S.A. Sizemore (Whispers of the Pale Witch) on Meet Your Maker
Summary
In this Horror Joy “Meet Your Maker” episode, Brian interviews author and playwright S.A. Sizemore about finding joy in horror through survival, nostalgia, and communal experiences like haunted mazes.
Sizemore discusses her writing origins, dark comedic influences, and how her debut novel The Whispers of the Pale Witch launches the Beckett Coven series, which she frames as “ancestral horror” exploring how historical patterns of scapegoating repeat through modern othering, especially of queer people, the homeless, and the mentally ill.
Drawing on genealogy linking her family to Salem accusers, she reflects on Salem’s evolution into a queer-friendly “Witch City,” the shifting meaning of “witch,” and moral codes within witchcraft via characters like the Wiccan Finley.
She pitches the novel’s plot around Kylie Beckett’s return to Salem and teases book two, Lies of the Bishop Stone (2027), as darker and more historically grounded.
Find more information about the Becket Coven Series Here: https://www.beckettcoven.com/sasizemore
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