Hi everyone!  Today I’m excited to have author Sharon Bayliss here at The Overstuffed Bookcase.  I met Sharon at YABFest in Austin last year, and she gave me my first ever physical book for review!  She’s cool like that!  ;)

Sharon has also written two great books, The Charge, which is YA and came out last year, and Destruction (book one of The December People series), which is an adult book and just came out this week.  I enjoyed both books a lot and I’m very excited to be a part of Destruction’s blog tour!

So Sharon’s here today to talk a bit about wizards, since Destruction is about a family of dark wizards living in modern-day Texas.  And she’s not only talking about the wizards in her own book, but also about wizards in my favorite series of all time, Harry Potter!  She’s also got a giveaway going on below, so be sure to look out for that.  Take it away, Sharon!

I think we can all agree that J.K. Rowling is a Gryffindor. It’s pretty obvious by the way she wrote the Harry Potter series. Every important hero was a Gryffindor. Every important villain was a Slytherin. And, the poor Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were mostly unimportant side characters. That is SO how a Gryffindor sees the world.

In the United States, instead of Hogwarts houses, wizards are commonly classified by the four seasons, as in The December People. The Gryffindors are called summer wizards, which is apt because they believe they are the sun and the world revolves around them. The Slytherins are called winter wizards.

The winter wizards in The December People constantly struggle against dark wizard prejudices, like those perpetrated in the Harry Potter series. You can see this clearly in one scene in the last book, where students are choosing whether to flee or stay and defend the castle. According to Rowling, lots of Gryffindors stay, a few Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, and a BIG FAT ZERO Slytherins. I ask you…really? Really? Out of all those Slytherins, not a single one of them thought, “Hey you know, Voldemort is kind of bad guy. Maybe I don’t want him to kill me and everyone I love.” This is where Rowling really gets it wrong. Although dark wizards are prone to varying degrees of evil, they are definitely not cowards. Opposed to running from battle, they are often the ones at the front lines, the ones least afraid of darkness, pain, and death. And, they would never stand idly by while someone threatened them or people they loved. Like mama bears protecting their cubs, they will maul your face off if you get too close to their babies.

At least, in the last book, she also shows a little more Slytherin complexity than she had in the previous books. Most importantly, we learn the truth about Snape…one of my favorite characters anywhere, ever. We learn that far from a coward, he is probably the bravest character in the series. He is also capable of loving deeply and being fiercely loyal. We also see Narcissa Malfoy betray Voldemort in order to find and protect her son. I still think it was too little, too late, but I’m glad Rowling finally showed another side of darker wizards.

So, if you happen to be of the Slytherin persuasion (and a grown-up…The December People series is not for kids) there is a story for you. Check out my recently released novel, Destruction.

This is a photo of me and my wand. Which Harry Potter character owned this wand before me? Be the first to guess correctly in comments and win a free digital copy of Destruction!

Now, David must parent two hurting children from a dark world he doesn’t understand and keep his family from falling apart. All while dealing with the realization that everyone he loves, including himself, may be evil.

Sharon Bayliss is the author of The December People Series and The Charge. When she’s not writing, she enjoys living happily-ever-after with her husband and two young sons. She can be found eating Tex-Mex on patios, wearing flip-flops, and playing in the mud (which she calls gardening). She only practices magic in emergencies.

www.sharonbayliss.com – @SharonBayliss – https://www.facebook.com/authorsharonbayliss

Thanks so much, Sharon, for stopping by!  I agree with you that the other houses in the Harry Potter series kind of got the short end of the stick within the books.  And as a proud Ravenclaw, I wish that each of the houses had been explored in depth within the series.  And it was definitely nice to see a different kind of magic in Destruction!

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