Supernatural July: Interview with Lesley Livingston!

Lesley Livingston is the fabulous author of Wondrous Strange and its sequel, Darklight, which will be hitting stores sometime in December.

What three words would you use to describe Wondrous Strange?

Dark-sparkly (hyphenated words do too count as one word!)
Enthralling
Heart-poundy (see? told ya!)

What element (or elements) would you say make Wondrous Strange a unique read?

Oh... a soap devouring kelpie, for one... Seriously? What I actually had the most fun with was taking familiar Faerie tropes and turning them on their heads to make them unique within the boundaries of those timeless legends. I’m really excited, for instance, with the actual back-story of the mythology in this book – which is also partially based on a real-world occurrence – and which is developed and expanded upon in the sequel, DARKLIGHT (and the so-far nameless Book the Third).

Are there any supernatural works that have influenced your writing the most?

Celtic mythology and Arthurian literature in general has influenced me immensely. Also stuff like the Dresden Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (not a book, I know!) have left their stamp in the way I like to use humor and banter-y dialogue in dire situations and in the richness of the supernatural worlds they build... Guy Gavriel Kay’s Fionavar Tapestry was very influential when I was younger. And, in case it wasn’t obvious, that Shakespeare guy left a pretty deep impression on my brain (and lest ye think The Bard didn’t write “supernatural”? May I say unto thee: Hamlet. Macbeth. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The Tempest....)

If you could have any supernatural power, what would it be and why?

Flight. Without a doubt. I mean - aside from the saved expense of air travel... how cool would it be to just fling yourself into the sky and stay there? Freedom, exhilaration, wind in your hair (and hopefully no bugs in your teeth!)

What supernatural read are you itching to read?

I’ve been dying for the chance to delve into the latest Jim Butcher Dresden Files novel, TURN COAT. Butcher writes what has been described as “Wizard Noir”. It’s funny, dark, cool stuff and I have a little bit of a crush on Harry Dresden – who routinely gets the crap kicked out of him by supernatural beasties. (It’s not YA, though! Be warned.)

Thanks for the questions, Tirzah! This was a load of fun!

Thank YOU, Lesley!