A few years ago, Vicki Pettersson knew two things: she was never going to be a successful writer of historical fiction; and she was going to write for the rest of her natural life anyway. Since she was going to write, she wanted what she was writing to be fun, representative of the world and women she knew, and something where she couldn't get dinged for anachronisms. The result - The Signs of the Zodiac Series with book five, Cheat the Grave, hits the bookstores this month.
According to Vicki, early in the writing of the first book, The Scent of Shadows, one of the characters "blurted out he was a superhero" and she thought, "Why not?"
Using her hometown of Las Vegas, Vicki created a new world that coexists with our own. Within its confines a battle between Light and Shadow is waged and its agents have learned to hide in plain sight in our world.
In Scent of Shadows, we are introduced to Joanna Archer, a photographer. Brutally assaulted and left to die in the Nevada desert when she was sixteen, her evening hours are spent prowling a secret Sin City in a search for answers and revenge. It is in this other world, Jo discovers not only does she have superpowers but she also has a power to alter the battle between Shadow and Light.
Each book is based upon a sign - something Joanna is charged with bringing to pass while she pursues a life among mortals. Finding a cure for, while being a target of, a toxic virus and a terrifying confrontation with the dark lord of Shadow, who happens to be her father are just two you'll find in the series.
In Cheat the Grave, Vicki says answers prompted the story. "I've tied off a lot of outstanding threads about Joanna's haunted past - including the mother who abandoned her, the fate of her biological daughter, and the betrayal at the hands of the man she'd come to love. It's a game changer for both Joanna and the series.
You'll find Joanna is a kick-ass heroine who her creator says, "is extremely fallible and sometimes even downright unlikeable. I may have superheroes , but they all have sullied capes."
The series has found a home in what is usually called contemporary urban fantasy. Vicki describes it as "a mash-up of fantastical elements in a real world setting. Supernatural stories have long been in existence, but the modern settings have provided new life to the form, and the amalgamation of modern day urban setting and fantastical creatures has created a boon in everything from literary to commercial to YA fiction." She continues, "My Signs of the Zodiac series fits right in with the fastest growing segment of that movement as it has a strong female protagonist, a mouthy first-person narrative, and enough action that were the supernatural elements removed entirely, you'd have yourself a straight thriller."
While the series creates an overall story arc, each novel can stand on its own and in fact is designed that way. However the experience is much richer if you do start at the beginning. Readers will then recognize inside jokes, payoffs, and what some call "Easter eggs" in the text - it's Vicki's way of saying thanks to fans of the series.
With Cheat the Grave, Vicki will have five novels published in three years. The sixth book in the series is underway, and given the events in the fourth (City of Souls) and the "amount of pleasurable outrage" it generated, Vicki is keeping an eye on what is a reasonable length for the series. Of her heroine, she adds, "If I were her (Joanna) I'd want to take an extended Vegas staycation with a full minibar and a cabana boy - though that's obviously not an option for a dark, tortured heroine."
As a wife and mother, Vicki knows well the demands of those roles. She believes her years of dance give her the discipline to incorporate writing into the mix. One way she makes progress on her novels is by getting up well before the rest of the household to write and she writes every day. She has no rituals or special routines to prepare for her writing session. As she says, "Writers write."
Reading is also important to Vicki. She has been a voracious reader since childhood and has discovered connections between what she read then and her writing today. She read a great deal of fantasy - Madeleine L'Engle, C.S. Lewis - with George MacDonald's book, The Princess and the Goblin, a huge influence in placing fantastic creatures in the real world.
Adult influences on her work include Diana Gabaldon who Vicki considers to be a "brilliant wordsmith." Current reading ("I'm on a boy binge") includes Richard Kadrey, Christopher Moore, and Charlie Huston. "The more noir, the more hardboiled, the better. Ken Bruen is next."
If you have yet to pick up an urban fantasy, now is the time. And start with Vicki Pettersson who says, "It feels like there are no discernible limits on our creativity., and it's a wonderful place to write right now."
The series: The Scent of Shadows, The Taste of Night, The Touch of Twilight, City of Souls, and this month's Cheat the Grave.
Terry DiDomenico has spent most of her professional career editing and writing for university publications with a little freelancing on the side. She lives with her husband and two cats on four acres in south central Pennsylvania. She is working on her first novel - a thriller of course.
