Author Shea Ernshaw on Winterwood, creepy forests and what she’s reading now

Culturess got the chance to chat with Winterwood author Shea Ernshaw about her (excellent) new novel, her love for its main character and why we all should side eye any forests near our homes.

This November is positively full to bursting with great YA and fantasy reads, and if Shea Ernshaw’s Winterwood isn’t on your reading list for the long Thanksgiving weekend, you should probably fix your life right now. It’s Ernshaw’s second novel, a lush, haunting story about a mysterious set of woods, the secrets they keep, and the girl who cares for them.

In the town of Fir Haven, the Walker women have a notorious history. Their longstanding connection with the woods that surround the town has caused the locals to give the family a wide berth for generations. Those woods are haunted, people say. But Nora and her family know better. She like her ancestors before her, knows the woods are alive, and she can find things that go missing in them.

Like a boy named Oliver Huntsman, who disappeared from the Jackjaw Camp for Wayward Boys and, by all rights, should be dead. What happened to him? And what is he doing in the Wicker Woods? Obviously, these are questions only the novel itself can answer, and it’s a compelling, atmospheric ride.

Culturess got the chance to chat with Ernshaw recently about Winterwood, the real-life setting that inspired the story, and lots more.

Culturess: Can you tell us why do you think readers should give this novel a try? 

Ernshaw: This novel is perfect for readers who like dark, eerie tales with a dose of kissing. The story is set deep in a snowy forest beside a frozen lake where a girl named Nora Walker—rumored to be a witch—discovers a boy who’s been missing for two weeks. There are a few twists, and a romance that I myself didn’t see coming until it actually happened.

Culturess: Can you tell us how, if at all, this novel ties in to The Wicked Deep? Are they sort of thematic cousins in a sense? 

Ernshaw: Both Winterwood and The Wicked Deep exist within the same universe, although they aren’t directly connected. I consider them to be companion novels to one another. And I’m fairly certain if the characters in TWD met the characters in Winterwood, they would find they have a lot in common.

Culturess: What draws you to the Pacific Northwest as a setting for these moody supernatural tales? The whole area has sort of an Eldritch horror kind of feel in your novels.

Ernshaw: I suppose because I live in the Pacific Northwest, I draw much of my inspiration from my surroundings. Growing up, we would visit the Oregon coast a few times a year and it always felt like a magical landscape to me, the kind of place fairytales were written about, so it was the perfect setting for The Wicked Deep.

When writing WINTERWOOD, it was based on a real-life lake set deep in the mountains not far from where I currently live. I’m always inspired by the natural world and whenever I’m stuck on a plot point or a character I can’t seem to sort out, I like to go for a walk in the woods to clear my head. There’s nothing better than fresh air to reset the creative brain.

Culturess: Nora is such a compelling and likable heroine despite her strange family history. What do you like best about her, and about telling her story?

Ernshaw: I adore Nora so much—she’s one of my favorite characters I’ve ever written.

When I started writing her, I never intended for her to be a witch—not in the traditional sense. She was just a girl with a peculiar family who happened to find a missing boy inside a forest. Even the Walker women before her never called themselves witches, they simply had a deep connection to the forest. It was the locals who called them witches, an easy term to use when describing women who behave in a way that others find odd or unusual.

So I struggled at times with the development of her character, not wanting to outright refer to her as a witch, but it became clear that this title is exactly what others in the community would have dubbed her. For lack of a better word, she is a witch.

I also didn’t anticipate that she and Oliver would fall in love. I set out writing them as friends, but in their scenes together, they just seemed drawn to one another, and they fell in love without my intending it to happen. Sometimes characters decide for you what they want, and this was the case for Nora and Oliver!

Culturess: I loved, loved, loved the inclusion of the spells and short histories of the Walker family women throughout. What was the inspiration for those? (And/or how many more of them do you have just sitting around that didn’t make the final cut?)

Ernshaw: I could have written an entire book of spells and Walker history. They were so much fun to conjure up and write! I have a handful of others that never made the cut, but I’m hoping we might be able to include them in the paperback edition of WINTERWOOD as an added bonus!

Culturess: The Wicker Woods are a character as much as any other figure in the novel is. How did you sort of conceptualize them and their weird abilities/powers? (Are all forests secretly magic? Should I be concerned about the one behind my house?)

Ernshaw: Yes, be very afraid of the forest behind your house! Ha!

But truly, I’ve always believed that trees have a long memory, that they might hold grudges and emotions just like humans. So I think we should treat our forests and trees with a deep respect, with kindness, because someday they might swallow us up if we’re not careful. I think we should take the term “tree hugger” very literally and hug a tree whenever you can. Because a good hug might just make its day!

Culturess: What else are you reading these days?

Ernshaw: I just started reading The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton because everyone kept telling me how amazing it is. So far, I’m already obsessed!!!

Culturess: What’s next for you, as an author? Working on something new yet or taking a well-deserved break?

Ernshaw: I’m working on revisions for a new novel that I’m completely enamored with. It’s just as dark and eerie as my first two books, with a bit more suspense and mystery and maybe a touch more death as well.

(Well, we’re already excited, that’s for sure.)

Both The Wicked Deep and Winterwood are available now. Will you be giving either or both a try?