Book Title: SPELLS TO FORGET US
Character Name: Luna Brandt-Gold
How would you describe your family or your childhood?
Witches in Boston are all about magical power, so my family arranged for my parents to get married so they could pass down their magic and have a super powerful kid. But the bad news is they don’t really like kids. Or each other. So I spent most of my childhood off by myself and got into a lot of trouble using my magic for pretty self-destructive stuff.
What was your greatest talent?
Unfortunately, my greatest talent is definitely my magic. I’m the most powerful witch in Boston. (Actually, I’m supposedly the strongest witch in all the Northeast according to my grandma, but it’s not like I’m leaving town all the time to test that out, so I’ll have to take her word for it.) I have sacrifice magic, which means I can make almost anything I imagine happen with my powers. The downside is that, for every bit of magic that I work, an equal cost has to be paid. That cost is impossible to anticipate, but my magic almost always makes some kind of twisted torture out of it. So, for instance, if I decided to heal someone from a serious illness, my magic might take a few years off my life as payment.
Significant other?
I don’t technically have one, but I met this girl recently. Her name is Aoife, and I swear she’s the most charismatic person I’ve ever talked to. She could convince you the sky was green if she tried. And she’s gorgeous. Her smile is like sunshine.
We’ve been talking a lot, and I really like her. But she’s mundane—non-magical—and doesn’t know magic exists. It would be a whole thing for me to try and date a mundane. Witches care a lot about preserving the magic in their bloodlines or whatever, so it’s socially disastrous to be in a relationship with a mundane. My family would kill me if they found out I was trying to be with her.
Biggest challenge in relationships?
I guess I have a hard time believing that people actually like me and want to be with me? I have a lot of baggage with my whole family situation and my magic, and I don’t think anyone wants to deal with all of that.
Where do you live?
I live in Dorchester, which is a neighborhood in Boston.
Do you have any enemies?
Tons. My grandma integrated the Witch Council, which is the government for witches in Boston. Lots of old white witches hate our family for that.
How do you feel about the place where you are now?
I’m not really sure how I feel about Boston? I don’t like my life here, but I don’t think I could even imagine living anywhere else. I think I would maybe like it here if I could just do what I wanted without people expecting things of me all the time. The city is beautiful when you take some time to just relax and walk around.
Do you have children, pets, both, or neither?
No kids, no pets. My grandma has a pet jackalope that I live with. Jackalopes, in case you don’t know, are these magical hares with antlers that can, like, walk through walls and stuff. I wouldn’t really count that as being “my” pet though, since he kind of hates everyone that isn’t her.
What do you do for a living?
My family wants me to succeed my grandma as the head of Boston’s Witch Council once I graduate high school this year, so they have me doing a bunch of free work for the Council. They’re trying to fix my bad reputation in town by showing people I’m capable and less reckless than I was when I was younger.
Greatest disappointment?
Myself.
Greatest source of joy?
The time I spend with Aoife.
What do you do to entertain yourself or have fun?
I like walking. It lets me relax and get out of my head a little. I spend a lot of my free time wandering around Boston.
What is your greatest personal failing, in your view?
I’m not the right kind of person for what my family expects from me. They want me to be good at politicking, and remembering people’s names, and being charming at fancy witch society events. I hate all those things, and I can’t make myself be good at them even when I’m trying.
What is the most pressing problem you have at the moment?
I want to date Aoife, but I feel like I have to tell her about magic. It’s not fair to her otherwise. I already lie to her all the time because she doesn’t know yet. I don’t want to be in a relationship with someone I have to lie to. But once she knows about magic, I’m worried she won’t want to be with me. My situation with my family and my scary magic is kind of a lot.
SPELLS TO FORGET US by Aislinn Brophy
Luna is a powerful witch. Known for her skills and feared for her temper, she’s set to preserve her family’s legacy by becoming the head of Boston’s Witch Council—a job she does not want.
Aoife is a non-magical girl. Raised under the lens of her influencer family, she’s grown up in the public eye. Now she yearns for privacy—but knows her parents won’t oblige.
Just when they are at their lowest, Aoife and Luna find each other and start dating. As decreed by magic law, Luna casts a spell that will erase Aoife’s memories of their history together if they ever break up. But when Aoife and Luna end things, it’s both of them who forget . . . that is, until they meet again, fall for each other, and recover all the memories of their last attempt at dating.
So begins the story of two star-crossed lovers who keep finding their way into each other’s orbits, even as the universe pulls them apart. When they set out to break the cycle, will they be strangers forever or together at last?
Young Adult | Romance LGBTQ | Multicultural African-American [G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, On Sale: September 17, 2024, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593354551 / eISBN: 9780593354568]
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About Aislinn Brophy
Aislinn Brophy (they/she) is an actor, writer, and arts administrator based in the Boston area. They graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Theater, Dance & Media, and are proud to have been part of the very first graduating class. As a performer, they love highly physical work as well as any opportunity to infuse music and movement into performance in unexpected ways. In all aspects of their work as an artist, they are passionate about exploring identity and social justice issues. Their debut YA novel, How To Succeed in Witchcraft, was published September 2022. Their second YA novel, Spells to Forget Us, is due for publication in September 2024.
Recent theatre acting credits include Morning, Noon, and Night (Company One), Playing Mercury (ISLE Theater Company), The Juke: A Blues Bacchae (Queen Mab), Measure For Measure (Brown Box Theatre Project), Cloud 9 (Central Square Theater), A Story Beyond (Liars and Believers), and Heritage Hill Naturals (Fresh Ink Theatre). The world premiere of their play, Water, Water Everywhere, was produced by ISLE Theater Company in the summer of 2023.
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