Varla Ventura

Varla Ventura is the author of Enchanted Plants: A Treasury of Botanical Folklore and Magic, as well as Varla Ventura’s Paranormal Parlor and several other books on folklore, magic and strange history. When not poking around her poison garden or hunched over her writing desk, she can be found wandering the woods and cemeteries in Minnesota.

Tell us about the featured book. What is it about, and why did you choose to write this story?

One day, about five years ago, I was reading a collection of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and I started thinking about the specific plants that were mentioned in the stories. Some, like the rose or the apple, were more prevalent. Others, like cabbage, more obscure. And I had this idea: what if I could explore fairy tales and folklore through a botanical lens? I set out to find the stories where the plants were main characters. Change the plant, change the story.

Once I’d narrowed down the plants, I had to tackle how to organize it. Rather than simply go plant by plant, I arranged the book by the type of garden you might find in a fairy tale. You start out in the Queen’s Garden, then make your way around the back to the Cottage Garden. After that you wait until dark and take the crooked path into the Witch’s Garden. If you survive, you climb on your horse and ride out to the meadowlands, then the forest, and finally you reach the water’s edge.

In many ways, Enchanted Plants is a culmination of years of studying plants, ethnobotany, magic, folklore, and storytelling. It is all things I love, and I hope that it enchants and makes others fall in love with these things, too.

Tell us a little about your writing process. What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book? What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

For a book like Enchanted Plants, the research really went on for years. But the hardcore, “I need to write this book!” research took me about a year to pull together. I actually had dozens of plants that did not get included because they didn’t quite meet my criteria. As for research, I rely on a variety of sources. First, my own extensive library of books about plants and magic. I also check out a ton of books from my local library. I find that when trying to find the latest information, especially about the medicinal properties or innovative scientific studies, online resources tend to be the most current. Between Google Scholar, JSTOR, a subscription to Scientific American, and the archives of medical journals you can find a lot of information. One of my other favorite online resources is Gutenberg.org, which is a site stacked with public domain books that have been scanned and formatted for e-books. It is 100% free and it is remarkable what is on there! It’s a great resource for old magic and folklore.

Sometimes I get too absorbed in the research and it derails me from the actual writing of the book, which is a challenge. Like all writers, though, I am deadline driven. The fear of a deadline is my biggest motivator.

Are there any writers or authors who have influenced your writing? If not, who are some of your favorite writers?

I am quite obsessed with Elliot O’Donnell, an Irish writer who wrote about ghosts and werewolves in the early 1900s. I am quite influenced by the work on fairy lore by William Butler Yeats as well as Lady Wilde, Oscar Wilde’s mother, who was an outstanding writer and folklorist. Plant-wise, I’m a big fan of Amy Stewart and Michael Pollan, two my favorite non-fiction writers. As far as fiction goes, I love my horror kings and queens: Stephen Graham Jones and Stephen King and Silvia Morena Garcia.

Has a library or librarian impacted your life?

Absolutely. I would not be who I am today without the influence of libraries and books. Going to the library as a kid was like going to a toy store. And to this day, i get that feeling. It’s a little bit of greed mixed with pleasure. I feel the same way when I am in a plant conservatory or nursery. A little excess drool forms in my mouth. Just so many possibilities!

The truth is that my books would not be what they are today without libraries. It’s impossible, and cost prohibitive, to buy all the books you need when doing a big research project. I love going onto the library’s site and searching for any title with “plant” for example, and seeing what I may have missed. I have stacks and stacks of library books in my office right now.

When you’re not writing, what do you like to do in your spare time?

I am pretty much always writing but…garden, read, drink champagne on the dock with my writing coven, forest bath, howl at the moon, explore graveyards, burn candles, listen to music. I love to travel both near and far. I will break for cemeteries.