The author of practical magic

Writer, pagan practitioner, and holistic therapist, Belladonna Darkmoon lives in the misty 1000 Hills of South Africa, where the landscape is as dramatic as her opinions on poorly brewed coffee. She shares her cozy, slightly overgrown home with a rather old and confused collie that thinks it’s in charge, three cats that know they are, a teenager who only emerges for snacks, a darkly handsome lover whose main qualification is tolerating her eccentricities, and an alarming number of books that may soon achieve sentience and start demanding extra shelf space. She never has enough bookshelves!

Belladonna's life philosophy can be summed up as: "Keep it practical, keep it magical, and never trust the biscuits a small child has baked." Her witchcraft is of the no-nonsense variety—she’s the sort of witch who knows the healing properties of herbs, the importance of a well-timed glare, and precisely where the villagers have been hiding that cursed thing they swore they definitely got rid of only last Tuesday.

When she’s not wrangling her chaotic household, Belladonna Darkmoon devotes her time to ghostwriting self-help books and occasionally helping mortals who are bravely trying to navigate the spellbinding chaos of parenting, relationships, and general existence. Her works are filled with sage advice about the importance of sturdy footwear (because chasing toddlers or dreams requires proper soles), dealing with spirits—both the ethereal kind and the liquid ones—and helping the utterly bewildered figure out what on earth they’re doing. Her holistic therapy practice includes helping people simplify their lives, realign their energy, and occasionally realize that what they really need is a nap and a biscuit.