I always find it interesting to find out what writers have influenced other authors, so I thought I’d post my own list for those who are curious about such things.

1) J.R.R. Tolkien – Because I read The Lord of the Rings at the age of 12 and decided that I wanted to be a writer then and there.
2) Raymond Chandler – The king of the crime novel, yes, but also the king of snappy dialogue. Words are more dangerous than bullets in his books. I learned everything I know about the rhythm of dialogue from Philip Marlowe.
3) Richard Russo – Nobody’s Fool ranks as my absolute, #1 all-time favorite novel. I’ve never read a more perfect and complete character study in one book, and I’ve also never laughed so hard while my heart was breaking.
4) Jim Butcher – He is one of the gutsiest writers going right now. Every time I think I’ve settled comfortably in Harry Dresden’s world Butcher does something completely insane. Grave Peril was a major game-changer for the whole series, and it goes without saying that after the last book (Changes) that Dresden’s world will be a lot different. When I’m writing and I reach a point where I’m not sure if I should push Maddy’s world any further I think about the stuff Butcher has done to Harry and realize I can do a lot more.
5) Charlaine Harris – I just love the way she can sum up the essence of a character in one sentence or less and her mastery of first-person voice is unparalleled.
6) Jane Austen – I read Pride and Prejudice at least twice a year whenever the itch comes on. Her dialogue, her sense of pacing, her development of character – there is a reason why this book is timeless.
7) Jim Thompson – He was writing some of the rawest noir out there at a time when American culture was still pretty straight-laced. Even in our totally violence-numbed contemporary culture his work still has the power to shock. I love writers who can do this – the ones who make me want to cover my eyes so I don’t see what happens next, but are so compelling that I have to peek through my fingers and see how it all turns out.
8 ) Stephen King – There is still no better writer out there at building atmosphere. He’s also one of the most patient writers I’ve ever read. He’s willing to take the time to build a world and the characters that inhabit it. And just when you think he’s not quite up to his past level he releases a book like Cell or Under the Dome, two of his best books ever in a catalog filled with greats.

One of my all-time favorite writers, Jim Thompson, once said that there are dozens of ways to tell a story but there is only one plot – “Things are not as they seem”.

The qualities that make for a good story usually stem from this one central idea. Think about a movie like American Beauty – the gorgeous façade of this suburban house is hiding all kinds of turmoil and strife within this three-person family. Or even a film like Jaws – this pretty little vacation spot has a man-eating monster lurking just off the beach where kids play. Things are not as they seem.

I try to keep this tenet in mind when I’m prepping for a new book. I usually have an idea of how I want Maddy’s character to progress in the course of the novel and her character development is, of course, affected by the unfolding events of the story. The best way for me to keep Maddy off-balance is to peel back layers – secrets that other characters are hiding, events that turn out in unexpected ways, enemies that turn out to be allies or vice versa. Things are not as they seem.

What is urban fantasy? This is a question that I get asked pretty often, mostly because when people ask what I do I say, “I’m a writer” and then they ask what kind of stuff I write, and I say, “Urban fantasy.” And then they say, “What’s that?”

Usually I take the easy way out and say, “If you like True Blood you’ll probably like my book.” But that doesn’t really define urban fantasy.

Wikipedia defines urban fantasy as the following: “Urban fantasy is a subset of fantasy defined by place; the fantastic narrative has an urban setting. Many urban fantasies are set in contemporary times or contain supernatural elements. However, this is not the primary definition of urban fantasy. Urban fantasy can be set in historical times, modern times, or futuristic times. The prerequisite is that it must be primarily set in a city, rather than in a suburban or country setting, which have their own genre subsets. Many urban fantasy novels geared toward adults are told via a first-person narrative, and often feature mythological beings, paranormal romance, and various female protagonists who are involved in law enforcement or vigilantism.”

Locus magazine did a wonderful issue in May of 2009 (just about when I was signing my contract with Ace, actually) wherein various authors and editors talked about their definitions of urban fantasy. The one thing everyone seems to agree on is that the genre is written (mostly) by women and has (mostly) female protagonists (one notable exception, and one of my personal favorites: Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden series – although there are others).

The books (generally) take place in a contemporary fantastic urban setting which may be closed (only the protagonist and the supernatural things that go bump-in-the-night know about the fantastic elements of the story, like my own novel Black Wings) or open (everyone, even the normals, knows there are vampires in the world, a la the aforementioned True Blood, based on Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire series).

I tend to think of urban fantasy as a marketing term more than anything. It seems like the definition is pretty flexible and open to interpretation and generally is used as a way for people to find other books like the ones they already enjoy. So if you like True Blood, you’ll probably like my book 🙂

Some good urban fantasy reads (most of these are the first books of series):

Storm Front/Jim Butcher
Deadtown/Nancy Holzner
Dead Until Dark/Charlaine Harris
Moon Called/Patricia Briggs
Something from the Nightside/Simon R. Green
Blood Price/Tanya Huff
Summon the Keeper/Tanya Huff
Sunshine/Robin McKinley
Neverwhere/Neil Gaiman
Dead Witch Walking/Kim Harrison