Q&A With Melissa F. Olson discussion

I enjoyed Dead Spots very much, but had to wonder why you decided to write a vampires/werewolves urban fantasy book... there are so many books out there in this subgenre. Did you have to carefully consider what would make your book different than the others? Did you seek out other books in the genre... or did you avoid them to keep from cross-pollinating your own worldbuilding?

Great question, Tracy! I've studied a lot of "literature," but my absolute favorite genre to read has been urban fantasy ever since I discovered "Nightlife" by Rob Thurman about six years ago. I've read many, many books in the genre, but I decided I wasn't going to write in it unless I could come up with something I hadn't seen before. When I first had the idea of a null (which that started when I saw Hellboy 2, with the special goggles that let you see the supernatural, and morphed into a null), and then developed the mythology of magic being a part of evolution, I felt like it was original enough for me to finally write in my favorite genre.

I still read a ton of urban fantasy, but if I hear about a book that's similar to mine in some way (such as Gail Carringer's steampunk series) I stay away. If I have an idea that I believe is right for Scarlett, I don't want to have to worry about whether or not it happened in Carringer's book.

Urban fantasy IS a very saturated genre, but what I love so much about it is that writers are constantly coming up with new angles, characters or powers that make it feel fresh. As long as that keeps happening, I'll keep reading!