The Witching Work (Paperback)

"I want to live with these characters!... The rainbow-colored joy, magic and divine mischief burst off the page... Can't wait to be immersed in this land again soon." --Reader E. Bennett's Amazon review of the first edition on April 25, 2023

Supernatural Wethrini warriors are poised to invade Hermitville and all Hawai'i Island! Half-Elf Oyster Olson, and the all-too-human Babe Bump, Tomma Bedlam, and the other nine "Hermits of Hermitville," are already exhausted and stressed to the max from their previous tangles with the greedy Anna Phylaxia and her Elsewherian lawyer. The Hermits are new to the magical arts, barely conversant with simplest spells and scrying. Their Elven mentors make an executive decision: "Time for a crash course in Elven magic!"

So the Hermits are whisked away to a "time warp" replica of a California winery tasting room for intensive instruction designed to prepare them for the conflicts to come. Newly initiated into Elven mysteries and spellcraft, the Hermits return to Hermitville for a battle of magical mind games with the dreaded Wethrini, just as a massive tropical storm crashes into the Hawaiian islands.

Meanwhile a local doomsday cult plans a ritual rave to summon a dreaded cosmic goddess from beyond the Mortal Coil and Anna Phylaxia still hasn't given up her scheme to turn funky Hermitville into a posh "eco-resort."

Minds are blown, true love blossoms, and Oyster enchants his harmonica. Hermitville, and all of Hawai'i, will never be the same.

This new edition debuts Aug. 10, 2026. The Witching Work was originally published in 2023 by Strange Particle Press. All rights returned to author 2026.

A.R. Marsh is an author, freelance writer, sexologist, and hypnotist originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, and also a former resident of Pahoa, HI. Ze now lives in Portland, OR with three cats. Marsh is the author of the four-volume Guild of Ornamental Hermits fantasy series and several books on sexology and hypnosis, as well as numerous articles.