"And I had a great, great professor named Albert Guerard when I was starting out, and he said to me, 'Some people will tell you to write what you know. But I'm going to tell you write what you can imagine.' And that was such a gift." Words are magic (and truth and love and power) in Alice Hoffman's newest novel, The Book of Magic. It's the fourth in a series that started with Practical Magic in 1995, and features three generations of the fabulous (and sometimes prickly) Owens family, as it cuts between Essex, Massachusetts and Essex, England. The Book of Magic delivers a truly satisfying, emotional read about familial love, and Alice Hoffman joins us on the show for a spoiler-free conversation about turning a beloved stand-alone novel into a series, writing about sisters and mothers, her favorite books of all time, Amelia Bassano (and those rumors), and more. Featured books: The Book of Magic, The Rules of Magic, Magic Lessons, Practical Magic, The Dove Keepers and The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Frankenstein by Mary Shelly and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Produced/hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.