Tag: romantasy

Could you tell us a little about your new book, The Scarlet Veil?

Of course! The Scarlet Veil is the first in a new duology set in the same universe as Serpent & Dove. It follows Célie Tremblay, the first woman initiated into the brotherhood of Chasseurs, as she investigates a string of murders in Cesarine—all the victims of magical origin, all their bodies drained of blood. Her investigation leads her straight to the heart of a vampire lair, where she captures the attention of its cruel yet beautiful king. He has plans of his own for Célie, who refuses to acknowledge the whispers from her past that still haunt her.

Where did the inspiration for this book come from? Was Célie’s story one you always planned to tell?

Interestingly enough, no—I didn’t plan to tell Célie’s story at all. In the thick of deadline with Gods & Monsters, I even swore I’d never return to the world of Serpent & Dove again. I wanted to tell new stories with new characters; I’d even sold another duology about Greek sirens! With a little time and distance, however, I realized I wasn’t quite ready to let the world go. When I called my critique partner on the way home from my local indie the day before Gods & Monsters published, crying, she told me it didn’t necessarily need to be over—and then she asked about Célie. We both agreed her story hadn’t reached its conclusion, and I’d always wanted to write a vampire book. Their inclusion felt like a natural extension to this world. Within ten minutes, we’d plotted out a rough outline of The Scarlet Veil, and the rest is history.

This is part one of a duology, and (without spoilers) leaves us on quite a cliffhanger. Did you always plan on this being two books?

Yes! I always knew The Scarlet Veil would end the way it did, and I knew I didn’t want to write another trilogy so soon after Serpent & Dove. Thus, a duology was the perfect fit!

This story has it all: vivid world-building, murder, vampires, ghosts, romance, bravery, and plenty of action (to name just a few). Is there anything you find tricky to write, and do you have any tips to overcome this? Equally, what do you find the easiest to write?

It seems like the trickiest part for me to write is always the part I’m currently writing. Ha! In all seriousness, though, Célie is an extremely emotional and vulnerable character—a complete foil to Lou and Reid, who both avoid their emotions at all costs. I personally err more on their side of emotional avoidance, so it took a lot for me to sit with Célie and her feelings. Other scenes that are always difficult to write are action sequences; I know literally nothing about self-defence, so whenever Célie or Michal needed to physically fight someone, it meant a lot of time on the internet looking up choreography and trying to describe such technical movements in a natural way.

The easiest scenes for me to write involve romance—banter, sexual tension, a lingering look. Those are always my favorite.

It’s the ultimate fantasy, isn’t it? For such an all-powerful creature to fall in love with a human?

We love vampires over at PaperBound (who doesn’t?!). What do you think it is about vampires that gives them such enduring appeal?

I’ve always loved vampires—Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, Underworld, and True Blood were pillars of my adolescence. There’s something inherently seductive about a vampire, especially after Bram Stoker brought a refined façade to their savagery with Dracula. Maybe it’s because vampires are so powerful with their predatory speed and strength, or maybe it’s because they’re immortal. They never grow old. They live forever young, forever attractive, yet they’ve seen things we haven’t. They know things we don’t. It’s the ultimate fantasy, isn’t it? For such an all-powerful creature to fall in love with a human? And then there’s the whole business of their drinking our blood—it makes everything all the more dangerous, and don’t we all crave a little danger? I know Célie does.

The Scarlet Veil is so vivid and vast, yet so easy to read (we couldn’t put it down!). Do you have any tips for aspiring writers on successful plotting and world building, especially in the dark romantasy genre?

It’s so interesting that you mention worldbuilding specifically because—to be completely transparent—I’ve never loved worldbuilding. Or at least, I’ve always loved it less than character work and romance. In fact, I would argue that most of the worldbuilding in The Scarlet Veil came along as a means to cram every single trope I love into this story. The vampires’ casket company, for example, was an answer to the question, “How can I realistically get Michal and Célie into one casket together?” It needed to make sense. It needed to feel like a natural progression of both the plot and world. And so, I started brainstorming, and one thing led to another, and of course vampires have always needed a way to sneak into Cesarine, right? Lou and Reid would’ve known about them in the original trilogy otherwise. And Célie needed to face her fear of caskets after what happened with Filippa in Blood & Honey. And thus, Requiem, Ltd. was born. I could think of a dozen more examples of this sort of jigsaw puzzle worldbuilding, but you get the idea.

My advice to aspiring authors would be to lean into what you love—find a way to use it, to leverage it throughout your story, and the pieces will fall into place.

 … lean into what you love—find a way to use it, to leverage it throughout your story, and the pieces will fall into place.

The romance elements of this fantasy are spellbinding. Romance is not the easiest thing to write for a lot of people; what ingredients do you think makes a good romance/ romantasy?

Good romance requires tension. Lots of tension. For me, that means I need both an internal and external reason to keep the lovers apart. Otherwise, why wouldn’t they get together as soon as they feel that first spark of attraction? Again, those reasons also need to make logical sense; nothing infuriates me more as a reader than a flimsy excuse for two people who want to be together not being together. The reasons also need to involve personal stakes—what will happen if they do get together? It needs to have a real consequence.

We don’t know how we’re going to wait for book 2! Can you tell us about anything else you’re writing?

I’m still drafting The Scarlet Veil’s sequel now, but afterward, I’ll be returning my attention to the Greek siren duology I mentioned earlier. I actually sold those books back in 2020 and 2021, so I’m extremely eager to get back to them!

Shelby Mahurin

Shelby Mahurin is theNew York Times bestselling author of the Serpent & Dove trilogy. She grew up on a small farm in rural Indiana, where sticks became wants and cows became dragons. Her rampant imagination didn’t fade with age, so she continues to play make-believe every day—with words now instead of cows. When not writing, Shelby watches The Office and reads voraciously. She still lives near that childhood farm with her very tall husband and semi feral children.