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Wax & Wane: Jo Wu

by Mar 1, 2016Contributors, Interviews0 comments

KevinMFolliard

Jo Wu is a proud Cal Bear born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she can be found scribbling in notebooks or typing away in her Google Docs, accompanied by a giant Jack Skellington mug that’s constantly refilled with green tea and hot water. When she isn’t writing, she’s hiding away from the sun and drawing in her sketchbook, sewing her newest cosplay, cuddling with her dogs, or modeling under the alias Carmilla Jo. She has been published in a few anthologies, and her short story, “Devoured by Envy,” was praised by Publishers Weekly as “the most Gothic of the successful stories”  from the gothic romance anthology Darker Edge of Desire.

Wax & Wane: Vial With Her Cure

 

What is your story about?
My story is about a boy named Ernest who never inherited his mother’s witch powers. Not only was he born “normal,” he is also allergic to moonlight. Although he dearly loves his mother, and never knew his father, he greatly resents being normal and yearns to fly like her.


What do you like most about witches?

Witches have always been fascinating, multi-dimensional archetypes. I’ve been drawn to magic and the supernatural for as long as I can remember, and wished I was able to cast spells and fly around on a broomstick.

Who is your favorite fictional or legendary witch, and why?

This is hard! There are a lot of fictional witches I really like! There’s Kiki from Kiki’s Delivery Service, the very first Ghibli movie I watched when I was 5, thanks to my mom, who was an old-school Miyazaki fan before Studio Ghibli was founded. I loved Kiki because she was a relatable young girl who was growing up and finding herself and where she belongs in the world. The fact that she had Jiji, her sassy black cat, was a bonus.

I also adore Sieglinde Sullivan from the manga Black Butler. She’s a very naive girl who was raised in a village forest, isolated from the outside world her entire life. She sees her purpose in life as to helping and healing people, and longs to learn more about the world outside her village.

And, of course, what millennial could ever forget Hermione Granger?


Would you rather be a good witch or a wicked witch? Why?

I don’t think it’s so black-and-white. Sure, everyone called Elphaba the Wicked Witch the West, but she had her own agenda. If I believe what I’m doing has a good cause, perhaps that will make me a good witch, even if haters want to call me a wicked witch. 😉

What’s up next for you?

I’m a recent college graduate, so this will mean transitioning to the next stage of my life: establishing my day job in marketing. Meanwhile, there will also be (hopefully!) more short stories to write, a novel in progress, and costumes to sew.
Wax & Wane: A Gathering of Witch Tales

Wax & Wane: A Gathering of Witch Tales

Whether wicked or whimsical, few folkloric figures are as iconic as the witch. Wax & Wane: A Gathering of Witch Tales serves up 30 spellbinding stories of witches that are enchanting and terrifying, amusing and enticing. Classic or eclectic, fantastical or historical, these witch tales are a literary incantation to delight any fans of witches and witchcraft.