Writing Urban Fantasy with Vivian Shaw, author of STRANGE PRACTICE
In this episode, I chat with author Vivian Shaw, whose debut novel — Strange Practice — was just released from Orbit Books.
Strange Practice introduces Dr. Greta Helsing, a normal human physician working to keep the supernatural community not-alive and well in modern-day London. Having inherited her family’s specialized medical practice, Greta can barely make ends meet with her treatments for local mummies. But when a sect of murderous monks begins to scour the city’s underbelly, intent on killing her unusual friends, she must team up with her undead clients to keep them — and the rest of London — safe.
Filled with fresh twists on classic monsters and imaginative mash-ups, this new series is a perfect fit for fans of contemporary fantasy. Alongside Greta, the cast includes a highly domesticated Draculean vampire, an immortal demonic accountant, a demoralized yet angsty lunar vampyre, and a bemused human museum curator.
Strange Practice combines the supernatural mythology of the past with the tools and tribulations of modern day, in a story told with wit, whimsy, and a heaping helping of creeping dread.
I talk with Vivian Shaw about how the novel progressed over more than a decade, from a NaNoWriMo experiment to her first serious foray into publishing. We also talk about how she honed her writing chops in the world of fan-fiction, building a significant audience online that she hopes will follow her into published original works.
Strange Practice is available now at:
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