#amwriting – a look inside the author process

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Tags: #amwriting Ilona Andrews Jewish fantasy Jewish mythology urban fantasy

By Bell on August 2, 2020

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Excerpt from cover of Blood & Ash. A woman in a black leather jacket with a skull T-shirt. The skull wears a Sherlock Holmes hat.

Apparently Jewish fantasy isn’t a thing. I know this, because I went down the rabbit hole of articles to that effect. Granted they were from a few years ago, but it doesn’t seem like the landscape has changed much. (They were talking about more epic/high fantasy, but I’m throwing UF in there.)

When Ilona Andrews mentioned my book The Unlikeable Demon Hunter on her blog, the Jewish mythology caught her eye.

***Yes, I am shamelessly dropping that mention because IMHO Andrews is the gold medal standard of UF and this was a career high.

Originally, I was worried no one would want to read about Jewish MCs or a mythology heavily derived from Jewish religion and folklore.

I wrote it anyways, because I needed to explore this territory for myself. I needed to see an MC reflective of my background, immersed in a world that that was unique to the stories, rituals, and experiences of my life.

It’s also a great jumping off point for my characters. Ultimately, it’s characters and their relationships that we as readers come back for. The most unique world building in a series is not enough to hold my attention (as a reader or a writer) if it doesn’t also feature compelling characters.

That said, would I read about four Jewish kids who go through a wardrobe to a magical land? How about a sheltered Jewish character who must leave the safety of her world to traverse a dangerous landscape drawn from Jewish mythology for an epic quest? Hell yeah. And I know I’m not alone.

If you haven’t had a chance to check out the characters and mythology in my new series The Jezebel Files, grab book 1 today! https://geni.us/BloodAndAsh