Book Tour: Son of a Kitchen Witch by Tim Hemlin
As if being a high school student isn’t already hard enough, Bobby Hawthorne and his best friend, Angelina Dellapicallo, struggle to understand the emerging secrets of witchcraft and magic – secrets strictly guarded by Bobby’s overprotective mother and her friends. The unexpected appearance of his spirited grandfather, though, sets in motion a series of events that sweep the young teens down a dangerous path, one inhabited by an ancient evil that threatens not only Bobby and Angelina but their whole community of witches as well.
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Tim Hemlin has taught middle school English Language. Arts in the Houston area for over 20 years and now puts his master’s degree in counseling to work as a high school counselor in the Fort Bend Independent School District. Besides running marathons, Hemlin enjoys cheering on his favorite sports teams–the Patriots, the Red Sox and the Cowboys. He currently lives with his family outside Houston, Texas. Son of a Kitchen Witch is Hemlin’s seventh full-length novel and is informed by the decades he has spent as an educator in Houston-area public schools. Set in a suburban-Houston, Son of a Kitchen Witch is a fast-paced urban fantasy about the teenage son of a witch and how he navigates the perilous terrain of young love, high school drama, and being hunted by a pack of hellhounds. Tim Hemlin’s other works include the Houston-based Neil Marshall Mystery series and “The Wasterlanders,” a dystopian-clifi novel about a futuristic world devoid of water.
~Herbal Garden Directory~
Herbs have been used for millennial as medicine, in magical ceremony, and as edibles. They are nature’s gift to those with enough self-awareness to accept it. This is just a general overview of some common and also lesser-known varieties. We’ve only covered the magical and culinary uses. For more detailed instructions on using these herbs, especially the last three, you MUST complete Olivia’s Herbal Magick Class at Crystal’s Maze.
Parsley
Magical Attributes: associated with death.
Culinary Attributes: more than just a silly garnish, parsley is the workhorse of the herb world and can go in just about every dish you cook. Pair it with sage, rosemary and thyme to flavor chicken, steak, fish and vegetables…and it’s wonderful in salads.
Sage
Magical Attributes: Sage is used in magical workings for immortality, longevity, wisdom, protection, granting of wishes, promoting wisdom and to overcome grief.
Culinary Attributes: has a flavor redolent of eucalyptus, cedar, lemon, and mint. Italians love it with veal, while the French add it to stuffing, cured meats, sausages, and pork dishes. Americans, of course, associate it with turkey and dressing. Use it with discretion; it can overwhelm a dish, though it does pair well with parsley, rosemary and thyme.
Rosemary
Magical Attributes: symbolizes love, loyalty and dispels jealousy, has purifying attributes, promotes longevity. Rosemary attracts faerie and good energies; hung over cradles it is a good psychic protection for infants.
Culinary Attributes: Rosemary has a pronounced lemon-pine flavor that pairs well with parsley, sage and thyme. Rosemary is a nice addition to focaccia, tomato sauce, pizza, and pork, but its flavor is robust so use a light hand.
Thyme
Magical Attributes: used to increase strength and courage, helps keep a positive attitude, dispels melancholy, and hopelessness.
Culinary Attributes: thyme pairs well with many other herbs—especially rosemary, parsley, sage, and oregano. Its earthiness is welcome with pork, lamb, duck, or goose, and it’s much beloved in Cajun and Creole cooking. It’s also the primary component of Caribbean jerk seasonings.
Comfrey
Magical Attributes: comfrey is used in protective magic for the traveler and to protect against theft. Pappy always wraps his money in a comfrey leaf for several days before going to a casino or poker game to keep his bets coming in.
Culinary Attributes: use only the tender young leaves in your cooking. Comfrey leaves are covered in fine hairs and these become quite hard and unpalatable in older leaves.. Comfrey is great in fritters, soup, or as a side dish. Add it to your veggies and stews. Parsley, lemon balm, mint, and caraway seed all pair well with comfrey. While comfrey is perfectly safe, don’t use it on a daily basis as it can have side effects
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These next two herbs are NOT used in cooking. If you are interested in their medicinal and culinary attributes, please attend Olivia’s Herbal Magick Class at Crystal’s Maze.
Skullcap
Magical Attributes: skullcap is another wonderfully powerful herb. It promotes fidelity, love, and peace. Skullcap may be worn, burned as incense, or used as an oil. Wear it to keep your significant other faithful, use it in sleep pillows for relaxation and peace, and add a touch to a bath to calm the aura of tensions and stress. You can also burn it as incense to relieve disharmony and disruptive situations, or place a pinch in a lover’s shoes to keep him or her from being affected by charms of others.
Dock
Or more commonly known as Mullein
Magical Use: the stalks may be burnt as a candle itself. In Indian lore, mullein is considered a safeguard against evil spirits and magic. Legend holds that the plant could ward off evil spirits. In fact, ancient history cites mullein as the plant that Ulysses carried to protect himself against the evil Circe. Powdered mullein can be used in spells that call for graveyard dirt.
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WARNING: Do not use or grow Belladonna unless you are an experienced practitioner! Only extremely experienced practitioners can use this herb in safety.
Belladonna
Culinary and Craft Uses of Belladonna: actually, there simply are NO common uses for belladonna other than to poison someone. Seriously—entire armies have been taken down by belladonna. Every part of this plant is poison. Even touching the plant can absorb poisons into your skin. Therefore, unless an enemy army is knocking on your door, no part of this plant should ever be used in the kitchen or in crafts. Belladonna should be used strictly (and carefully) as ornamentals or curious specimens in the garden. Keep it far from the kitchen. If you have children or pets, do not grow it in your garden at all!
While there are medicinal uses of this herb, I will not talk about them at this time.
WARNING! Due to the toxic nature of this plant, it should never be used by home gardeners or in herbal remedies for any reason. Only experienced practitioners such as myself, Earlene and Crystal know the correct medicinal uses of this herb. There is a reason it is called Deadly Nightshade!
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~ Character Casting~
Here’s the link to Tim Hemlin’s Pintrest Board: https://www.pinterest.com/tdhemlin/character-casting-for-son-of-a-kitchen-witch/
Bobbie Hawthorne
The main character, is a junior in high school, tall, with a runner’s build, light hair and light eyes. He’s smart, a bit rebellious, has his own GarageBand, called Ravenwood, and is positive he has none of his mother’s powers.
Angelina Dellapicallo
Also a junior, Angelina is Bobby’s girlfriend. She is also tall and thin, but with w/raven black hair and dark brown eyes. Angelina is spunky, clever and loves to run. Her father has custody because her mother abandoned them, so she has some emotional/anger issues. She’s an over achiever and a member (guitar player) in Bobbi’s band, Ravenwood.
Olivia Hawthorne
Looks 40ish in human years, with blonde hair, blue eyes, short, and ‘energizer bunny’ vigor as Bobbie thinks of her. She’s a bit overprotective since the death of Bobby’s father when Bobbie was in 3rd grade. She is a talented chef and owns her own restaurant, Hawthorne’s.
Pappy
Bobby’s grandfather, is a focused, very powerful, strong-willed witch, who’s made it his personal mission to stop The Blackburns.
Crystal
Is strikingly beautiful, bright green eyes, runs a new age store and is a good friend of Olivia. Bobbie has a bit of a crush on her.
Skip Macintosh
Also called The Bad Apple by Bobbie and Angelina, is a sleazy, questionable character who wants to invest Olivia’s restaurant.
Barbara Fairchild
Skip’s secretary, nervous, outwardly awkward and seemingly ordinary, but manipulative and power hungry.
Cash
A true red-neck witch. He named himself after Johnny Cash. He runs a country western bar in Austin and he’d just as soon plug you as throw a spell your way.
Earlene
A cantankerous, but very powerful old witch who means well, and may or may not have a thing for Pappy.
Cactus Rose
Pappy’s sister and just as powerful, but her path is very different path than her brother.
Spirit on the Water
An old Native American, Shaman and a very close friend of Olivia’s.
Silas Blackburn
The leader and original witch Hunter. He started out thinking the cause was holy, but has become the embodiment of evil.
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Great post! Thanks so much!
You’re welcome!!