Some people have been asking, “Why is Half Spent Was the Night so short? The simple answer is: “Because it was never meant to be long.” What I’d set out to do, from the very start, was write a short Yuletide tale—in the tradition of a Dickensian Christmas story, but with witches instead of ghosts. I’d wanted to create something different: —a small little book that could be tucked away in a pocket, —a tale that could be read in one sitting, either alone or aloud with friends by a crackling fire or dancing candlelight, —a story filled with ancient …