Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.

Zilla: Growing up is complicated, but even more so when you’re a wizard’s assistant. Even if you can’t relate to meeting a talking badger, you’ll love this story about a young girl growing into her power. Sharron McKenzie wrote Small Magics for the Traveling Wizard and she’s come along to tell us about it. So Sharron, take it away!

Sharron: It’s about a young wizard’s assistant named Pax who gets dragged along on a wild quest by her elderly master, Joran, to find some magical doors. Along the way, they acquire a number of companions including a cursed prince and a sarcastic talking badger, and Pax realizes that her master is being manipulated by a hidden evil that everyone thought was defeated. As his dementia gets worse, she’s forced to step up and become a leader.

Zilla: What inspired you to write this book?

Sharron: The inspiration for this book came when I was thinking about how fantasy wizards are often elderly men, and I wondered what happens to wizards who develop dementia. What do you do with someone who still holds the power to burn down a city—and no longer remembers why he shouldn’t? And how does a group of adventurers who have been raised to believe in the competence of wizards deal with a leader who is in decline and making bad choices?

I was also interested in how our memories shape us as people. Pax doesn’t remember where she comes from, and is building new memories and figuring out who she is, while Joran is losing a very long lifetime of memories, and is struggling to remember what happened yesterday.

It is also important to me to write queer-normal fantasy settings, and most of my characters are queer—including the non-binary badger, who will bite anyone who gets too nosy about what gender they are.

Zilla: I love that! Your plots surprise your characters, but do you ever surprise your readers? 

Sharron: I like to surprise my readers by messing with the standard fantasy tropes. I’ve written stories about werewolves who are pink and fluffy, and unicorns that are carnivorous. There are quite a few unpleasantly large surprises waiting for Pax in the Wild Lands. Because I’m from New Zealand, I’ve incorporated some of the wildlife from this part of the world into my world-building, and the fantasy land of Asturia shares some aspects of my homeland.

Zilla: Sneak peak time! Can you share some lines from your novel?

Sharron: There are a couple of lines from the start of the book that I’m particularly fond of, where I describe the messy state of the wizard’s workroom and all the different ingredients Joran used to try to make a magical insecticide:

A glitter-encrusted slug slithered through a bright blue puddle, leaving a trail that fizzed faintly. Pax picked up the open jar the slug had escaped from and frowned at the label.

“Dried slugs?” she read.

Zilla: What’s your next writing project?

Sharron: Small Magics for the Traveling Wizard is the first book in a trilogy, and I’m currently working on the second book, Wild Magics for the Wizard at Sea.

Zilla: Thanks for sharing your story and your process. We’re looking forward to reading! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?

Sharron: You can find my book on Amazon. My website is here and I’m active on Bluesky: @samckenzie.bsky.social and Threads: @hedgehogcircus