Yes, I write urban fantasy books about an archaeologist who is also a witch. My heroine is often accompanied by a smarty-pants owl, the mythical trickster spirit Coyote, and a spectral blue beaver who’s made out of water. She has adventures, looks for magical relics, and gets in many laugh-out-loud funny situations.
That doesn’t mean I don’t research for my books. I do loads of research! I hunt through legends and myths, use reference books on magic, and plot some of my novels using Google Earth. Yes, I have maps, and I measure distances and look around the places that I write about. I write fantasy – but I need to base it in reality.
That’s not saying I don’t take some artistic license, though. I sometimes change the names of places, but there is always a thread of reality that runs through my books. With Legendary Magic, I spent a long time reading the Arthurian legends and researching the monks of the Cistercian order. I read the Native American legends (that’s where Coyote came from), and I take Dr. Arienne Cerasola around the world, virtually.
My books need to have a framework that makes sense to me because I love history. I want you to have fun, but I’d also like to share a little bit of information about a legend or a time in history. Yes, Arienne looks at a lot of dead monks, but that’s because there’s so much history there. So when I launch Jealous Magic, I’ll update my list of sources (because there are many) – for now, enjoy the links in the sidebar.
It would help to know which book you are referring to, but if you click the tab for my author page, all of my books are listed on there. Thanks for the solid 5-STARS!