Urban Fantasy Q&A: Deborah Wilde (Jezebel Files)
“I wanted to see someone like me having magical adventures and being the object of desire.”
The urban fantasy author talks to Monster Complex about writing a Jewish heroine, horror story pet peeves, and why her fiction is funny.
A global wanderer, hopeless romantic, and total cynic with a broken edit button, Deborah Wilde writes funny, sexy urban fantasy books that star chicks who kick ass. Her debut series The Unlikeable Demon Hunter was described as “Bridesmaids meets Buffy.”
Her current series, The Jezebel Files, kicked off with Blood & Ash (The Jezebel Files #1): Cold-blooded kidnappers. Long-lost magic. When things get serious, she goes full Sherlock. The series has continued with Death & Desire and Shadows & Surrender, with Revenge & Rapture scheduled to come out Fall 2020.
In this exclusive interview, Deborah explains the personal inspiration for the Jezebel Files, why she’s drawn to writing fantasy, heaps praise on Ilona Andrews, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Neil Gaiman, and reveals her pet peeves in horror fiction.
The Jezebel Files by Debora Wilde
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What inspired the overarching concept or themes of The Jezebel Files?
The Jezebel series (which is currently three books, with the final one to be released in October) was inspired by the idea of a struggling private investigator who discovers a Star of David tattoo on her body that she has no memory of getting, leading her to a world of magic and her greatest mystery—herself.
Thematically, this series has become about grief and letting go of anger. Which may sound quite serious, but I promise you, it’s super snarky and very sexy with a fun homage to Sherlock Holmes that runs through the series and a deadly trickster figure in the Queen of Hearts, ruler of a magic black market.
What real life interests or experiences made it into this book/series?
As a Jewish author writing urban fantasy, it was important to me to draw from Jewish mythology/religion in my world building. That also ties in to my desire to explore gender politics within Judaism, which I also did in my previous Nava Katz series. It’s a lot of fun for me to write magic worlds that aren’t based on the more common Greek or Celtic mythologies (much as I love reading those.)
I’m also fascinated by cons and con artists, both of which run through the series.
I was a screenwriter for twelve years and with both a love of classic romantic comedies and film noir. There are definitely aspects of both, especially in my dialogue. Writing banter is one of my greatest joys.
What draws you to write about this stuff?
I’ve always adored fantasy and magic worlds. I was an avid reader girl growing up, but I never saw myself in the pages of any books, unless it was a Holocaust story or one specifically about anti-semitism. Those are incredibly important stories to tell, but I wanted to see someone like me having magical adventures and being the object of desire.
When I decided to leave screenwriting and pursue urban fantasy, it was a no brainer to draw from my religion and mythology to create these characters and worlds. And since snarkiness is my default mode, all my stories are comedic. I love exploring theme through the lens of comedy.
What do you consider the essential or watershed works (books, movies, whatever) featuring your type of fiction?
Ilona Andrews is the gold medal standard of urban fantasy authors. There are very few series in my opinion that can sustain more than five or six books without feeling like some of them are just filler until we get to the final showdown. Kate Daniels is ten books strong, plus all the various character spin-offs and every single one of them nails it.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer had an enormous impact on me as well. The fact that Joss Whedon used to ask his writers for their most humiliating high school moment and then figure out the monster that embodied it, was brilliant.
The other book I want to mention as a huge influence is Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere. I love alternate world stories and that is one of the best.
What horror cliche(s) bother you the most?
I have a couple. Women who can’t run without falling down and conflict that hasn’t been properly established, such as cars that don’t start when there has never been any evidence of engine trouble or cell phones that are suddenly in a dead signal area. Anything not properly established brought in for the sake of convenience bothers me.
Find Deborah Wilde Online
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Horror and comedy both make us jump—which is why these elements work together so well together. Looking at books from authors like Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Tanya Huff, Kelley Armstrong, John Scalzi, Diana Rowland, and Kevin J. Anderson, plus many authors you should meet.