Laurell K. Hamilton: On Exploring the Evolution of a Character
New York Times bestselling author Laurell K. Hamilton discusses writing her new urban fantasy novel, Smolder.
Laurell K. Hamilton is a full-time writer and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series; Zaniel Havelock series; and the Merry Gentry series. She lives in a suburb of St. Louis with her family. Learn more online at www.laurellkhamilton.com. Find her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
In this post, Laurell discusses writing her new urban fantasy novel, Smolder, her hope for readers, and more !
Name: Laurell K. Hamilton
Literary agent: Merrilee Heifetz
Book title: Smolder
Publisher: Berkley
Release date: March 21, 2023
Genre/category: Urban Fantasy
Previous titles: The Anita Blake series, the Merry Gentry series, and the Zaniel Havelock series
Elevator pitch for the book: Smolder is about power and love. No matter how big and bad you think you are there is always a bigger shark out there waiting to eat you. And love doesn’t conquer all, but sometimes you need love, so you can conquer everything else.
What prompted you to write this book?
I wanted to continue exploring Anita’s story and the evolution of her relationship with Jean-Claude now that they’re getting married. 2023 marks the 30th anniversary of the Anita Blake series and I’m excited to share that the 30th Anita Blake novel, Slay, will release at the end of this year.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
I thought this book was going to be a much more linear, simple plot, but as it usually does with me, it grew and changed. The climactic fight scene where hero and villain meet and betrayal scene remain, but the rest has changed drastically. Not uncommon with me and my writing process.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I hope they enjoy the story and learn more about Anita Blake and her world, and maybe more about themselves along the way.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Write about what you want to know. You can research anything. You can start online but then go to books. The library is your friend. Once you’ve done enough research, then reach out to experts so you don’t waste their time.
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
