IndieView with Sharon Wagner, author of The Levitation Game

Some authors love research, but for me, it is like returning to school. Writing is like recess, and research is like math class. I just want to play! 

30 December 2023 – Sharon Wagner

The Back Flap

A botched magician and a chef simmering with secrets unite to solve a supernatural puzzle as profound as gravity. The Levitation Game explores the power of sound, love, and magic!

Aspiring magician Esme Wright has a secret: She can levitate objects as effortlessly as humming a tune—no tricks required. But when she lands her first big break on The Morning Show: Live!, defying gravity goes horribly and embarrassingly awry.

After the show, she returns to her New York hotel room a sniveling mess until a mysterious reunion with her childhood friend, Joseph Estrada, instigates a vortex of levitation, both frightening and bizarre. It turns out Joseph has powerful secrets, too. He’s terrified that Diablo possesses him, and after the tornado of toiletries in Esme’s hotel room, he can almost feel the fire consuming his toes.

Esme and Joseph disperse to their old lives, but strange and erratic signs soon draw them deeper into a sinister and supernatural puzzle.

The duo must uncover the truth before a catastrophic levitation mishap leaves them injured or, worse, dead. Esme and Joseph embark on a jungle odyssey to unearth the secrets of their past, reuniting with their archaeologist fathers and following the path of jaguars. They discover that the levitation game might be impossible to win—or survive—without answers from the stars.

About the book

What is the book about?

At its core, The Levitation Game is a story about love and the power and impact of sound in the characters’ lives on Earth and beyond. But on the surface, it’s a mystery that propels the characters to the jungles of Guatemala to solve a supernatural puzzle that defies gravity.

When did you start writing the book?

The time frame eludes me, but perhaps five or six years ago.

How long did it take you to write it?

It took around two years, with ongoing editing, until the precipice of publication.

Where did you get the idea from?

I love the origin story of The Levitation Game. I was touring Sedona, Arizona, researching Chorus of Crows, my first unpublished novel. One night, I dreamt of levitating over my bed with increasing fear and dread. As my fear intensified, I levitated higher until an enormous pop erupted around me. Sedona’s power grid failed in my dream, sending the town into near blackness. At the same time, I fell into my sheets.

I traveled home. But I kept dreaming about levitation until I listened to the universe and started writing my book. I never dreamt of levitation again.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

No, I’ve never struggled to write anything. Word and world creation is fun, and ideas flow like butterflies in the wind. But research is always complex. I relied on my travel knowledge about Guatemala, but archaeology required much internet inspection. Some authors love research, but for me, it is like returning to school. Writing is like recess, and research is like math class. I just want to play! Unfortunately, there’s no handbook on aliens, but that part was fun and games—literally!

What came easily?

Taking my characters on adventures in New York, Orlando, and Guatemala came easily. I love to travel, and all of my novels will journey somewhere.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

My characters will always be fictional. Most people’s real lives aren’t Netflix material. But I love to name my characters after family, friends, and other inspirational figures. I called one of my main characters in The Levitation Game, Esme, to honor Michael J. Fox (his daughter is named Esme) because my dad also had Parkinson’s. My character, Ethelene, is named after my aunt Ethel. My favorite names will unfold in my upcoming book, The Savannah Book of Spells, with beloved characters Nettle, Owletta, Willow, and Wren. In my book Chorus of Crows, I named my character Sedona, honoring Arizona’s beautiful red rock town.

We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?

Every author’s book I’ve read and loved has taught me everything, and I mean everything, I know about writing. Silvia Moreno Garcia is my literary hero. She transcends genre, which I intend to do, fluctuating between horror, sci-fi, mystery, and paranormal.

Do you have a target reader?

If you loved the book Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton, I think you’d enjoy mine. Perhaps you’d like my novel if you loved Silvia Moreno Garcia’s book Gods of Jade and Shadow. You might like my book if you read City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende. But I’m certainly not comparing myself to her literary greatness.

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

I don’t have a process except placing my butt in a chair and digging into something, whether it’s a good book, a new paragraph, or an old one that needs editing.

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

No outlining. I juggle everything in my head.

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

I edit as I go. I can’t help myself. Plus, it helps to refresh and dive back into the story.

Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

No! I need to concentrate. But I do love to hear birds outside my window. Natural undulating waves are writing nirvana or reading nirvana, for that matter.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

Yes, many, lots, and more. Sigh. Ugh. Crickets, all. But I do have a funny story. One agent told me she already had a client with a similar book, so she’d need to pass. The agent didn’t say who, but I was glad to get an actual email instead of a form rejection. Later, I found a bestselling author with a similar otherworldly novel to read and blurb my book (Thank you, Emily Jane!), and her agent is the one who told me no with the caveat. So, perhaps Emily was the author with a similar story? Life is full of connections like that.

What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?

I ran across Ten16 Press while reading a Writer’s Digest article by one of Ten16’s authors. They hail from Wisconsin, and so do I. I sent them a query that led to our partnership. It was an easy decision because nobody else had said yes yet, and I felt like I was burning alive in the fires of query hell.

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?

Gradually, little bits of my sanity and self-esteem faded with each query failure. It’s brutal in the query trenches. But one thing I learned the hard way is that I queried too early with The Levitation Game. That is why manuscripts get rejected; they need more editing and revision. Unfortunately, being published also feels hellish sometimes!

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

I don’t have a strategy. Prayer. Hope. Luck. I study, read, and research book news every day, including marketing. That’s how I ran across The IndieView!

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?

Get your manuscript edited by a professional, or use Grammarly before you send it out.

About You

Where did you grow up?

A small town in Wisconsin. You’ll learn about it in my next novel, Chorus of Crows.

Where do you live now?

I’m a snowbird living in Florida. But summer is Minnesota time.

What would you like readers to know about you?

Travel is my muse. “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” St. Augustine.

Or they could read my bio here:

Sharon Wagner is a supernatural writer, inexhaustible travel blogger, spirit investigator (liquid, not ethereal), cat wrangler, and former illustrator of children’s books, including Maya Monkey. Creative from birth, she never stops dreaming of magical worlds to unravel with words. When she’s not traveling to the jungles of Central America, she lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two cats. The Levitation Game is her debut novel.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on a cozy horror novel, Chorus of Crows, where a retired farmer with Parkinson’s and his difficult daughter confront mysterious and malevolent visitors that may or may not be real.

Plus, there is another supernatural story called The Savannah Book of Spells that I’m writing. While researching modern-day witchcraft for my upcoming supernatural novel, I found a Wiccan rede (a moral code) that stuck with me, “Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill: An ye harm none, do what you will.”

I wish the world could coexist like this.

My novel follows a coven of earth-focused green witches. Green witches are nature lovers who are in tune with the universe. They heal with herbs and embrace the energy of nature and animals. I tried to create real-life witches, not movie cliches. Even so, I swept up plenty of magic!

Readers meet Owletta, the coven’s serious-minded supreme in The Savannah Book of Spells. She has large owl-like eyes that see paranormal visions. Her power of clairvoyance influences the coven in peculiar and impractical ways.

Nettle, the coven’s dark and prickly member, has the power of clairgustance. The ability of supernatural taste ensures that Nettle is a talented herbalist, concocting spells that may or may not align with the covens’ moral code.

Wren, the coven’s youngest member and merry sweet waif, has clairaudience. She hears a relentless supernatural soundtrack that might guide the coven into the light or lead them into danger.

Sensual and seductive, Willow has the power of clear touching or clairtangency, a power that can be an inspiration or a mighty curse.

The book begins with a terrifying incident that will cause an intergenerational curse. After an untimely death, the coven relocates to Savannah, Georgia, settling into Owletta’s ancestral home. Soon, they expanded their online store Global Witchery, opening a brick-and-mortar location on Bull Street. Things simmer like sweet herbal tea until an uninvited guest stirs up a cauldron of irregularities, forcing the coven to fight for more than their lives, possibly their mortal souls.

You can read an excerpt from The Savannah Book of Spells in The Levitation Game!

End of Interview:

For more from Sharon Wagner, visit her website.

Get your copy of The Levitation Game from Amazon US or Amazon UK.