I’m excited to introduce another of my fellow readers for the upcoming Strong Women Strange Worlds QuickReads event on June 18: author Megan Mary.
Megan writes visionary fantasy that blends mystery, magic, dreams, and metaphysical exploration. Her award-winning Witches of Maple Hollow trilogy invites readers into a world of eternal autumn, prophetic dreams, ancestral mysteries, and hidden dimensions beyond time and space. Through stories rich with symbolism, astrology, Celtic traditions, and self-discovery, she creates imaginative journeys that encourage readers to look beyond the ordinary and explore the mysteries within themselves.
In this interview, Megan shares the inspiration behind her trilogy, the dream that sparked it all, her love of immersive sensory storytelling, and the surprising real-life event that echoed one of the most dramatic scenes in her books.
What’s the story behind the story you’ll be reading at Strong Women Strange Worlds?
The Dream Dimensions: A Metaphysical Mystery of Magick, is the final installment in the Witches of Maple Hollow Trilogy.
When Hannah Skye receives a prophetic message during a magickal ritual, she must decipher seven riddles before Halloween night to heal her ancestral line and illuminate dimensions beyond time and space, before it’s too late.
What themes or questions tend to show up again and again in your work?
The entire trilogy is fall-themed and strongly driven by visionary and metaphysical themes which encourage to reader to open their mind, search their soul, and raise their spiritual intelligence. Concepts of self-discovery, shadow work, dreams, and identity merge with magick, divination, astrology, and Celtic traditions of Halloween.
What kind of emotional experience do you hope readers walk away with after finishing one of your stories?
Disguised as fairytale mysteries, these visionary books are quantum-encoded ascension tools for the modern-day spiritual seeker. My hope is to inspire, empower, and support others on their self-discovery journey.
Do you tend to start with character, worldbuilding, plot, or a single image?
The first book, The Dream Haunters, was inspired by a dream I had in 2014 about a talking cat named Wixby. So in this case, it was a character. I started writing a short story but then left it unfinished and didn’t return to it for almost a decade. When I finally returned to the story, I was going through a powerful spiritual awakening, and I knew that was going to be the plot of the story. Then I began building the magickal world of eternal autumn, Maple Hollow.
What drew you to speculative fiction in the first place?
I have always been drawn to everything that was beyond the veil, including the supernatural, metaphysics, astronomy, psychology, and philosophy. But rather than creating a high fantasy world, I knew I wanted mine to reflect actual magick that I believe is possible within the setting of what we consider “the real world.” Being drawn to all of life’s mysteries, I essentially created my own sub-genre, which I call Mystasy. It combines fantasy and mystery elements into a cross-genre story that appeals to multiple audiences.
If readers could experience one location from your books in real life, where should they visit first?
One of the most interesting locations in the library in Skye Manor. A storehouse of ancient wisdom, many scenes in the trilogy center around this mystical location and the wisdom to be found there.
“The most fantastical and magical library she had ever seen. On either side, each wall was ‘lled with books. Urom ceiling to floor were books, every shelf crammed. The bookcases must have each had eight or more levels. Hannah took a deep breath and savored the nostalgic scent only aged books can bear, mixed with wax and notes of incense.” – The Dream Haunters
What’s your favorite kind of scene to write?
My favorite scenes are ones that grab the reader, bringing them straight into the scene with all of their physical senses. I like to draw in the sights, sounds, scents, and textures to make it a purely immerse experience that suspends them in a hyper-real dimension of my creation. I also enjoy creating scenes that evoke strong emotions, usually intrigue or inspiration.
Which book, movie, or author made you realize you wanted to tell stories?
I grew up fascinated by choose-your-own-adventure books, mysteries in fabulous castles, and fantastical adventures that stretched the imagination. As children, my friends and I would play Clue, as well as make up our own murder mysteries, plays, and performances. I also really enjoyed Harry Potter and the feminine empowerment of TV shows like Charmed.
What’s one small detail or bit of lore in your work that you secretly love?
When writing book three, I knew I wanted to incorporate astronomy and tie it to Halloween, but I thought initially that these were two disparate concepts that didn’t go together. I was shocked and validated when I discovered that they actually have a powerful connection, which is revealed at the end.
What’s a question you wish readers asked you more often?
I highly encourage my readers to dig beneath the layers of the concepts I explore in the trilogy books. For this reason, I have created free discussion guides that delve deeper and encourage further study and experiences.
What are you currently working on or excited about next?
Having recently completed my second Master’s degree, this one in Metaphysical Science, and becoming an ordained metaphysical minister, I am now working on completing my PhD in Metaphysical Transpersonal Counseling and writing my first non-fiction book on dreams and their power as inter-dimensional doorways to spiritual wisdom.
What’s a question you wish you were asked and what would be the answer?
Tell us about the cats in your trilogy.
There are eight cats featured in the stories, five of which my husband and I have had the privilege of sharing our lives with, including our current cats Merlin and Milu.
Tell us about an experience you had while writing the trilogy.
In 2024, I was in the process of writing my second novel, The Dream Mirrors, within which there are two pivotal scenes. One is a fire which takes place destroying the metaphysical shop. The second is a supernatural attack at the mysterious Skye manor, which causes all the mirrors in the bedroom hallway to shatter.
In the early morning hours of a mid-January morning, the planets of Mars, Venus and Saturn aligned in the sky over our house. A few hours after waking, a portable battery caught fire in our master bathroom, which not only destroyed the vanity, but also burned with such intensity that it shattered the mirrors.
It was only through my husband’s quick thinking and courageous action, the protection of our spirit guides, and the synchronistic alignment of all planets on that day, that The Dream Mirrors was able to be published, and our house and cats were saved.
Bio: Megan Mary is an award-winning international bestselling author, metaphysical practitioner, dreamworker, host of Women’s Dream Enlightenment podcast, and founder of Inner Realms Publishing and Literary Ladies.
In addition to a career spanning over twenty-five years creating and marketing websites, she holds an MA in English Literature, Msc in Metaphysical Sciences, and is pursuing her PhD. She is a member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams, Coalition of Visionary Resources, the Women’s National Book Association, and the Author’s Guild. She lives in Idaho with her husband and two cats.
Her metaphysical trilogy, Witches of Maple Hollow, blends the genres of mystery, fantasy and speculative fiction: Book 1: The Dream Haunters, Book 2: The Dream Mirrors & Book 3, The Dream Dimensions. Visit MeganMary.com.
Website https://www.meganmary.com/
Inner Realms Publishing: https://www.innerrealmspublishing.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meganmaryauthor/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@meganmaryauthor
X: https://x.com/MeganMaryAuthor
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/meganmaryauthor
Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/@meganmaryauthor?sub_confirmation=1
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meganmaryauthor
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/meganmary.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganmaryi/
Amazon Author: https://www.amazon.com/author/meganmary
Witches of Maple Hollow Series:
Book 1: https://books2read.com/thedreamhaunters
Book 2: https://books2read.com/thedreammirrors
Book 3: https://books2read.com/thedreamdimensions
Substack https://meganmaryauthor.substack.com/subscribe
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/50701009.Megan_Mary
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/megan-mary
Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/2515b5b7-f0d9-4551-a926-81f4da5696dc
Download a Free DreamMirror Journal Template https://meganmary.com/signup/
Come join us for this free event: 6 authors, 8 minutes each. There will be prizes / giveaways as well. You won’t want to miss this!
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