Why I Write Urban Fantasy

When I was little, all I wanted to do was to grow up and be a science fiction/fantasy writer. I started learning to read when I was three, and by the time first grade came along, I was devouring books. One of my favorite series was the Space Cat series, by Ruthvan Todd. I loved those books! Cats, space travel, what wasn’t to like? (In fact, on an odd side tangent, when I met Sam, we talked our favorite books as kids, and he was one of the only people I’ve ever met (with one other exception) who not only had heard of those books, but he also read them!

I spent my preteen and teenage years reading the ‘greats’ of SF/Fantasy. Our library didn’t care whether kids checked out books from the ‘adult section’ so I was able to read anything I wanted. I devoured books by Ray Bradbury (still my favorite author), Clarke, Asimov, Pohl, Simak, LeGuin, L’ Engle, Chalker, all of those old boys of the Golden Age of SF. There weren’t many women I could find when I was young who wrote my favorite genre, so I vowed to be one of the first. (I was optimistic). I was writing short stories by the time I was thirteen and submitting them. Every rejection slip was proof that I was trying.

As I reached my late teens and early twenties, I discovered Tolkien, and finally–some women in the field–McCaffrey, Vinge, Tanith Lee. Unfortunately, my then-favorite female author–Marion Zimmer Bradley–went on to make such horrible choices in life that I tearfully got rid of her books (I can usually separate the artist from the art, but not in some cases). I also started playing D&D when I was 18, and kept on because I loved that game. I ran dungeons, and later on–as time marched along–began playing fantasy RPG video games. Dungeon Siege, Diablo, (and currently Enshrouded, and Valheim).

I wrote, and I wrote. Hundreds of thousands of unpublished words.

These were the days before self-publishing was a viable option, and I wrote eight novels before I ever got published (Trancing The Witch’s Wheel–nonfiction–was my first published book, back in 1997). I wrote high fantasy, and what is now called Romantasy. (Those on my Moon Minions Patreon tier, are able to read some of those books).

Fast forward to when I discovered Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the TV series). I fell in love. Then, I read Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse series, (by then I was publishing the Chintz ‘n China series), and I realized that urban fantasy was the genre I’d been waiting all my life for. It fit my style, it fit my comfort zone, it fit my love of D&D fighting, urban legends, and all those other things I love. And so that’s how I discovered Urban Fantasy, and apparently, I was right–it’s my genre and I do it well.

I love the Scooby Gang trope, the cast of misfits who band together to create their family of choice, I love the incorporation of fantasy into contemporary settings, I love the action scenes and the side romances, and the ability to play with urban legends. I just…love it all.

I’ve settled into urban fantasy, and now paranormal women’s fiction, and I’ll be adding in some LitRPG on my Patreon later this year. When I look back at my childhood dreams, I realize that I’ve successfully accomplished them, with just a few tweaks. 🙂