W. L. Hawkin - Edgy Urban Fantasy With a Twist of Murder

W. L. Hawkin writes “edgy urban fantasy with a twist of murder” from her loft near Vancouver, B.C. Her novels—To Charm a Killer, To Sleep with Stones, To Render a Raven, and To Kill a King each stand-alone but form the Hollystone Mysteries series. This coven of West Coast witches, and their eccentric friends, solve murders using ritual magic and a little help from the gods. Although she’s an introvert, in each book her characters go on a journey where Hawkin’s travelled herself. She researches all her locales (Ireland, Scotland, the B.C. Coast) to soak up the sensory landscape. In 2017, she climbed Croghan Hill in Ireland to survey the land her king would rule in To Kill a King, a romantic time-travel thriller set in Iron Age Ireland.
A seeker and mystic, fascinated by language, archaeology, and mythology, Hawkin graduated from Trent University, Ontario, and has post-bac diplomas from SFU in B.C. Her background in Indigenous Studies and Humanities informs her work. She found her voice publishing poetry and Native Rights articles in Canadian news magazines and is now an Indie author/publisher at Blue Haven Press. http://bluehavenpress.com.  As our Author of the Day, she tells us about her book, Lure.

Please give us a short introduction to what Lure is about.

Lure River is a fictional town in Minnesota that straddles a Chippewa Reservation. The two main characters in this story—Jesse and Hawk—have both gone there to be alone to heal from personal trauma and loss. Jesse is renting a lakeside cabin and Hawk has been living off the land and sheltering in a cave with his wolf pup for the past three years. They meet up in a passionate scene when he shoots the buck she’s photographing. When she discovers who he is and that the old Indigenous man who adopted him is dying, Jesse goes off alone on horseback to tell him. Just before she leaves, Jesse finds the twenty-year-old bones of a missing Indigenous girl buried in her shed. She informs the tribal police and goes off searching for Hawk. I asked this girl who she was and what happened to her. Ruby Little Bear reminds us of the potential danger Jesse faces and that one moment can change everything. Her story weaves through the novel and connects to Jesse’s story.

What inspired you to write this story? Was there anything in particular that made you want to tackle this?

I wrote the bones of this story thirty years ago when I was leaving my marriage and beginning my degree in Indigenous studies at Trent University. I did much healing there—body, mind, and spirit—and I feel that transferred to the healing people receive in this story. Ruby Little Bear shines her light on respect for the land, as well as, missing and murdered Indigenous women. These topics are important to me.

Tell us more about Jesse, what makes her tick?

Jesse Jardine is a vegetarian wildlife photographer with strong ties to nature. She wants to help animals by showing the world how beautiful they are. She chose to live alone in the cabin after her fiancée disappeared in an avalanche several months before. Jesse’s healing from this loss and doing some soul searching. She’s realizing how co-dependent she was on Alec and wants to “find herself.”

What makes Hawk so special?

Hawk, whose name is Jedediah VanHouten, has had an affinity with Indigenous spirituality since he was a child. Once he discovered the reservation on the other side of Lure River, he started running away to be with this old Anishinaabe couple, Joe and Effie. Jed’s parents made a deal with him: he could go there for holidays if he stopped running off. Joe considers Jed his son and encouraged him to become a medical doctor like his father. Jed was deeply traumatized when his girlfriend died giving birth to their child while in Joe’s cabin. Her parents took his son, so he lost them both. He attempts suicide but Joe stops him. He says: “The first morning I met you, I saw a little hawk with eyes that took in all the world. Those eyes still have much to see.” Jed took the name Hawk and disappeared into the bush. When he meets Jesse, he tells her that “Jed is dead,” and he truly believes that. He’s healing the best way he knows how: through prayer, ceremony, and living off the land.

The Native American nature and spirit themes are central in this story. Why did you find this important to write about?

It’s important to me personally because I experienced so much healing through Indigenous ways. But it goes beyond that. We must change how we think and interrelate with the land if we’re going to turn this planet around. Respect for the land; interspecies connection; respect for Elders, ancestors, and community; looking at the consequences of our actions for seven generations; honoring women—these things are all crucial to our survival. When you see all of nature as alive and sentient, rather than as an object to dominate exploit, you live in a different way. Ruby Little Bear talks about cleaning up the waterways, and both Jesse and Hawk see the effects of inhumane trapping and want it stopped. Indigenous People have an innate connection to the Earth. They are leaders, and we need to listen.

Why romance? What drew you to the genre?

I think this goes back to the mid-1980s when I went to New York with my musician husband. While he was rehearsing, I discovered HBO and a gem of a movie called Romancing the Stone. It blew me away and I watched it five times. Big hotel bill;) I wanted to be a romance novelist like Joan Wilder. Now, when I watch that movie, I see it was far more than romance. There’s action, adventure, suspense, mystery, travel, crime, and intrigue, and these are things that end up in all my books. I write a series of urban fantasy novels that have plenty of romantic moments but aren’t considered “romance” because it’s taken five books for my protagonist to even find a “happy for now” ending.

Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

Hmmm … secret skills? I love to play my piano and sing. I also play campfire guitar. I’m a decent gardener and can whip up a great supper out of seemingly nothing. I’d love to be a photographer. Check out my Instagram photos. I’m a spiritual person and have studied several “pagan” ways; for example, Wicca and Druidry. I’ve also had many psychic experiences and studied mediumship.

What did you have the most fun with when writing this story?

As I mentioned, I wrote several of these scenes years ago. I remember reading books on how to hunt and dress a deer as Hawk does this early in the story. I remember coming home one day and finding a deer hide soaking in our bathtub because someone thought I could use it for practice. I had fun with the interplay between Jesse & Hawk. There are a few scenes that still make me smile. “You Gotta be Kidding” and “Bunny Broth” make me laugh. There’s also a sweet scene between Ruby Little Bear and the person she’s with the night she dies that makes me laugh. I know that sounds ironic but when you read it, you’ll see what I mean.

You also work as a book reviewer. How has this influenced your own writing?

Writers are first readers. As a reviewer, I’m a deep, close reader. Immersion in good writing affects your style. Plus, I get to read many incredible books. I submit to the Ottawa Review of Books as I like to promote Canadian writers.

Lure has received multiple rewards. What surprised you most about readers' reactions to the book?

You know, it’s strange. I don’t think that my writing is as “good” in Lure as it is in my Hollystone Mysteries, yet several of my close friends have told me they love Lure and think it’s my best work. What can I say? Maybe Lure is more relatable because it’s NOT fantasy, and the characters are more like me than any I’ve written so far. I grew up riding my horse in the bush and wanting to live in a remote cabin like Jesse. And like Hawk, I believed I was born into the wrong century and culture.

When starting on a new book, what is the first thing you do?

Good question. Depending on what I’m feeling compelled to write, I usually do the research first. In fact, I just spent a week near Victoria, B.C. doing research for a historical novel. I need to walk on the land and get a feel for the energy and topography. When you look at a flat map, you don’t see the terrain or feel the spirit of what’s come before. Once characters start tapping me on the shoulder, I engage in conversation with them. I need to know who they really are, what they want, and why they are the way they are.

Do you have any interesting writing habits? What is an average writing day like for you?

I use an intuitive process; what some people call organic. Meaning, I don’t outline. I meditate, ask questions, dream scenes, hear voices, and write the whole novel. Characters surprise me, and my emotions are as raw as theirs. I think this translates into the text. I don’t write every day. I write in bursts when the muse is with me, and when that happens, I write for hours. I wrote my last book in three months. Revision and editing follow the creative process as they require a different state of mind.

What are you working on right now?

I just completed To Dance with Destiny (Book 5 in my Hollystone Mysteries series) and will launch it this Halloween (2023). I’m finishing a “how-to” book about my writing process called “Writing with your Muse: a Guide to Creative Inspiration” and hope to launch it within the next few months. I’ve workshopped the techniques and want to offer workshops again. I’ve just completed a family mystery set at a lighthouse and keep changing the title (I worked as a lighthouse keeper in 2013-2014 and blogged my experiences here.) And, as I mentioned, I’m starting a new historical novel that spins off the first real murders to happen in Canadian waters during the 1920s rumrunner days. That’s my work-in-progress. I wrote the first scene a few days ago and am anxious to dive deep into it.

Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?

My website is http://bluehavenpress.com. Readers can email [email protected]. There is a “buy books” tab on my website, but also check your local library or ask the library to bring them in. Lure and the Hollystone Mysteries are available as audiobooks on Kobo and Google Play. Oh, and don’t forget to check out the Hollystone book trailers.