Petty Magic

Being the Memoirs and Confessions of Miss Evelyn Harbinger, Temptress and Troublemaker.

In this brilliantly imagined tale of adventure and timeless romance, novelist Camille DeAngelis blends WWII heroics with witchcraft and wit, conjuring a fabulously rich world where beldames and mortal men dare to fall in love. Evelyn Harbinger sees nothing wrong with a one-night stand. At one hundred and forty nine years old, Eve may look like she bakes oatmeal cookies in the afternoon and dozes in her rocking chair in the evenings, but once the gray hair and wrinkles are traded for jet-black tresses and porcelain skin, she can still turn heads as the beautiful girl she once was. Can’t fault a girl for having a little fun, can you? This is all fine and well until Eve meets Justin, who reminds her so much of a former lover, and one night is no longer enough. Eve spends more and more nights—and days—romancing Justin as her younger self, and noticing the many peculiar ways in which he is so like Jonah, her partner behind enemy lines in WWII and the love of her life. Experts in espionage, Jonah and Eve advanced the Allied cause at great personal sacrifice, and Jonah lost his life. Now Eve suspects that her Jonah has returned to her, and despite the disapproval of her coven, and the knowledge that love with a mortal man can only end in sorrow, she can’t give him up. But can she prove it’s really him?

Where to Find It

Crown originally published Petty Magic in hardcover in October 2010, and it's now available in audiobook format via Audible.com, Amazon.com, and iTunes. This is the best way to experience the story, because the narrator, Kelley Hazen, is absolutely perfect.

There are also ebook and print-on-demand editions available through Open Road Media:

Porter Square Books (my local independent)

Barnes & NobleAmazon.com

Secondhand and remaindered copies are always for sale around the web, but you’ll support my work more effectively if you purchase the audiobook or ebook. Hopefully there'll be a nice new paperback edition coming out someday!

Praise for Petty Magic

"Love, magic, history, witches: it's all here, between the covers of this lovely book. Updike might have written it, if he'd had a better sense of humor."— Daniel Wallace, author of Big Fish

"A charming curiosity shop of a novel, packed to bursting with secret histories and glittering marvels. With Petty Magic, Camille DeAngelis has given us a glimpse into a strange and enchanting world. It's dangerous good fun, and well worth getting lost in."— Jedediah Berry, author of The Manual of Detection

"Just gobbled up @cometparty's PETTY MAGIC and it made me heartsick. Can I say: ATONEMENT meets PRACTICAL MAGIC with really great dick jokes? Cannot imagine the work gone into it: perfect balance of history, world building, humor, and tear your heart out romantic drama."—Hanna the Piebrarian

Interviews and Extras

Harbinger Ambrosia Pie recipe by Hanna the Piebrarian. [you'll find a veganized recipe in A Bright Clean Mind]

Holiday covention theme music by Karen Paradis.

Interview on the Paranormal Podcast with Jim Harold, episode 165, November 8, 2010.

The Comedy Point with Soul Joel interview (podcast available on iTunes), October 19, 2010

Check out the Petty Magic-themed playlist at Largehearted Boy.

Read a Petty Magic Q&A at Blue Truck Book Reviews.

What’s a Beldame?

On going out of print: You Will Be Deleted!