An Interview with Chelsey M. Ortega
This month Chelsey M. Ortega joins us to celebrate the book birthday for her YA paranormal novel, Bondwitch (The Wild Rose Press, October 16, 2023).
Chelsey M. Ortega is a teacher by day and award-winning author by night. History is her first love, and any story involving magic and romance, her second love. She especially loves witches and is still awaiting her acceptance letter to a well-known school. Chelsey received her Bachelor's in History Teaching from Brigham Young University. In addition to writing, Chelsey teaches high school U.S. History and ELD. She lives in Utah with her husband, three children, and two cats.
Welcome to the blog, Chelsey! We're glad you've come to visit.
I’ve read that in addition to being a writer, you're also a history teacher. How does teaching and history influence your stories?
I teach high school, and so far, write upper YA/New Adult. Spending so much of my days with teenagers has helped me make my teenage characters as realistic as possible. So far, history hasn’t been too influential. Since history is my day job, I prefer to write about something else. But I do have a reincarnation series idea that would take place in different times and different countries for each book. So, whenever I get to those stories, then I will use my history knowledge in my fiction writing.
What is your favorite non-writing past-time and why?
Ballroom dance. I did ballroom for ten years in my youth. It was such a big part of my life. I traveled for competitions and performances, and made a lot of friends and memories. I stopped dancing when I started my family, but have kept it with me in other ways. I’m a religious viewer and voter of Dancing With the Stars. I occasionally attend my high school’s end of year concert. And I made two side characters in Bondwitch professional ballroom dancers. They have a YouTube channel, and teach Annamaria and bring her onto the channel.
Please describe your writing space for us?
I work in my basement. My writing desk is next to a window that faces my front yard. And my two cats hang out on the windowsill when I write. I consider myself Thumbelina if she married Mr. Mole. My husband likes to have all the curtains closed, I want them open. So, the basement isn’t really the best place for me to write in, but it’s where we could fit my writing space.
Happy Book Birthday, by the way!
Since Bondwitch's release a year ago, are there any important or fun things you've learned that you’d like to share with us?
Thank you! I think the biggest thing I learned is that your first book is simply the first step. Most people aren’t going to become a literary sensation overnight. I remember the first three Harry Potter books were already out by the time I learned about the series. And Eclipse was a month away from being released by the time I started the Twilight series. So, even though it felt really good that five strangers came to my launch party, I have years of work ahead of me. But with that, take the small victories. Last month I was at a festival two towns over from where I normally sell my book, and one person who stopped by my booth said they recognized my name and book cover! That felt amazing.
Can you tell us more about how you came up with this idea and what readers can expect?
This is so cliché, but I had a dream of one scene and was so intrigued by it, that I created a whole world and story around it. And the sad thing is, that scene got cut during early edits! But I still love that scene so much, I might try to write a brand new story with it when I’m done with the Bondwitch series. “Kill your darlings” aside, I have also always loved witches and vampires. So, of course they were the main characters in my first fully completed novel. I’m also a hopeful romantic, so even though the original outline didn’t include a romance, Annamaria quickly fell for one of her sidekicks during the first draft. So if you like magic and romance, then Bondwitch is for you.
What kind of research did you do for Bondwitch? In addition, how long did you spend researching before beginning the book?
I didn’t do any research while writing the first draft. I wanted to get the main idea down before I got bogged down by minute details. Once the first draft was done, I started reading as many werewolf romances as I could find. Out of my three main species (witches, vampires, werewolves), the wolves were the ones I was the most unsure of in terms of world building. So, I took note of what seemed to be popular and took what I liked from there. I also looked up sunset and sunrise times for different locations around the U.S. and different times of year. I kept my vampires pretty traditional, so I needed the length of sunlight vs. moonlight to be accurate. And then I did some basic study of minerals, particles, and the elements for my magic system.
What surprised you the most while you were writing it?
How much fictional characters come to life and have a mind of their own. In my original outline for Bondwitch, there was no romance! It was supposed to be a dark fantasy adventure. Then I did eventually plan to pair Annamaria with a completely different character in a later book. Then Anthony fell in love with Annamaria. And I said, “Fine, but it’s going to be unrequited love. So be prepared to be heartbroken, Mr. Chambers.” Well, Annamaria decided to fall in love with him as well, so now the entire series has a heavy romance subplot. But I’m not mad. I’ve become increasingly more comfortable telling people that I write romance.
Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what music inspired or accompanied the story?
My playlist has changed over the years. When I was writing Bondwitch, I listened to Christina Perry radio on Pandora. Then I made a playlist on YouTube for the dance scenes and romance scenes that consisted of Christina Perri, Joy Enriquez, Taylor Swift, and Celine Dion. During my first draft of Bondwitch: Hybrid (which is still being edited), I listened to a playlist I made on Spotify. And as I’m working on the first draft of Bondwitch: Liberation, I listen to very specific Taylor Swift songs: "All Too Well," "Exile," "The Last Time," "My Tears Ricochet," and "Champagne Problems." But when I wrote a wedding scene, I listened to "If You Love Her" by Forest Blakk on an hour loop. Music is very influential to my writing.
What theme or message do you hope readers will take away from your work?
As much as I would love to be, I’m not a deep message writer. Though I have noticed a common theme among my published and unpublished stories: family. Specifically, the idea of choosing one’s family, reuniting family, and creating emotionally healthy families (which means the toxic family member doesn’t get forgiven at the end just because they’re family).
Can you give us a sneak peek into what you’re working on next, and what readers can expect from your future books?
As mentioned above, there will be more books in the Bondwitch series. I am several drafts into Bondwitch: Hybrid, and am deep in editing at the moment. When I need a break from editing, I’m working on the first draft of Bondwitch: Liberation. Annamaria’s story is going to continue to escalate in family drama as she navigates the magical world and fights to be with the man she loves. I am also trying out Kindle Vella with a fated mates werewolf romance called The Wolf Whisperer. Gabby is a telepath and learns that she is the fated mate of a werewolf named Mani. Gabby fights the mate bond, giving us a delightful slow burn. Thirty episodes have been published so far, and I have about fifteen episodes left to complete the story.
About Bondwitch
Eighteen-year-old Annamaria Lyons has never left her small hometown of Harrison, Wyoming. She has lived with her aunt, Trinity, since her parents died when she was two years old. Trinity has been a wonderful guardian with one exception—she won’t allow Annamaria out of the house after sunset. That is, until the night of senior prom. Annamaria’s long-lost sister arrives, bringing with her a world full of hidden family secrets and the supernatural.
Forced to flee her childhood home without a proper goodbye to her human life and first love, Annamaria immerses herself in the magical world. New friends and a new suitor challenge her original dreams for the future, and when she finds herself caught in the middle of a centuries-old conflict, Annamaria must decide to rise above it or give in to the darkness.
Excerpt
Anna looked at Trinity, who nodded with a small smile. Anna once again envisioned the warm feeling that had flowed through her body. She closed her eyes and focused on her heart. A warm pulse developed in her chest. After a minute, the warmth grew, expanding beyond her heart. When the warmth arrived at her shoulders, it snapped like a rubber band back to nonexistence. Anna sighed.
“How far did you get it? I could tell by your face you felt something.” Trinity’s eyes twinkled.
Heat flooded Anna’s face. “My shoulders.” Marianna smiled. “Try again. You’ll get farther each time.”
Anna tried again. This time, the warmth appeared in her heart instantly. As it grew, Anna gained control of the warmth and guided it down her right arm toward her hand. Right at the tips of her fingers, the warmth had nowhere else to go, and snapped back again.
“I got it to my fingertips!”
“Excellent!” chorused Trinity and Marianna.
“Try again. Third time’s the charm.” Marianna winked.
Anna grasped control right away. The warmth spread through her arm and shot out of the tips of her fingers. The magic looked like gold particles, the way dust looked when caught in the sunlight. Anna squealed, a smile taking over her face. Marianna and Trinity cheered, and Anna and Trinity hugged.
“Okay, now try to levitate the spoon,” said Marianna. “Just picture the spoon rising, and your
magic will do the rest.”
“That’s it?” Anna asked.
“That’s it,” Marianna said.
Anna took a deep breath, pointed her finger at the spoon, and imagined the spoon floating. The magic left her hand, and the spoon rose into the air. Anna’s eyes widened, and her lips parted into an enormous smile. Trinity and Marianna were both smiling as well. Anna dropped the spoon back to the table.
To find out more about Chelsey and her books, please visit her website at chelseymortega.com.
Thank you for joining us, Chelsey, and letting us celebrate with you!
Until next time,
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About the Author
Minnesota-based author, Joie Lesin is a life-long fiction writer and the author of The Passenger. She has long been fascinated by anything otherworldly including ghosts. She loves to write a good ghost story—especially when it includes a touch of romance.