Is Western Urban Fantasy a Thing? The Immortal Doc Holliday

I was never any good at picking a genre or pigeonhole for my work. Seriously, is Johnny Lycan fantasy, horror, detective noir? So I kind of dig when people just throw genres and tropes into the blender and hit puree. One such example is MM Crumley’s, “The Immortal Doc Holliday,” series. Take an iconic Western character, make him a soul-eating semi-vampire, move him to today (since he’s immortal) and drop him in the middle of Denver. Add whiskey (lots of whiskey) a healthy dose of sex and stir.

What kind of person thinks of this stuff? Funny you should ask…

So MM, (She has a real name, for the record) tell us about you.

I spent the majority of my childhood in Kansas and Colorado, which might be a strange place to start, but I think it helps account for my love of old West icons. My older brothers and I grew up gambling with each other, throwing knives at old stumps, watching 90s westerns, and going to places like Boot Hill, Cripple Creek, and Leadville. And I spent quite a lot of time dreaming about Doc Holliday. (Never mind the fact that my mother told me quite severely that he was not a good role model). Even as a kid I was writing. I wrote sad, dark poetry. Now I write funny, dark books. I can’t get away from the dark; I just love it too much, but there’s always some humor to be found.   


What is your series about?

The Immortal Doc Holliday follows the modern (or current) life of Doc Holliday. But he died in 1887, you say? Not in my reality. I’m sorry, fiction, not in my fiction. In the first book Hidden, we find out that Doc gained immortality on his deathbed from a shaman who wanted a favor. In the modern world, the time has come for Doc to pay up. Although he is the only one of his kind, Doc is surrounded by witches, vampires, trolls, and a whole menagerie of cryptids that exist in the shadows of the normal world, a place called the Hidden. Doc walks the line between both worlds, doing what he does best, killing bad guys or people who just rub him the wrong way. As Doc works to repay his eternal life, he uncovers a plot that could very well destroy the Hidden. Cue the killing spree.  

What is it about that form of magic or character that appealed to you?

I love fairy tales. I used to have the ENTIRE Andrew Lang fairy tale set. (Don’t ask me what happened to them. You don’t want to see me cry.) I love that I managed to find a way to write about Doc freaking Holliday and work basically anything I ever wanted from a fairy tale into it. Albeit with my own twist. For instance, in the Hidden, witches and vampires are species, just like trolls would be. What I love best about Doc in this setting is that even though he’s a little faster and stronger than a normal man, he doesn’t have powers. He’s just a dude, but I can pit him against anyone, and he will always come out on top. One, because he’s brilliant. And two, because he’s willing to do whatever it takes. “Doc” John Holliday was an incredibly smart person, and his life was riddled with adventure. I’m honored to build a reality in which he never died. 

Who are the authors who inspired you?

It’s hard to say just one or two authors when you look out at all the amazing writers out there. Besides fairy tales and a handful of the best classics, I read a lot of fantasy books when I was younger. Terry Brooks, Raymond E. Feist, etc. I also enjoyed Anne Rice and Mercedes Lackey. And I confess I’ve read my share of romances as well. I enjoy Julia Quinn and Karen Moning’s Highlander series, among others. But I can honestly say, and this is a strange mix, that my favorite authors are Terry Pratchett (because he makes me laugh and think), Arnold Lobel (because the way he sees things amuses me), Jerry Spinelli (because he can really pull at my heartstrings), A.A. Milne (because he understood humanity in such a simple, perfect way), and me. I know that probably sounds vain, but I really like my books.    

Where can we learn more about you and your books?

If you want to connect with me about my books or on a more personal level, Facebook is the way to do it: https://www.facebook.com/LoneGhostPublishing  If you want to keep up to date on book releases, you can either sign up for my newsletter through my website: https://www.loneghostpublishing.com/ or follow me on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/M-M-Crumley/e/B081DB84G4.       

A couple of quick things for my own selfish purposes:

  1. If you are interested in contributing to a boxing anthology, drop me a line for more details. Twitter @wturmel You can read my latest short story on Storgy
  2. Johnny Lycan and the Anubis Disk has 50 rave reviews (well, 2 grumpy ones.) Have you read and reviewed it yet?
Check out my latest novel, Johnny Lycan and the Anubis Disk. It will give you something to do until your next WebEx meeting.

Las Vegas Author Taisha Speters and Her Fantasy Debut

As I write this, it is going to be 117 degrees before this day is over. Even at that, I love living in Las Vegas, and one of the main reasons is the writing community. It’s a diverse blend of just about everyone in every genre. A recent addition to the group is a fellow member of Sin City Writers, Taisha Speters. (Shut up spellcheck. That’s her name!) I thought I’d let her tell you about her debut novel, The Princess of Belsaria.

Taisha, we’ve both been in Sin City Writers for a while, but hadn’t met in-person til last week. What’s your deal?

I’m a new author and I’ve dabbled in the arts for 12+ years but could never figure out where I wanted to go. My first novel, The Princess of Belsaria, was actually handwritten in a notebook when I was a junior in Highschool. Fast forward a few years and when I found the notebook, I won’t lie I was beyond confused on who wrote this drama. So, after some motivation from friends and family, I committed to finishing my first project.

I write mostly fantasy. Before female protagonists became normal, I wanted a woman to save the world. My female character is based off of me.

I currently reside in Las Vegas, Nevada, but I’m from Salt Lake City, Utah. Born and raised. I sometimes feel like an old lady or old soul since one of my hobbies include Crocheting. I take on more artistic projects than in reality I have time for.

Here’s your chance to tell the world. What’s your book about?

My book is about a teenage girl named Marsais Corbin. Outside of trying to apply for a prestigious art college is a relatively normal girl. Raised by her single mother after her father passed away in a car accident. Marsais suddenly falls ill, and the doctors have no indications as to why. Though after a full recovery from the hospital is confronted by a new girl who tells her she’s a witch.

After an incident of her power is displayed Marsais willingly attends training where she finds out just how powerful she really is. Now mastering her powers, she also learns she’s the heir to Belsaria’s throne after she conquers its current ruler.

It’s a wonderful display of magic, love, and royalty. You follow Marsais in her trials to learn about her history as well as her becoming a queen.

What is it about the magic system in this book that appealed to you? Where did it come from?

Honestly, all magic is appealing to me. I find it fascinating which is why Marsais has multiple powers. I couldn’t settle on just one. Through personally I would love a power that connects me to water and telekinesis. The biggest inspiration for my novel is a TV series in the early 2000’s called charmed. Where 3 kickass sisters take on demons and other entities to protect the world while concealing their powers.

Some past authors that I’ve enjoyed will be Stephanie Myer and JK Rowling. I’ve always been an avid reader, but when I hit the age of about 12-13 I found Harry Potter and really grew up in that series. I will ready pretty much anything I can get my hands onto, but these past couple months, my husband got me hooked on a series by Tracy Wolf, The Crave Series.

(We now pause while I weep at how old I am when Charmed is a fond childhood memory for someone. Okay, I’m back.) Where can we learn more about you?

My book is listed on Amazon:

My Goodreads Author Page:

Facebook Author page:

A couple of quick things for my own selfish purposes:

  1. If you are interested in contributing to a boxing anthology, drop me a line for more details. Twitter @wturmel You can read my latest short story on Storgy
  2. Johnny Lycan and the Anubis Disk has 48 rave reviews (well, 2 grumpy ones.) Have you read and reviewed it yet?
Check out my latest novel, Johnny Lycan and the Anubis Disk. It will give you something to do until your next WebEx meeting.

A New Short Story. Would You Like to Be Part of a Boxing Anthology??

This morning the good folks at Storgy have published my latest short fiction, “Force Equals Mass Times Acceleration.” I’m very proud of this tale. And, yes, it’s another boxing story.

Those of you who have hung in for the past few years know I write an awful lot about the sport. (I’ve explained why in an earlier post.) My editor over at Storgy, Anthony Self, (peace be upon him) has always been a big supporter of my work, and my sports-focused writing in particular. He asked me in passing one day if I’ve ever considered putting together a book of boxing fiction.

Funny you should mention, Tony.

I am a huge fan of the short story, and pugilism has a long history of great fiction, from relatively recent work like “Rope Burns,” (Later re-named Million Dollar Baby, after its most famous story) by FX Toole to the old pulp collections from the 30s and 40s and writers like Louis L’Amour, Ernest Hemingway, and Jack London. To add to that legacy would be an honor.

But let’s get real. I have half a dozen stories adding up to a little less than half a decent-sized anthology. I’d love to include others who have tales to tell. Male, female, gay, straight, black, white, Asian, Latinx, young, and old. Not every boxing fan is a straight, old, cis-het white guy. Lord knows the fighters aren’t. Where are their voices?

Consider this a tentative cri-de-guerre. Would you like to read a well-done anthology of stories featuring the world of boxing? Would you be willing to contribute? Probably can’t pay beyond a token but as Johnny Lupul would say, I’m serious as dick cancer.

I may look into doing a kick-starter campaign for this if it smells like there’s interest.

Drop me a line through the website or DM me on Twitter @Wturmel

Oh, and please enjoy the story. You can find links to all my short fiction here.

Johnny Lycan and the Anubis Disk is available in paperback and Kindle, and available almost anywhere from #BlackRoseWriting. It’s an American Book Festival Finalist for Best Horror of 2020. “If Raymond Chandler wrote about werewolves.”

John Steinbeck Wrote a Werewolf Novel So Get Off My Back.

So apparently, I have something in common with a Nobel-winning author. Seems John Steinbeck wrote a novel about werewolves that has been languishing in a vault at the University of Texas for, oh, 90 years or so.

When people ask why I wrote Johnny Lycan and the Anubis Disk, after 9 non-fiction books and 3 semi-respectable historical fictions, I can now say, “Get off my ass. John Steinbeck wrote one too. At least mine got published.”

Yeah, I know he wrote it before he was JOHN FRICKING STEINBECK, and there’s no word if it was actually finished, and by all accounts it kind of sucks. But one of the great writers in American literature wrote a werewolf story. It’s called Murder at Full Moon, which is kind of lame, but I’ll bet he enjoyed it. It made him happy when he wasn’t writing about huge men accidentally killing women, or prostitutes, or starving Okies, or trying to remember how to say “where’s the scotch” in Swedish during the Nobel ceremony.

Now when people ask me why I write about werewolves I can just say that I’m in good company. Would they say that to John Steinbeck? Well, they did, but you see my point. Have a good week.

If you want to see what a werewolf novel by a non-Nobel laureate looks like you can check out Johnny Lycan and the Anubis Disk.

Johnny Lycan and the Anubis Disk is now available in paperback and Kindle, and available almost anywhere from #BlackRoseWriting. It’s an American Book Festival Finalist for Best Horror of 2020. “If Raymond Chandler wrote about werewolves.”

Jon Robinson’s YA Werewolf

Long time readers will know I’m not a big fan of YA as a genre. (You can read my rant about it here.) That said, introducing young’ns to scary stories is a time honored tradition. Hence my interview with eclectic author Jon Robinson. His first foray into Lycan-inspired fiction is Sunshine and the Full Moon. Like 14 year old girls aren’t scary enough…

Jon, welcome aboard. Tell us about yourself.

I used to write about video games, sports, and wrestling for everybody from ESPN to Sports Illustrated to WWE. But now I’m trading in my love of sweat and polygons for werewolves. That’s right … silver bullets, fangs, and fur. I’m all in. Sunshine and the Full Moon is my first novel, and the main character, a sassy 14-year-old girl obsessed with geocaching, baseball, and k-pop is inspired by my daughter. Her encounter with a werewolf is actually something I had a dream about, so I decided to turn that dream into a novel, and here we are.

Johnny Lycan started as a dream too, and look where that got me. Tell me about Sunshine…

A 14-year-old girl named Sunshine goes on a geocaching adventure and uncovers a werewolf den. Turns out, the town her grandmother lives in up in the California Gold Country has had a mysterious string of deaths, and Sunshine stumbles headfirst into the mystery. When a young girl in town goes missing, can Sunshine figure out the clues behind the creature wreaking havoc throughout the small town before it’s too late?

What is it about that form of magic or character that appealed to you? What are the roots of the story?

I’ve always been a big fan of werewolves. Vampires are cool, zombies are fun, but to me, werewolves are king! Anyway, I had this dream where there was a werewolf attack, and the creature bites down on a young girl’s arm, but the girl had a cast from where she broke her arm, and the werewolf’s teeth get caught. So you have this moment where it’s staring eye-to-eye with the girl, saliva dripping down on her as it tries to wrestle its way free. I decided to work backward from that point in the story, develop a plot and main character around my teenage daughter’s personality, and Sunshine and the Full Moon took on a life of its own. 

It’s interesting that you’ve written so much about sports. A lot of my short stories center around boxing, and yet here we are talking werewolves. Who do you read?

I’m a big fan of everyone from James Lee Burke to Shea Serrano. I also really love to read sports books that take you behind the scenes, like Jim Bouton’s Ball Four.

Where can we learn more about your work?

Check out my website: Jon Robinson Books

On Goodreads: Jon Robinson (Author of NXT) | Goodreads

You can also find me on Twitter and Instagram @Jrobandsteal

Amazon Author Page:

Johnny Lycan and the Anubis Disk is available in paperback and Kindle, and available almost anywhere from #BlackRoseWriting. It’s an American Book Festival Finalist for Best Horror of 2020. “If Raymond Chandler wrote about werewolves.”

What if God Dozed Off? Interview w Leslie Swartz

Good urban fantasy usually starts with a good, “what if?” For just one example, what if an average joe who wanted to be a detective happened to be a werewolf? That’s a pretty simple one. Other stories are more ambitious: what if all the evil characters–Lucifer, witches and demons had to band together to save the world? That’s the kind of thing that goes on in the head of Leslie Swartz, and her new Seventh Day series.

Leslie, who are you and what’s your deal?

I tell people I’m a poet-turned-novelist which sounds pretentious but I think it’s important if they want to get a sense of how I write. My style has been described as blunt, honest, and evocative. I don’t write beautiful prose for the most part. I don’t spend too much time describing things like what characters are wearing or what color walls are painted. I write to inspire emotion. I want the reader to feel something.

As for who I am outside of my work, I’m a 41-year-old woman in Indianapolis homeschooling three kids during a pandemic. I’m tired. I get maybe an hour or two of free time a day that I usually spend watching easy TV to calm my brain down. My favorite show right now is The Challenge. Team CT for life!

What’s the big idea behind the first book in your series, Seraphim?

The Seventh Day Series is seven books of rowdy angels, vampires, witches, and Lucifer fighting monsters and preventing one Apocalypse after another. Really, though, it’s a story of found-family, complex relationships, trauma, and redemption. It’s character-driven, dark, funny, and chock-full of twists.

That’s a lot going on. Where did the idea come from?

“Wyatt” came to me in a vision when I was sixteen. I can’t explain it so I won’t try but he was very clear to me; steely eyes, dark hair falling in his face, angry and depressed but like, resigned to it. I didn’t create him so much as I just kind of became aware of who he was. So, I spent years researching religious lore and different mythologies. I’d have an idea and start writing but inevitably, I’d throw it out. No story was ever good enough for the character. So, one day I was watching Guiding Light and this actor, Tom Pelphrey came on the screen and he looked exactly like the character in my head. It was uncanny. Obviously, I became a fan and watched other things he was in.

Over the years, his facial expressions and his very precise way of speaking became part of “Wyatt”. Years later, I was watching an episode of Iron Fist and Tom Pelphrey did this scene that broke me in half. I lost it. Complete meltdown, hysterically sobbing on my couch for forty-five minutes. When I got myself together, I had all this renewed gumption to get these books started. I had a ton of plot ideas but none of them made sense if “God” was who I said he was. So, I was going over everything with my husband and he looked at me with this how-have-you-not-thought-of-this-before face and said, “What if ‘God’ was asleep?” Mind. Blown. Everything else fell into place. It all worked. That day, I wrote character bios, a few scenes, and outlines for the first four books.

Inspiration is a funny thing, ain’t it? What do you read?

I love Shakespeare, Poe, and Dickens, as we all do, right? Anne Rice and Stephen King are, of course, huge inspirations for me. I remember being in the fourth grade and relating so hard to “Gordie” from The Body. I started writing stories when I was four, so that character was everything. My favorite newer authors are Evelyn Chartres and J. Edward Neill. I love anything creepy with lots of twists and they deliver in those departments in spades.

How do folks find you to learn more?

There’s my Facebook Page

Twitter

Instagram

And my Amazon Author Page

Johnny Lycan and the Anubis Disk is now available in paperback and Kindle, and available almost anywhere from #BlackRoseWriting. It’s an American Book Festival Finalist for Best Horror of 2020. “If Raymond Chandler wrote about werewolves.”

Necromancy, Zombies and Dead Stuff with MG Gallows

Full disclosure- zombies aren’t my favorite monster, horror or fantasy trope. (Train to Busan is an exception.) Still, the ability to manipulate the dead with a little necromancy does offer great potential for storytelling. So I took this chance to check out MG Gallows first novel, Death Dealers.

I also asked some questions of the Red Deer, Alberta author. If you’ve never been to Red Deer, picture putting Waco , Texas exactly halfway between Edmonton and Calgary and you come pretty close.

M. G, tell everyone what your deal is.

I am a lifelong nerd, non-practicing edgelord, semi-retired resurrectionist, olympic-level procrastinator, and a recovering anatidaephobic. I love my homeland of Canada, because the deadly chill prevents Australia’s giant spiders and drop bears from touching my feet while I sleep. My friends all have real jobs, to which I secretly envy and resent their success (they won’t read this, will they?). I’m kidding about the Australia part. A very good Aussie friend is the reason I’ve even made it this far. Since 2016 I’ve cut my teeth writing freelance fiction for Wyrd Miniatures, and their awesome Malifaux gameline. I love writing stories, I think I’m pretty good at it. Death Dealers is my first novel. 

What’s Death Dealers all about?

M G wouldn’t provide a head shot so we can only guess what someone who writes about this stuff looks like.

Death Dealers is about Alex Fossor, a necromancer trying to pull his life together after a bad breakup. He settled in the Pacific Northwest after discovering a community of wights – your garden variety ‘thinking’ undead – living in self-imposed exile underground. Compelled to help them deal with their condition, Alex sells his services as a crime scene cleaner to the city’s crooks, ‘disappearing’ bodies so the wights have a steady supply of the human flesh they crave.

The story picks up when a client is murdered, and Alex is framed for the deed. This leads to a confrontation with the Rimbault Society, a centuries-old organization of mages who quietly run the world. Alex barely avoids an execution, but the clock is ticking..To clear his name, he’ll have to deal with intrepid detectives, silver-tongued femme fatales, undead frat boys, foul-mouthed Irish Loa, and expose the true culprit before a hex on his heart burns him to ash.

“Undead frat boys” feels both creepy and redundant, but that’s my issue. Where did this story sprout from?

Alex’s beginnings stretch back decades, to my earliest experiences with vampires, zombies, and all things necromancy. I’ve always been fascinated by undeath, from Count Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster, to George Romero’s zombie plague that has become such a mainstay of our culture. Getting to play a necromancer in tabletop or video games was always an easy sell for me. But there’s a huge stigma against necromancy in most fantasy settings, one I feel is largely hypocritical. A wizard can magically burn someone to death, and nobody panics. But then he reanimates the body to fight for him, and everyone loses their minds. I wanted to write a protagonist that walked that narrow shade of gray. Alex is someone you can relate to and even cheer for, but his methods are those classically given to a villain. He’s the slasher-killer stalking victims at a summer camp, the coldly pragmatic mastermind using every resource – even the recently dead – to help him win, and occasionally he dips his toes into the stereotype of the cackling and sadistic necromancer. And he does it to serve his idea of justice, and protect the people he cares about.

Who do you read that folks should know about?

I discovered my love of fantasy with writers like RA Salvatore, Elaine Cunningham, and Paul S. Kemp. It was Elaine who introduced me to Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. Harry Dresden’s colorful, cosmopolitan world of modern-day monsters has been a huge inspiration for many authors, including myself, but I would be remiss not to mention Diana Rowland’s White Trash Zombie/Angel Crawford series. Punk rock and flesh-eating zombies go as far back as Return of the Living Dead, and I’m proud to carry that tradition forward in my novel. 

Where can we learn more about you and your book(s)   Goodreads, Amazon links, twitter, Facebook author page, website etc.

You can find Death Dealers on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B092JPZH23

I’m on Twitter @mg_gallows and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MGGallows

You can signup for my newsletter on https://mggallows.wordpress.com/ Subscribers get access to free short fiction that ties in to the Alex Fossor novels. 

Johnny Lycan and the Anubis Disk is now available in paperback and Kindle, and available almost anywhere from #BlackRoseWriting. It’s an American Book Festival Finalist for Best Horror of 2020. “If Raymond Chandler wrote about werewolves.”

A Psychic Detective on a Mission- Chelsea Callahan

Mashing up mysteries with fantasy is a time-honored tradition. Patient Zero, of course is Harry Dresden, but also includes others like Nate Temple and (ahem) Johnny Lycan. A new addition to this crew is Alix Deveraux, the creation of this week’s interviewee, Chelsea Callahan.

Chelsea, what’s your story?

I am a hermit. I spend most of my time writing, because that is where I’m happiest. I’ve always loved stories, in any form I can find them. I’m that rare bird, who’s always watching something, or listening to something. Silence, even when I’m writing, just puts me to sleep, or if it’s late at night, silence just creeps me out. 

I didn’t start out writing stories. I’m an extremely visual person so when I learned in 5th grade that you could take beautiful words and create this thing called poetry with it, I started there. Poem after poem I wrote, and then as I got older, those poems became short stories. Things that felt so long at the time they had to be novels….little did I know I’d get to college and write papers twice as long. It wasn’t until my sophomore year in high school though, that I began writing a story with the intention of getting it published. I’d finally gotten to the point of wanting to write my own story. My head was so full of all the movies, and television I’d devoured, I had to make a story of my own. I had to play with characters swimming around inside my head. 

One problem. I’ve always struggled when it comes to writing. Looking at me now, you’d never guess I used to hate writing and hate reading. My dyslexia, made both of those things a major problem while I was growing up. I still have problems with them. It’s hard to feel confident about anything you produce when your brain tells you what you’re seeing is correct, and the person reading it sees something entirely different. I can edit a thousand times, read and reread every word on the page, and still miss the most obvious of errors. I’ve gotten better thanks to the support of my mother, and my friends. It is possible to get better, to improve, but I know I’ll struggle with it all my life. 

I just won’t let it stop me from telling the stories I know I was meant to tell. 

Good on you. So what’s the deal with Alix Deveraux?

My most recent release is called Wicked Raven. It’s the first book in my Alix Devereaux series. 

The main character Alix, has been away from home for three years. She’s been traveling the human world and the fae world desperately hunting for the thing that killed her fiancé and nearly burned her alive inside their New York City brownstone. But after three years she’s tired of the chase, and has decided to come home, and pay her respects to her fiancé on what would’ve been his thirtieth birthday. What she soon discovers through a dead body left for her on Rhys’s grave is that The Raven has returned and she might just be his next victim. 

It’s a thrilling ride full of emotional trauma, murder mystery, magic, romance, and general mayhem. Out of everything I’ve written it’s my favorite so far, but it’s also not my only Devereaux novel. The first book I published, Eyes of the Grave, is the first book in The Rebekah Devereaux series. Which centers around one of Alix’s many cousins. This one in particular living down in New Orleans. Rebekah is a P.I. with a unique talent. With one touch she can solve a murder or prevent one. The problem is that when she touches this latest body, her visions say she herself is the killer. Trying to figure out what exactly happened to the dead girl in the cemetery, Rebekah has to balance keeping her potential involvement a secret from the cops, and repairing the rocky relationship between her and her husband. I mean honestly though how do you tell the man you love, all you can think about when he touches you is killing him?

Then of course there are five short stories out that bridge the gaps between the novels and provide some fun side adventures to expand the world. 

What is it about the magic system or the story that inspired you?

I fell in love with Urban Fantasy when I heard someone describe it as magic in the real world. An idea that just fascinates me. On a deep level I’d love to discover that the world I see around me every day is hiding a much weirder magical world right beneath the surface. I mean who doesn’t reach for something across the room and just wish for a second that their magic powers would kick in and the object would just zoom right over into their hand?

After watching things like The Magicians, Harry Potter, and Buffy. Then reading books by Jim Butcher and Patricia Briggs I found myself asking, what if all of that was possible? What if witches could be all of these things, do all these things? What if all the stories were true on some level? How do you control a world like that? Those questions proved to be extremely thought-provoking for me, and my books were born from the answers. 

The magic system that exists in the universe of the Devereaux witches is largely a person to person design. It all comes from inside the witch, and burns calories, because what better way is there to explain the thin beautiful people in the world that seem to be completely unreal when you look at them. But beyond that, each witch, or mage expresses their power in their own way. The weaker the witch is the more standard their power becomes, but for witches like my characters Alix and Rebekah things start to get a bit varied. 

For example: Rebekah’s powers manifest heavily in telekinesis, and through her touch. If you surprise her, and brush any bit of your skin against hers she’s overtaken by a vision of your death. Or at least how you will die based on the decisions you’ve made up to that exact point in time. Alix’s powers rely more heavily on spell work and sheer force of will. Then there’s a third cousin Shado that appears in Eyes of the Grave who’s power leans more heavily on healing energy, or healing auras. They’re all part of the same family, by blood, but each one has their own spin on their power. 

I love this type of magic, because it truly means you never know what to expect. Each person has their own identity, their own power. Which is also why the manifestation of that power comes with color, gestures, and words, or some combination of those things. People use spells in different languages. It’s all up to the user. Just as it’s up to each person in the real world how they handle themselves. Magic or not, we all have power, and we all use it a little differently than the person next to us. 

Who do you read, that people should know about?

Cassandra Thompson and Halo are two Indie authors I encountered through Twitter, who are not only wonderful writers, they’re also fantastic people. Julia Quinn I’ve gotten hooked on thanks to the new Netflix show Bridgeton. Jacka I discovered randomly on the shelf one day when Barnes & Noble didn’t have the Dresden Files book I needed, and I wasn’t able to put the series down until I ran out of new books. Sarah J. Maas is a true master at having her characters deal with emotional trauma. No matter how far from “Human” they are I’m always amazed at how real her creations feel. It’s inspiring. Holly Black is a fae queen in disguise I’m almost positive. Then of course, Anne Rice is a classic gothic horror, and supernatural powerhouse. How can you not love her work? Deborah Harkness and the All Souls Trilogy are brilliant. There’s so much history, and romance, and mysterious magical adventure. I can’t get enough. 

But it was Jim Butcher and Patricia Briggs that really inspired me the most to get into writing Urban Fantasy books. Their work truly defines the genre. 

How can people find out more about you and your work?

Well, I am The Writing Druid on most social media platforms. You can find me in order of most active to least active on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tiktok, Facebook, and tumblr. 

You can also catch some reviews of my favorite tv shows or movies on my website, as well as any news about my upcoming books! That link is http://www.thewritingdruid.com 

All of my work is available through Amazon, but I’ve got some of the international links here as well. http://www.thewritingdruid.com/novels 

You can find the links to my short stories here. http://www.thewritingdruid.com/mybooks 

Johnny Lycan and the Anubis Disk is now available in paperback and Kindle, and available almost anywhere from #BlackRoseWriting. It’s an American Book Festival Finalist for Best Horror of 2020. “If Raymond Chandler wrote about werewolves.”

Paramedic to the Paranormal- Jamie Davis

One of the trends in Urban Fantasy that fascinates me (and makes me insanely jealous) is the number of authors cranking out series after series of fun reads. While they might not be great art, they’re fun. It’s kind of the Kindle version of the old pulp novels (and I mean that in the best way.) Ultimately, it’s what I envisioned for the Lucca stories and for Johnny Lycan, but you know… day job, life and stuff.

One such author is Jamie Davis, the author of 40 books including his new series, Extreme Medical Services. Imagine being an EMT and having to pick up an overdosing vampire and you get the idea.

Jamie, what’s your deal, man?

When I get the question “tell us a little about yourself” I’m usually stuck for an answer. I mean, there’s so much to tell. I’m a husband, father, grandfather, nurse, and retired paramedic who has been telling stories in one form or another my whole life. My wife puts it this way: “He embellishes every memory a little more each time. You never know which version you’ll get.”

I think it’s because I see so many possibilities in the world and people around me. “What if” is a way of life for me and that’s where many of my books begin. In fact, my first series, Extreme Medical Services, started in the back of the ambulance late one night when I dropped off a particularly hairy patient. I remarked to my partner, “What if that guy is really a werewolf? It is a full moon.” Thus was born my books about paramedics for supernatural creatures.

Now, I have more than forty books, most of which fall into the category of what I like to call Fun Fantasy Reads. All are family-friendly and suitable for young teens and up, even though they are written for adults. I have heard from several readers who enjoy my books because they can share them with their kids. It gives them something to talk about in a time when we’re always so distracted by our screens.

What’s Extreme Medical Services about?

Extreme Medical Services as I explained earlier is book 1 in a whole series about supernatural paramedics. If you’ve ever asked yourself, “What happens if a vampire or a werewolf needs to call 911?” then these are the books for you.

Of course, now you’re curious, aren’t you? That’s okay. There are plenty of stories there to scratch that itch. With 8 books and a prequel in the series already, I’m also currently finishing up book 9. All the books are also available as excellent audiobooks. They’re narrated by the superbly talented Roberto Scarlato and he really brings the stories to life with his amazing voice.

What is it about this world that you enjoy so much?

Dean Flynn, the newbie paramedic in Extreme Medical Servcies is as green as they come. Don’t get me wrong. He’s highly trained, having graduated at the top of his paramedic academy class, he just didn’t exactly know what he’d signed up for when the chief told him he had a special assignment in mind.

He’s thrown into the deep end as he meets patient after patient on his first days on the job, uncovering a whole new world he never knew existed, right there under the surface in the city in which he grew up. Now he’s an ordinary guy, saving lives, and making some unusual friends along the way. That’s a good thing, because there’s something sinister lurking behind the scenes that could endanger the patients he’s sworn to protect.

If this was set in Chicago, it sounds like he might run into Johnny Lupul one night. That would be hilarious. Who did this to you? What do you read?

I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about authors who’ve influenced me. I could list off the big ones, Tolkien, Robert Jordan, or Heinlein. Yeah, I read them, but I think there are others who had a bigger impact on me in different ways. Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising series was probably the first that set up a modern world with a hidden magical realm ordinary humans couldn’t see. The concept intrigued me then and still does today. I still reread those books from time to time. I highly recommend them. They’re not just for kids.

Another writer who impacted me was David Weber. His Honor Harrington Universe (and it is expansive) showed me how really strong characters could draw you into a story, making you care about them and everything they do. I’ve laughed aloud, cheered, and shed a few tears while reading his sci-fi epics.

I’ve read many others and they’ve all impacted my writing in one way or another. In the end, they’ve taught me to write stories about people you can care about, even amidst fantastical or futuristic situations. Who knows, I’ve always said we should all keep our eyes open because there’s magic all around us.

How can people keep up with you and your work?

The best ways to catch up with me and what I’m doing is first at my website, https://jamiedavisbooks.com, where you can get a free book, sign up for my active and fun fantasy newsletter.

Second, you can join the fun in Jamie Davis’ Fun Fantasy Readers group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/funfantasyreaders/). We don’t just talk about my books. It’s a place to talk about great fantasy (and sci-fi) stories on TV, in movies, and other great authors out there. I’m in there all the time and love chatting with everyone.

You can find the entire Extreme Medical Services series here: https://jamiedavisbooks.com/buy-extreme-medical-services-books/

And I’m also on Twitter at https://twitter.com/podmedic

Johnny Lycan and the Anubis Disk is now available in paperback and Kindle, and available almost anywhere from #BlackRoseWriting. It’s an American Book Festival Finalist for Best Horror of 2020. “If Raymond Chandler wrote about werewolves.”

The 3 Musketeers With Magic- Sebastien de Castell

Nothing makes me happier than a good swashbuckler. Swords are way cooler than guns, and witty remarks while buckling someone’s swash is always amusing. (Remind me some time to tell you about my first-ever fencing tournament when I faced a guy named Free Wind.) My favorite book growing up was always the Three Musketeers, and my all-time favorite movie will always be The Adventures of Robin Hood. So, when I found the first book in Sebastien de Castell’s Greatcoat Series, The Traitor’s Blade, I was intrigued. Here’s my conversation with the Canadian author whose books are like the Musketeers, only with a touch of fantasy magic in them.

Who’s Sebastien de Castell and why do we care?

I’m a professional procrastinator who periodically slams his fingers against the keyboard repeatedly until a fantasy novel comes out. Somehow, despite wasting inhuman amounts of time, I’ve had eleven books published in my relatively short career, translated into fifteen languages and with a couple of film & TV option deals (which, for the uninitiated, is not nearly as impressive an accomplishment as it sounds since most option deals go nowhere). At my core, I think of myself as a traveller – not just to different places, but through different careers and vocations. I’ve worked as a touring musician, a fight choreographer for theatre plays, a project manager, actor, teacher, and a half-dozen other careers in between. Oddly, being a novelist has turned out to be the steadiest job I’ve ever had. Oh, and I’m Canadian, but not the good kind who are modest and always apologizing for things – the jerks who sew Canadian flags on their backpacks and travel the world talking about the greatness of Canada. My wife has been slowly but surely breaking me of that habit.

Preach, brother. What’re your newest books about?

Play of Shadows is a swashbuckling fantasy novel set in the theatre. A young actor fleeing a duel finds refuge among a company of actors thanks to an obscure law that prohibits performers in the city’s sacred plays from dueling. However, when he takes the stage for one of their historical performances, he suddenly finds himself channeling the spirit of one of the historical figures he’s supposed to portray – only he’s changing all the lines and revealing secrets that powerful forces would prefer stayed buried. Lots of intrigue, sword fighting, and, of course, the strange magic of the theatre.

Way of the Argosi is a coming-of-age fantasy novel about a young woman on the run from the mages who destroyed her clan. She’s driven to survive any way she can, and tries everything from becoming a knight to a thief to a gambler. When she meets a mysterious card player who calls himself an Argosi, she’s offered a new path, but whether it’s one that will save her life or cost her soul she will have to discover for herself.

I love the blend of old fashioned adventure story and just enough magic. Where did all that come from?

Play of Shadows takes place in the world of the Greatcoats, which is where I tell my swashbuckling tales of intrigue. I’d written four books dealing with sword fighting magistrates, and so wanted to delve into something a little different. In this case, asking how the world of the theatre could be filled with its own magic and intrigue. I started creating these strange traditions like having some actors be such celebrities that they’re believed to actually channel the spirits of the characters they play, thus altering the script in subtle ways, or having constant violent struggles between companies of actors vying for control of the best theatres, all in the backdrop of a city finding itself under siege from within. Those kinds of ingredients always get my mind working, and as a reader, that’s the sort of fantasy to which I’m drawn.

Way of the Argosi came about because I’d wrapped up the six book Spellslinger series and my publishers wanted more books set in that world even as I was getting constant e-mails from readers asking to learn more about the Argosi. For those who haven’t read Spellslinger, the Argosi are a loose-knit order of wandering gamblers who created decks of cards to represent the various civilizations on the continent and seek out what they call “discordances” – people or events that could alter the course of history. What I love about the Argosi – and what I think draws readers to them – is that, in a story world heavily focused on magic, they themselves shun magic entirely. All their skills and tricks and talents are built on very human things like dancing and eloquence and martial arts and swagger. In a sense, they’re sort of like the anti-Jedi, because instead of having to be magically born attuned to “the force”, they have to earn their skills and find their own unique path through the world. Those things always speak to me as a reader, and even more so as a human being who is, alas, bereft of magic spells or a destiny.

Who did this to you? Who did and do you read?

My tastes in authors really change on an almost daily basis. The ones who influenced me the most when I was starting out were Raymond Chandler, Steven Brust, Charles de Lint, and Anne McCaffrey. As I started developing my style as a writer, I often found myself drawing from other mediums, such as Brian Michael Bendis the comic writer for character development and for dialogue my favourite screenwriter, Aaron Sorkin.

When reading for pleasure, I tend to read outside of fantasy simply because I can’t stop analyzing fantasy books. I read a couple of Walter Mosley books recently and was blown away by his sense of tone and the weight of his characters. Kate Quinn who wrote The Alice Network, The Huntress, and her most recent novel, The Rose Code, is probably the writer I enjoy the most in recent years. I’m not sure why since she writes about World War II intrigue which has never been my thing, but her style is just so engaging that I’m instantly pulled into the books.

How can we learn more?

I don’t spend a ton of time on social media, though I have all the usual accounts which I’ll list below. When people want to reach out to me, the best method is via my website at www.decastell.com/contact. Same is true if someone wants to find all my books in all their various editions and languages – go to www.decastell.com and there are links to all the buying options in print, audio, and ebook as well as how to get signed copies (something that comes up more and more these days).

Website: https://www.decastell.com

Twitter: @decastell

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/decastell

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SebastienDeCastell

Johnny Lycan and the Anubis Disk is now available in paperback and Kindle, and available almost anywhere from #BlackRoseWriting. It’s an American Book Festival Finalist for Best Horror of 2020. “Like Dresden Files with Bite.”