Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I write mostly urban fantasy and steampunk Victorian detective novels, along with a few stand-alone books in the more traditional fantasy genre. With my latest release, I have published 11 novels, not counting short stories and a novella.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Raven’s Shade is my latest book. It’s the fifth book of the Ravensblood series. By this point, my reformed dark mage is pretty well settled back into the community, is married, even has an infant son.
I needed to find a new way to challenge him, shake him out of his newly-acquired comfort zone. He is supremely confident in his magic and his position as a consultant for Guardian International Investigations (sort of an elite magic police force in my alternate-universe version of the modern world). But has not formal training in detective work, and he’s never had to conduct an investigation on his own.
So I decided it was high time he did so. And to raise his level of discomfort, I took him out of the upper-class urban life he’s used to and sent him to a small, rural town. Then threw him against a type of magic even he has never heard of.
Raven in the past has shown himself willing to risk his life for the needs of the many. With this novel, I found a way to up the stakes even higher.
Since the series takes place mostly in an alternate Pacific Northwest, I like to bring in features of my beloved adopted home region. Few people know that in Washington State there are petroglyphs far older than the pyramids. I have visited them, and they are truly awe-inspiring. They are sacred to the indigenous nations, so I did not want to be disrespectful by involving them directly. But they are referenced in the novel, which revolves around another (fictional) set of petroglyphs newly discovered in a cave in the high desert region of Oregon.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have an insulated ‘writing mug’ that holds nearly an entire pot of Earl Grey. It’s decorated to look like stonework carved with Celtic knotwork, and has a wolf (for the Werewolves and Gaslight Mysteries) and a raven (for the Ravensblood series). I custom-ordered it with the word ‘Author’ instead of my name. It helps me keep focused on why I love writing when the going gets tough.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Too many to mention! The Lord of the Rings (the book, not the movie!) was my introduction to fantasy at the tender age of eight years old (I read *way* above my grade level!) I read pretty much anything I could get my hands on. Ann Rice in my teens. Robin McKinley always, both her YA books and especially her books for grown-ups. Nancy Springer, especially her mid-career works. Charles de Lint is my god. He was writing urban fantasy before urban fantasy was a thing, and is still better than most of what’s out there. I read Harry Potter but found myself more interested in the backstory of the previous generation than what the kids were up to, and I consider Severus Snape the true hero of the books.
In more recent times, I have devoured every book in Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series. I also greatly admire the mystery writers Tana French and Laurie R. King.
What are you working on now?
The third book of the Werewolves and Gaslight Mysteries. My late editor called the series ‘Sherlock Holmes with werewolves’. Torn on the title: it’s either going to be The Rising of the Moon or A Trick of Moonlight. In addition to the regular cast (Inspector Royston Jones, a nobleman’s bastard; Richard Bandon, a clandestine werewolf; and Catherine Fairchild, a woman alchemist with attitude) there will be a stage magician (excuse me, Practitioner of Illusionism), Irish immigrants campaigning for Irish Home Rule, an anarchist bomb plot, and a woman in a recent marriage of convenience found dead under mysterious circumstances.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ll let you know when I figure it out.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Get The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler. This is your new bible.
Read every book on writing by Donald Maass, and take any and every seminar and workshop from him you can possibly afford.
Re-read your favorite books in your genre, and by more than one author. Pay attention to how they use the basics: scene, structure, character, foreshadowing, plot twists, all of it.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
You need an editor and a copyeditor/line editor. No writer can edit his/her own work. A professional writer knows this.
What are you reading now?
A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn
What’s next for you as a writer?
Continuing to work on productivity. Health issues prevented me from putting out even one book in 2020. My goal is to release at least 2 books a year going forward.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
This is a cruel question and I refuse to answer it. It’s like asking someone which is their favorite child!
Author Websites and Profiles
Shawna Reppert Website
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