On debuts and magic - hazel hitchins

Hazel Hitchins discusses the creative process behind Babs & Aggie, a novel that reimagines folklore through the lens of friendship, resilience, and quiet magic. She shares insights into her distinctive “patchwork” approach to writing, the influence of community on her craft, and the challenge of blending myth with contemporary storytelling.

What was your writing routine like while working on Babs & Aggie? Did you have any specific rituals or practices that helped you stay focused and creative?

I’m a “patchwork” writer.  When I first start a project, I tend to write scenes - patches - scattered throughout the story which help me find the shape of the plot. I find writing in short bursts helps me to stay enthusiastic about the story. I bat the idea around in my head and then have a flurry of activity to write a patch. Only when I have enough patches do I knuckle down and painstakingly sew them together, setting targets and meeting others for online writing sprints to stay on track.

As someone who helps other writers through your Book Forge group, how has being part of a writing community influenced your own writing and the process of completing this novel?

Writing can be such a solitary process so being part of a community helps immensely. Along with creating Book Forge on Patreon with my fabulous friend, Deanne, I’m also a member of her Storytellers’ Elite group and find weekly feedback hiveminds and writing sprints there invaluable for creating the patches of story I mentioned earlier. It’s also a great sounding board for my more off-the-wall ideas and for keeping my accountable for my progress.

Babs appears to have a vibrant and complex personality. Can you walk us through your process for developing her character and how she contrasts with Aggie?

At the start of the novel, we find Aggie at her lowest ebb. She’s suffered a terrible loss and life looks bleak. I wanted a character that would be the polar opposite to help lift her out of her mood… a foil to Aggie’s desperation and hopelessness. I wanted someone who knew Aggie well enough to press all her buttons but to do so with love and so, every time Aggie felt miserable or sorry for herself, I made Babs say or do something outrageous to snap her out of it. I love how well these two characters understand each other.

How did you draw inspiration from Baba Yaga? What elements of the traditional myth did you want to incorporate, and how did you reinterpret them for your story?

Both Babs and Aggie are inspired by folklore characters - Baba Yaga from Eastern European folklore and Black Annis from English folklore. As with many women in folklore, they were both depicted as hideous crones and ferocious child eaters. I wanted to reimagine them as people, rather than the monsters - people who have lived for many years and helped where they could but have still been depicted as monsters. The great thing about having such long-lived characters is that you have centuries of history to play with and it was fun dropping in historical/mythological references here and there.

Balancing the magical aspects of Babs with the everyday realities of Aggie’s life can be challenging. How did you weave these elements together in your writing?

Because magic is part of who they are and they’ve been practising it for so long, it’s become as commonplace for them as their practical skills of cooking (Babs) and medicine (Aggie). Writing it as such meant that it came across as something they just do, as naturally as washing dishes or cooking a meal… until the end, that is (spoilers!).

Themes of friendship and redemption are woven throughout Babs & Aggie. How did you approach these themes in relation to the characters' dynamics and their growth?

Knowing you’ve got someone in your corner helping, but not judging or taking over, is a very powerful thing. That’s what Babs offers to Aggie. We see how her faith in Aggie lends her the strength to battle on when she’d all but given up and how her sometimes not-so-subtle methods lead Aggie to resolve her issues herself. But it’s not all one-sided. Aggie provides comfort and support for Babs, as she’s done many times in the past. And I think that’s what friendship is about - finding people who help you to find the best in yourself.

Given the unique personalities of Babs and Aggie, how did you develop their distinct voices in dialogue? What techniques did you use to ensure their interactions felt authentic and engaging?

I must confess, I feel like a fraud here. When I started writing Babs and Aggie, I had one of those golden moments when a character voice just starts speaking to you. I knew exactly what she sounded like and even who would play her and Babs in a movie (no, I’m not going to say because I want everyone to envision their own Babs and Aggie). Once I had that, I almost felt like I had the actresses in question standing beside me, dictating the story.

How do your cultural references and folklore inform the story and the characters, particularly in their interactions and conflicts?

Having characters from different cultures allowed me to explore two of my greatest loves - language and food. It’s really interesting because Aggie uses a lot of idioms. She’ll never say, “You look unhappy,” if she can say, “You’ve got a face like a split clog.” And when exploring idioms, you can see that every culture has its own version. Likewise, every culture is linked by food. You can move from country to country and see how a basic dish morphs into regional specialities. With this in mind, rather than showing how we are divided by culture, I wanted to show how we are connected - again, it helps to have characters who are long-lived and have seen enough of the world to know that countries, traditions and leaders may change but people will always be people.

What challenges did you face when incorporating magical elements and folklore into a contemporary setting? How did you overcome those hurdles?

One of the biggest hurdles is that we live in a world of daily miracles that we take for granted - we can look things up at the touch of a button and contact people on the other side of the planet in an instant. With that in mind, any magic had to be something worth the effort - something that couldn’t be done more easily with technology. This idea also lends some moments of humour to the book when easier solutions to certain problems than magic present themselves.

Looking back at the journey of writing Babs & Aggie, what are some key lessons you've learned about yourself as a writer throughout this process?

Interestingly, some of the lessons Aggie learns are things I’ve taken on board myself. There’s a great line where she states she’s been, “too afraid to put a foot wrong to put a foot right.” I wrote that and suddenly thought of all the times I’d let fear stop me from doing something.

On another note, I’ve also learned how many wonderful people there are in the world who have been helping and cheering me on as I brought Babs and Aggie to life. It’s been magical (pun fully intended).

What do you hope readers will take away from Babs & Aggie? How do you envision their connections to the characters and themes evolving after they finish the book?

I could say that I hope it makes people stop and think about their own lives and how they interact with others. I could say I hope it helps people think of the million little kindnesses there are in the world and makes them want to add to that. I could say I hope it makes people think of the friendships in their lives with warmth and happiness and I do hope all this… but more than anything, what I really hope is that they will close the book with a happy sigh and maybe a little pang of sorrow that it’s over.

Preparing for a book release involves a lot more than just writing. How are you navigating the marketing and promotional aspects of launching Babs & Aggie, and what has surprised you about this process?

Oh, this was the tough one for me. I will sit at my laptop and explore every horror you can imagine in story form and none of it scares me as much as the idea of marketing. Luckily, I’ve had some wonderful help from the fantastic Karen Bultiauw. She has held my hand throughout it and explained everything (in words of one syllable so as not to confuse me). Having a professional to guide me through the process was an investment worth every penny.

With a busy life that includes family and community work, how do you find the balance between your personal life and your writing? What tips do you have for other writers juggling similar responsibilities?

This is such a good question because we’re often made to feel that any creative outlet is an indulgence and a distraction from ‘real work’. I know in the past, when I was busy/stressed (which was all the time), the first thing to slip was my writing time. But writing is also the thing that de-stresses me, so I would be compounding a stressful time by not doing the thing that would calm me. Once I’d realised this about myself, I started to make writing time a non-negotiable part of my day. That doesn’t mean I set aside hours and hours - just ten minutes of focused writing can be more beneficial than two hours of procrastination. SO that would be my biggest tip - take time each day, even if it’s just ten minutes. Think about what you’re going to write then set a timer and go for it. You’ll be surprised how much you achieve.

With Babs & Aggie’s release on the horizon, what themes or characters are you excited to explore in your next writing project? Will we see more connections to folklore or magic?

I have so many ideas fizzing around my head. There’s a children’s fantasy novel I wrote a few years ago that I want to do something with, along with an idea for a YA dystopian novel and a ghost story… but before all that, I’m happy to announce that Babs and Aggie will be back. This pair of miscreants have much more to say and I can’t wait to share their further adventures with you.

Hazel Hitchins spends her days having conversations with her imaginary friends, some of which she writes down. When not wrestling her own stories into submission, she helps other writers with theirs in her Book Forge group. Hazel lives in Wales with her normal family, normal(ish) cat, and entirely abnormal laundry pile.

Babs & Aggie: The Good, the Bad and the Vegan (Troubador Publishing) is out 28th Feburary.