Magick and the Environment
By Diana McCollum
May 3, 2022
As I began thinking about writing The Witch with the Trident Tattoo, I knew I wanted a witch who not only possessed magick skills, but was a marine scientist.
When an unknown scourge begins killing off the life in the ocean off MA, Ella begins her research into what is causing it and finding a cure. She is a sea witch and spends as much time in the ocean as on land.
I feel it is important for all of human kind to care take the earth. To help fight pollution of the air, sky, soil, and water. It will take all of us to make a difference.
There are so many animals who are now extinct partly due to human neglect of the earth.
Many more on the endangered species list are all but extinct. What will our world be like without these magnificent creatures?
Here are a few examples:
Critical Endangered list:
African Forest Elephant, Amur Leopard, Black Rhino, Eastern Lowland Gorilla, Orangutan, Sunda Tiger etc.
Endangered list:
Blue Whale, Hector’s Dolphin, Indian Elephant, Whale Shark, Tiger etc.
Vulnerable list:
Hippopotamus, Logger head turtle, Marine Iguana, Polar and Brown bears.
You can find the complete lists at World Wildlife in the species directory.
The story I’m working on now is about Opal, a witch, a conservationist, and an environmental scientist. She is living and working in Nova Scotia, in the Cape Briton forest, studying the pack of Coywolves living there.
Coywolf? Yes, there is such an animal. The coywolf is a mutated animal. Wolves, coyotes and dogs have mated and produced this creature.
Here is a quote from the Business Insider about coywolves in the northeast.
“One recent example is the creation of the coywolf — a hybrid of the coyote and the wolf that is also known as the Eastern coyote. According to a new article from The Economist, their population seems to have reached more than a million. (They are throughout southeast Canada and the north east USA.)
These animals have a completely new genetic makeup: Their genes are about one-quarter wolf DNA and two-thirds coyote DNA; the rest is from domesticated dogs. A 2013 study suggests this dog DNA is mostly from a few specific breeds, including German Shepherds and Doberman Pincers.”
The coywolves hunt in packs and singularly. Livestock and forest creatures are their main diet. There is only one documented attack on a human.
In my story there is magick, of course, and a wicked sorcerer who is trying to create other hybrid animals. My heroine, Opal, is working to stop him. She is also studying the Coywolf pack living in the forest.
The Twilight Witch is partly paranormal fantasy and partly real facts. It’s been fun to research and write about these fascinating animals.
Diana McCollum enjoys weaving elements of paranormal, and fantasy into her stories. She always ends with a Happily Ever After, because she must for her own satisfaction! Her hope is to take you away from your everyday life for a journey that is both entertaining, and fun, and sometimes a little scary. When Diana is not reading or writing, she is a fisherwoman, enjoys hiking, tole-painting, jewelry making, coffee dates with other writers, and hanging out in book stores.
