If you answered Urban Fantasy, you’d be correct.
Cornerstones of Urban Fantasy would be tv shows and movies like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Highlander, and Ghostbusters, as well as amazing authors like Laurel K. Hamilton, Kim Harrison and Jim Butcher.
One of my favorite genres to read is Urban Fantasy. Over the years, I’ve spent countless hours devouring the pages of numerous series and watching television shows that weave magic, mystery and an urban setting together. (Let’s be honest though, I’ve had a thing for fantasy since watching the Last Unicorn).
As a former post-conviction paralegal, and after cutting my writing teeth on dark crime fiction, I wanted to dive into a world that combined my love and interest or the supernatural with mystery elements in an modern-like setting. Yep, urban fantasy called me, you might say.
It was a no brainer, really.
Who wouldn’t want to have myth, magic and murders to solve? Challenge accepted.
And with it came the creation of the Order of the Dragon.
But, it wasn’t enough for me to have a kick-ass female character or a suave hero. It definitely wasn’t enough for there to be an epic battle or two. I wanted to create something that was close to my heart.
When I started writing Leslie, it was because I didn’t see or read characters that resonated with how I wanted to be seen. Most vampire stories start with some woman who has some sort of training to do something brave. But I wanted to take a writer who lived in the pages of her books and research. Sure, she knows one end of a gun from the other, but she’s never been that athletic fighter.
And she definitely never thought that she’d have to survive an attempted assault to thrive. Her changing into a vampire wasn’t her plan.
But how does the saying go: When we make plans the gods laugh.
Part of the conflict in this series is how Leslie has to come to terms with her new vampirism and this supernatural world. Even more, she has to find her way without necessarily giving up all that she’s earned and created over the years.
I didn’t create Leslie to be a fairytale-like character, waiting to be rescued. I want her to grow and change into a heroine, but most importantly, I want her to morph into this strong heroine for herself.
She’s walking this line, testing bonds, creating allies and figuring it out one novice-vampire step at a time.
Discover the Order of the Dragon series!
Work launched into space aboard the NOVA lander as part of a literary time capsule.
