What is the name of the book and when was it published?
The Millennial Sword was published in September 2012.
What’s the book’s first line?
“Viv woke to a demonic yowl, a protracted wailing shriek of outrage that rose and fell across inhuman registers of sound.”
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
It’s an urban fantasy about a young woman who unexpectedly inherits the sword Excalibur and becomes the modern-day Lady of the Lake.
Suddenly–in addition to holding down her office job–she’s got to deal with bloodthirsty fairies, sword-fights in the subways, and a wild hunt through Golden Gate Park. Plus there’s a handsome reporter who might be more than he seems…
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
The book is really a love letter to San Francisco. It takes all the magical things about this city and makes them *actually* magical.
People come here to have adventures and seek their fortunes, so I wanted to write the fairy tale of San Francisco in a very literal way.
My goal was always to do for San Francisco what Neil Gaiman did for London in “Neverwhere,” or what Ekaterina Sedia did in “The Secret History of Moscow”–to capture the true spirit of the city in a wild and fantastical tale.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
Viv is extremely brave, but she never conceptualizes it that way–she thinks of it as doing her duty and being responsible. She has a very practical attitude toward all the magical things that happen around her: it’s very much “yes, all right, I may have fought a dragon on Sunday, but I’ve still got to pay the rent so come Monday morning I will darn well make it to work on time.” She is highly unimpressed with the fairies for the most part, which was very fun to write.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
I generally describe this book to people by saying “it’s the kind of thing you might like, if you like that kind of thing.” That is, it’s very much an urban fantasy book and it’s for readers who enjoy that genre. If you like Arthurian legend and fairy-tale hijinks mixed up in a realistic, modern-day setting–if you like the idea of a sword-wielding heroine fighting off murderous fairies in the subway tunnels–then the book is for you.