With the second book of the Nora Grayson adventures set to release later this year, a couple of questions have reached me regarding the setting of the novels. This is not your typical Paranormal Romance, nor your typical Urban Fantasy. And I should know, I’ve read plenty of both.
Nora and the Werewolf Wedding walked the line of Urban Fantasy pretty close. We only left Earthside — That’s the here and now for anyone who hasn’t read the book — and went to a safehouse in Fairy, without actually stepping foot in Fairy itself. Instead we were treated to Boston, Massachusetts and Allegany, New York — albeit it with magical creatures walking about in the daylight.
Why?
To be frank, because that’s what my Muse wanted me to do.
There was an argument early on with my Muse about having this as Urban Fantasy, and in truth it does not really fit the framework of your typical urban fantasy novel. On the one hand, yes, you see magical creatures walking in and amongst humanity in a present world, urban setting. On the other hand, humans have been left wholly alone.
We don’t have a human — or a character who grew up thinking they were human only to discover they were a fantastical creature in hiding — stumble into the fantasy elements of the book. Nora knows she’s a Bright creature, has known it all her life, and has a basic understanding of what that means.
In point of fact, Bright creatures have been in hiding from humanity for centuries, and the lore of the novels is such that Fairy was created as a safe haven for Bright creatures to run to if they were in trouble. Also, the urban part of the novel doesn’t last long. By chapter six we’re in the woods, sequestered away from human society so that my werewolf socialites can do… what werewolf socialites like to do best.
In Nora and the Duke of Autumn, we make a shift toward Fairy. 80% of the novel takes place in Fairy as Nora travels to what is known as the Autumnal Estates, where she and the trusty team from the CEB are investigating the murder of a high born sidhe.
Does this mean it’s not really an Urban Fantasy anymore?
Heck if I know.
I’m just writing the books, you guys can categorize as you see fit.
I will say that my steampunk loving self had a great deal of fun describing and creating Fairy for this book. The village of Delporte is my favorite, if anyone wants to know.
Since I am midway through drafting the third book and have a clear image of how the fourth book is meant to go, I can state with confidence that we still bounce between earthside and Fairy at a pretty decent clip. I mean, if you could jump into a body of water and come out the other side in a whole different world, wouldn’t you go for it?
