An Interview With ‘Jazzy The Witch In Broom Doom’ Creator Jessixa Bagley

Jazzy has grown up around brooms her whole life – it’s literally the family business. When it comes time to learn to fly, though, Jazzy realises she doesn’t share the same enthusiasm for witchcraft in Jessixa Bagley‘s Jazzy the Witch in Broom Doom. With letters by Bagley and Brian Durniak, here’s what Bagley had to share about her magical new series:

Rachel Bellwoar: True to its title, Jazzy the Witch in Broom Doom follows Jazzy’s attempts to learn to fly. She’s especially nervous to tell her Moms and granny about her newfound passion for bicycles. What made you choose biking as Jazzy’s passion and did you ever consider any other options?

Jessixa Bagley: I feel like I didn’t have a conscious choice in the matter! One night I had a dream I sold bicycle seat for witches’ broomsticks! I thought it was so funny so drew a little picture of a little witch with a lemonade stand [style] booth selling bike seats for brooms. I posted it on Instagram and there were all these comments from people saying, “this needs to be a book!” I agreed. So it was destined to be bikes!

Bellwoar: Jazzy has a really difficult time using a broomstick. One thing I appreciated, though, is she doesn’t immediately pick up using a bike, either, so it’s not that biking comes easily and that’s why she doesn’t want to fly – because it’s hard. Her reaction to both challenges is just completely different. Is that an experience you can relate to?

Bagley: When I was a kid, I was a bit of a late learner when it came to riding a bike. It was very hard for me to get the hang of it. I crashed and fell over a lot- just like Jazzy! But it was important for me to figure it out because I wanted to be able to ride bikes with my friends. What I see in myself as in Jazzy’s case, if you really want something or care about it, then you should be willing [to] put in the hard work to get it. And my editor encouraged me to show Jazzy’s struggles riding because that’s how it is for most kids at first. Coincidentally, I was writing the book at the same time my own son was learning how to ride a bike. But he got it a lot faster than I did as a kid!

Bellwoar: I also really enjoyed your approach to the lettering for the spells. Was that an idea you came up with in collaboration with Brian Durniak?

Bagley: That was all me! This is a story that is told in graphic novel form, but in my mind Jazzy is so animated she’s closer to a cartoon. So, I wanted to do as much as I could visually that would bring everything to life and make her actions feel more dynamic on the page. In the beginning the lettering was simpler and with each subsequent editing pass I just kept turning up the volume by revising the coloring and varying the lettering to make it pop and more fun to read. I want the reader to really get into the silly words I used for the spells and hope the artistic lettering invites them to want to say them out loud.

Bellwoar: With your previous graphic novel (Duel), as well as your upcoming graphic novel Dear Jackie, you split writing and art duties with your husband, Aaron Bagley. Why did you want to take on both roles for this series?

Bagley: I have always wanted to make my own graphic novel where I both write and illustrate. With Duel, that’s how I originally thought the project was going to go, but immediately after I tried to sketch some characters, I couldn’t do it. The story was so personal to me and at the time I really didn’t like drawing people. I knew that Aaron (who is a phenomenal comics maker and loves drawing people) would be way better than I would! He artistically brings balance to books requiring more realistic and expressive characters—perfectly complimenting the complex story elements and bringing in levity when needed. For Jazzy though, I just saw her from the beginning in my mind’s eye. She is for a slightly younger audience so stylistically I went simpler with the character design. I had a specific vision I knew could handle illustrating consistently over multiple books and have fun doing so. Jazzy and her world are just so dang cute (and I have a hard time using with that word), I just had to draw her!

Bellwoar: In the Acknowledgements you write about having been a fan of Adrienne Adams’ books. What was it about her witches that spoke to you?

Bagley: She is like the mother of illustrated witches! First off, her paintings are just gorgeous. Adrienne Adams brings a mood to her work that is more sweet than spooky. The witches are just living their best lives and happy to share with non-witches. We are used to witches being represented as scary old women, which is so terribly misogynistic and hateful. But her witch world is very celebratory and loving — her witches are always smiling! I also really love how her work leans into the tropes in a way that is playful and cozy. That’s what I hope to do with my Jazzy books. I reference classic imagery and themes in a fun way that is welcoming and lightly informative to show that not all witches are scary.

Bellwoar: Along with her best friend, Aggie, Jazzy also has a talking bat familiar named Fiona. Did you enjoy the chance to create your own witch sidekick in the tradition of animals like Salem from Sabrina the Teenage Witch?

Bagley: I love Fiona. Familiars are classic in witch lore. They can help do bidding or can serve as a Jiminy Cricket/conscience type character. I knew that I wanted Fiona to be more of the latter for Jazzy. She wants to support her but also serves as a voice of reason. I also liked the idea that Jazzy is allergic to cats so her familiar is a bat. That played into the theme of flying in the book in a fun way and allowed for a lot of additional humor. It was also very funny to make a character that makes terrible jokes and stupid puns. A lot of people don’t like word play, which I totally get, but I had the benefit of getting to make the bad joke and calling attention to how bad the joke is.

Bellwoar: It seems like Jazzy’s adventures are just beginning. Is there anything you can share about what’s next for the young witch?

Bagley: In book two, Jazzy the Witch in Friend Fiasco, Jazzy is confronted with a new witch who threatens all that both Jazzy and Aggie identify with: Being a good student for Aggie and cycling for Jazzy. This perceived usurper really messes with their heads and it really brings out the worst in Jazzy. This book explores a typical situation that kids find themselves in, what do you do if someone is better than you at something? I absolutely love this book, (maybe even more than book one) because there’s a new central character, another familiar in the mix, a prank war, a magical bike race, and of course more terrible jokes from Fiona. I can’t wait.

Bellwoar: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Jessixa!

Jazzy the Witch in Broom Doom goes on sale July 15th from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.