I met Jamie through Story Origin. (Story Origin is a fantastic resource for authors and readers alike – get onto it.)
Jamie and I got talking shortly after, and it turns out he’s a really nice guy for someone who’s not a vampire at night (see his bio).
He never even threatened to send monsters after me.
Really.
In fact, I thought he was such a nice guy I asked him to do an interview on my blog. I hope you like fun books, because Jamie writes fun books.
Tell us about Between Tricks?
Between Tricks came about when I decided I wanted to dump the usual suspects and come up with an unlikely main character for a contemporary/urban fantasy novel.
I wanted the least likely monster hunter you’d find spelunking through sewers—or other unappealing monster lairs—where the supernatural, naturally, go to ground.
Paired with that was an old folkloric superstition about demons moving through the electric wires—a sort of spiritual Luddite view of the evils that come of technology—which I’d read about somewhere, at some point, and that had stuck with me since. (Likely, it came from a supernatural or mythology encyclopaedia; I love paging through every one of those volumes.)
Between Tricks takes place in a world like our own, but where technology has some serious downsides, and supernaturals—or rather supranaturals—are just another part of the world.
Oh, and where an immortal Empress has ruled almost the entire world for quite a long time now.
Still, there’s Tiffany and Cartier for a girl’s best friends, virgins have been sung about in hit songs on the radio, and the stars of the silverscreen are definitely risking their souls to entertain you.
In this world, in a city called New Ys, there’s a monster hunter who’s about to stumble out of bed and into a royal mess that’s going to get even dirtier.
For a taste of this world and its hero, grab a free copy of Well Hexed.
Who is your protagonist, and why are they compelling?
Dixie Tricks is the very last person you’d expect to hunt monsters!
Although, if you knew she was a cambion—she’s half demon, but not half bad—you might imagine she’d be one of the monsters the Inquisitor would be looking into.
High-class courtesan by night, she hunts by day, looking out for those who can’t fight for themselves.
She’d rather be wearing couture and Frankish perfumes than eau de latrine and bright orange sewer trawling galoshes, but she takes her calling seriously, even if it pays only in good karma; that’s why Dixie needs her night job. (Also she has expensive tastes.)
She’s snarky, funny, and a little too serious when it comes to beheading vampires.
Supernaturals aren’t just naturally bad. All vampires don’t drain people to the last drop… or, if you ask Dixie, they just haven’t got caught at it yet.
Maybe our hero has some unresolved issues…
Who is your villain and what makes them such a good foil for your protagonist?
The secretive villain of Between Tricks seems to be exactly the opposite of someone like Dixie who likes to dazzle under the limelight.
Instead of putting monsters down, they prefer making them. Zombies!
The very worst of supernatural beings that make Dixie’s short but particular ick list; even beating out vampires.
Unlike vampires, werewolves, fae, unicorns, and other supernaturals, turning someone zombie is treason; so it takes a special kind of villain to take that darkest road.
Anonymity is definitely key.
Yet, even while the villain sticks to the shadows, they seem to take a particular pleasure in stalking Dixie.
Even forcing her into teaming up, when she’s totally a strong independent woman. But worse still, that new team member happens to be the city’s poster boy vampire; the biggest, baddest, hottest vamp of them all.
The villain definitely pushes all of Dixie’s buttons, while driving her to aim higher: like avoiding her city’s Armageddon, because everybody knows zombies never end well.
They might even make her re-evaluate her views on vampires. Just don’t hold your breath on that one.
Describe your writing process?
I’m very organic in my writing—the pantser style, as I’ve learned they call it—in that I start with an idea or two (unlikely monster hunter in a modern world where technology is a literal demonic double-edged sword) and jump straight into chapter one.
There’s no plotting out chapters or pre-drafting any kind of structure for the novel itself; although I have a general idea of where ‘the end’ will fall into place.
I started as a heavy plotter—and have pages of notes to prove it—but found that none of that work led to novels. (Still zero, if you want a headcount!)
Changing my approach, throwing myself off the cliff and slinging ink to sink or swim, worked out a lot better.
Although, I’m often surprised to find how often I’ve already set things up for events I hadn’t been aware of, at least at the conscious level, at the time. So, maybe I’m still plotting heavily at a deeper level.
What’s the most fun part of your writing process?
Because I’m jumping into the project with just the basics in mind, I like to think I get to experience my books pretty much as a reader would, uncovering the mystery, learning about the characters, chapter by chapter.
These revelations are as entertaining and intriguing as reading for me.
Also, as I’ve mentioned, I’m really surprised to find elements I’ve written into earlier chapters ending up much more relevant when plot twists and reveals come to fruition.
Did some precognitive part of me already know that this was going to happen? Those moments are golden; our minds really are magical portals and more than a little supernatural!
As a fantasy writer—and reader—I really love every time that happens.
Where can people find you?
- www.jaimemunn.com
- www.amazon.com/stores/Jaime-Munn/author/B073FMRGXY
- www.goodreads.com/author/show/15997812.Jaime_Munn
- https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jaime-munn
About Jamie
Jaime Munn lives in a house with too many windows on the outskirts of Manchester, the city of immortal bees. He writes contemporary and urban fantasy stories.
His novels blend the real world with his fascination for all things supernatural. By day he is a therapist. By night he is not a vampire.
