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This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Amanda Jayatissa, author of ISLAND WITCH.
\nAbout ISLAND WITCH: Set in 19th century Sri Lanka and inspired by local folklore, the daughter of a traditional demon-priest\u2014relentlessly bullied by peers and accused of witchcraft herself\u2014tries to solve the mysterious attacks that have been terrorizing her coastal village.
\nBeing the daughter of the village Capuwa, or demon-priest, Amara is used to keeping mostly to herself. Influenced by the new religious practices brought in by the British Colonizers, the villagers who once respected her father\u2019s craft have turned on the family. Yet, they all still seem to call on him whenever supernatural disturbances arise.
\nNow someone\u2014or something\u2014is viciously seizing upon men in the jungle. But instead of enlisting Amara\u2019s father\u2019s help, the villages have accused him of carrying out the attacks himself.
\nAs she tries to clear her father\u2019s name, Amara finds herself haunted by dreams that eerily predict the dark forces on her island. And she can\u2019t shake the feeling that it\u2019s all connected to the night she was recovering from a strange illness, and woke up, scared and confused, to hear her mother\u2019s frantic cries: No one can find out what happened.
\nAbout Amanda Jayatissa: Amanda Jayatissa loves to read disturbing books with shocking plot twists, so it seemed logical to her that she should attempt to write disturbing books with shocking plot twists.
\nShe is one of the first Sri Lankan women to secure an international book contract.
\nHer first traditionally published novel, MY SWEET GIRL, won Best Debut Novel at the International Thriller Writers Awards in 2022.
\nHer second novel, YOU’RE INVITED, was selected as a Book of The Month pick in July 2022 and was featured on The Today Show.
\nShe grew up in Sri Lanka and has lived in the California bay area and British countryside, before relocating back to her sunny island, where she lives with her husband and two Tasmanian-devil-reincarnate huskies.
\nThis week\u2019s picks:
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\n* Amanda: One Day (Netflix)
\n* Tracy: The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe: How to Know What’s Really Real in a World Increasingly Full of Fake by Dr. Steven Novella
\n* Patrick: June Carter Cash Documentary (Paramount+)
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\nLinks:
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\n* Amanda Jayatissa on the network formerly known as Twitter
\n* Tracy Townsend on the network formerly known as Twitter
\n* Patrick Hester on the network formerly known as Twitter
\n* The Functional Nerds Patreon Page
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\n\xa9 2024 Patrick Hester