Lucy Jane Wood’s delightful cat Flo is very charismatic. Not only does the tortoiseshell make a very welcome appearance on screen during our chat over video call, but the feline also stars on the book cover of Rewitched, Wood’s cosy fantasy debut novel. “Somehow, my cat has taken over the biggest moment of my life,” she laughs.
Wood is known to many on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube by her handle @LucyJaneWood. Since beginning her YouTube channel over a decade ago, Wood has amassed over 200,000 subscribers and garnered more than 90,000 followers on her Instagram account where her followers, or “online friends” as she calls them, enjoy cosy, down-to-earth content.
Initially Wood didn’t intend to publish and avoided speaking about her writing online, but the odd hint here and there was enough to intrigue her now editor, Lucy Brem. Speaking from her home in west London, Wood explains: “She read the first three chapters and then wanted to read the rest. It turned out that she had been specifically looking for a cosy, witchy book. It’s definitely an element of fate and the universe coming into play.” Wood subsequently signed a two-book deal directly with Pan Macmillan, although she is now represented by Maddy Belton at the Madeleine Milburn Agency.
I wanted this book to feel comforting, like an old friend with a hand on your lower back telling you: ‘You’re doing fine’
Inspired by the ‘90s witches of TV series “Charmed” and the films “Practical Magic” and “Hocus Pocus”, Rewitched is a sublime, heart-warming read that has a poignant message of self-love at its core. Belle, aka Belladonna, is both a witch living among “non-wicche” folk and also the manager of the beautiful London bookshop, Lunar Books. On her 30th birthday, she is summoned to the stand before her coven’s council to undergo the “EquiWitch trial”, a test every witch must face to determine whether they are worthy of their magic. A witch who is deemed unsuitable is stripped of their powers.
Unlike her mother, a green-thumbed sorceress, Belle is plagued by feeling of unworthiness and has been limiting her magic to small spells, constantly terrified of being discovered by her (human) flatmate Ariadne. To prove to the council she is deserving of her power, Belle must complete a series of trials while being mentored by the enigmatic, and potentially dangerous, elderly warlock Artorius. This is cosy fantasy with a heady dash of adventure and a tantalising romance that speaks to the power of self-actualisation and the importance of family and friendship.
It is an incredibly personal tale for Wood, who conceived of the book during lockdown. “I was feeling as though I’d lost my magic. I felt as though I was living small, and I wasn’t grabbing opportunities for myself.Waking up to that realisation is pretty horrible when you start to feel quite disappointed in yourself. I was approaching 30 at that point and realised that I hadn’t lived for myself for a really long time.” It is a realisation that Belle too must confront and, in fighting to keep her magic, she must do what many of us find difficult—believe in herself. “The whole story has ended up being a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy,” reflects Wood. “I think it was a little bit like telling myself a story that I needed to hear.”
She continues: “It’s difficult to talk about, even with your closest friends, I think. It might look like you’re ticking all the boxes and you’re doing impressive things. On paper you might be labelled as successful, but if it doesn’t feel right and you still feel like you’re not doing enough for yourself… It’s embarrassing to even tell people about that.”
Things changed when Rewitched hit number one on the Amazon bestseller list with the initial pre-orders, giving Wood a boost in confidence. She calls it a “huge compliment” and a “real testament to how lovely my followers are and how much confidence they’ve got in me”. However, Wood is also incredibly conscious of how working as a content creator can invite very public criticism. “I think a book written by a content creator comes with a little bit of: ‘Sounds a bit naff, but OK. Have you ever written anything before?’ There were so many YouTuber books pumped out about 10 years ago and people had mixed opinions about them… I think it’s got a bit of a reputation for anyone who’s got a bit of a following suddenly churning out a book. People wonder ‘Where does that come from?’ and ‘Do you deserve to have that opportunity when so many people are battling towards that opportunity all the time?’”
Cosy fantasy is a burgeoning subgenre that espouses comfort above all else. The books are heavily associated with autumnal months where, as the weather turns colder, readers can retreat into books where happiness, low stakes plots and often a charming romance are guaranteed. However, romance was not Wood’s priority. Rune, a frustratingly handsome warlock, is there to be a part of Belle’s life rather than her whole story. “It was more about giving her well-rounded love rather than just one romantic love. I loved the idea of this full formed support circle for her.”
Aptly, the author describes Rewitched as a “hug of a read”, a story to settle into with a “cup of coffee and a blanket”. Wood continued: “I wanted this book to feel comforting, like an old friend with a hand on your lower back telling you: ‘You’re doing fine.’” Belle, fondly dubbed by the author as “Sabrina the 30-something witch”, was written with Wood’s “online audience in mind” in the hope of creating a character her readers can instantly perceive as a fictional friend. Using a rather visceral image, she describes how if you put all her online followers into “one blender” Belle would be the result. “I wanted her to feel so familiar and relatable that hopefully they could all take something from the end of the book.”
Wood hopes readers come away from Rewitched with a sense of “unbridled joy”. She adds: “It’s not something that any of us ever let show. It’s always [seen as] kind of embarrassing and shameful, isn’t it, to let joy lead the way.” Even through the screen, joy radiates from Wood; like her protagonist, she appears to have rediscovered her spark. “Getting to the end of the book was a real sense of accomplishment for me,” she tells me. “Setting out to do something, seeing it through and feeling as though you owe it to yourself to do something that you’ve always wanted to do can reignite pride in yourself. I don’t think I’d felt proud of myself for a long time. Maybe that’s the key to magic, a sense of real pride in yourself.”
