable read will entertain and be a great fit for collections where fairy-tale retellings are popular.--Megan Huenemann, Norris High School, Firth, NE
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Huenemann, Megan. "HENNING, Sarah. Sea Witch." School Library Journal, May 2018, p. 90. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A536988010/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=f9a98bcb. Accessed 20 Sept. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A536988010
The Trouble With Adaptation: Sea Witch by Sarah Henning
Liz Bourke
Thu Aug 2, 2018 1:30pm 1 comment 1 Favorite [+]
Sea Witch is a peculiar novel. Told from the point of view of adolescent Evie, an outsider who must keep her despised magic secret lest she be condemned to death, the novel charts Evie’s story as the childhood friend to two princes. She’s attracted to one of them, and the other one is attracted to her, but their respective stations mean it’s unlikely anything will ever come of it.
Into this traditional adolescent dance comes Annemette, the spitting image of Evie’s drowned best friend Anna, a mermaid walking on dry land, who tells Evie she’ll have a soul and be able to stay a human if her true love—Prince Nik, Evie’s best friend—loves her back and kisses her before three days are over. Annemette insists she’s not Anna, has nothing to do with her, but Evie sees in her a trace of the girl she lost, and immediately adopts Annemette’s cause as her own.
(I will admit I was half-rooting for the true love to be friendship between women, but that’s not in Sea Witch’s plan. I’m not entirely convinced it passes the Bechdel-Wallace Test. Perish the thought that it should include people of colour or any hint of queerness. It does have at least one dead mother, though!)
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That’s not the thing that strikes me as peculiar. What’s peculiar about Sea Witch is the worldbuilding. The setting is Scandinavian, and of a post-medieval vintage: the novel mentions Denmark and Sweden, and the courtly manners of the princes definitely do not predate the 1700s. The presence of a steam yacht places the story in the mid to late 19th century, but the fact that the story sets itself in a tiny independent kingdom, neighboured by another tiny independent kingdom, suggests that the author imagines a more medieval world. (There are no newspapers, either.) The people mark Sankt Hans Afen (St. John’s Eve) by burning effigies of witches on bonfires, but swear by “the gods” and honour a power (a goddess) called Urda. Sea Witch sets itself neither in a well-worked-out secondary world, a fantasy world, nor in a place and time of our own world to which magic has been added. It’s set, essentially, in Disney Princess Land, an indeterminate mixed-up fairytale past where culture and context scarcely matter.
In fantasy and science fiction, the world is as much a character as any of the individuals with which the work concerns itself. That’s part of its appeal—to someone like me, who delights in social and cultural detail in historical settings (or settings inspired by elements of history), it’s a large part of the appeal. But Sea Witch spurns the possibilities of a deeper, richer, more grounded world.
Spoilers.
It turns out that Annemette is Anna—turned mermaid-soulless, turned human again, full of a desire for vengeance, since she blames both princes and Evie for her drowning. (Her plan to make sure that all their lives are ruined, destroyed, or ended has some significant gaps.) This is revealed rather swiftly, in contrast to the leisurely build of the romantic entanglements between the four major players: beware of the angry mermaid behind the curtain! But Evie thwarts her dastardly plan, albeit at the cost of a transformation into a sea creature with tentacles from the waist down, and the novel ends with a mermaid of another generation coming to her in search of the means to become human.
Over the years, Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid” has been adapted many times. So many times, in fact, that it is difficult to see what a fresh adaptation might add to the conversation. I’m not convinced that Sea Witch really uses an interesting angle—the eponymous Sea Witch—to any striking effect.
Sea Witch has its weaknesses as an adaptation. I have discussed its indeterminate worldbuilding already, but it is also weak in terms of its structure and emotional impact. While a narrative recounted from Evie’s point of view is a solid choice for a story focused on her romantic entanglements, the way in which Sea Witch switches to a potted history of vengeful Anna for its conclusion, rather than allowing her a viewpoint earlier, robs the story of real emotional impact. A story that paralleled Evie and Anna might well be a stronger one, for Evie accepts Annemette at face value, and so the narrative lacks any real underlying tension apart from the romantic one—which is not strong enough to support the sudden switch as the climax and conclusion approach. And for me, the characters were more types—and not very consistent types—than people, which created some barriers to enjoyment.
Henning’s prose is smoothly readable and the novel is sufficiently entertaining to keep one going. But if I sound cavalier about its merits, it’s because it left no real impression other than a sense of missed opportunities and lingering dissatisfaction.
The Sea Witch is available from Katherine Tegen Books.
Liz Bourke is a cranky queer person who reads books. She holds a Ph.D in Classics from Trinity College, Dublin. Her first book, Sleeping With Monsters, a collection of reviews and criticism, was published in 2017 by Aqueduct Press. It was a finalist for the 2018 Locus Awards and is nominated for a Hugo Award in Best Related Work. Find her at her blog, where she’s been known to talk about even more books thanks to her Patreon supporters. Or find her at her Twitter. She supports the work of the Irish Refugee Council, the Transgender Equality Network Ireland, and the Abortion Rights Campaign.