With The Hiding (hardcover, paperback, Kindle), writer Alethea Lyons is kicking off a dark, contemporary urban fantasy series called The Seer Of York, with two more books — Reawakening and The Somnia — slated for September and this time next year, respectfully.
In the following email interview, Lyons discusses what inspired and influenced this series, as well as her plans for it moving forward.
To start, what is The Hiding about, and what kind of a world is it set in?
The Hiding‘s world is an alternate version of ours, where magic is indisputably real. It’s set in and around York, and it’s close enough that someone could do a walking tour of it. In some ways, it’s a much darker version of our world with secret police and dark supernatural creatures. Most magic is thought to have been banished, so when people are murdered without obvious cause of death and magic runes are discovered on their bodies, a witch hunt starts. Which is a problem for Harper, my main character, since she both is a witch and is tasked with investigating the murders.
Where did you get the idea for The Hiding?
The characters came first. I had this scene of all of them just at home, doing normal stuff like making dinner and playing computer games, but with the extra magic that comes from having a demon inhabiting your computer, a shape-shifting cat, and a witch with visions. That scene got expanded into what is now book 2, which largely deals with mysteries about Harper’s past and magic. Once I’d drafted it, I realized it was a book 2 and I had to go back and show how such an unusual bunch of people came to be a team in the first place. The rest of the plot was a natural extension of the world building and how there were supernatural things lurking just out of sight.
So, is there a significance to Harper being an arcane archivist as opposed to, say, a healer or a soldier?
I like characters who try and solve things with words rather than fighting. Which isn’t to say there aren’t action scenes, but Harper’s not one to rush in and start stabbing. The role of arcane archivist fit with her backstory: someone who has magic but doesn’t know where it comes from and wants to learn how to use it and whether or not it’s really evil.
There’s also a bit of “write what you know,” and I am most at home in old libraries, so if I had a very valid plot reason for putting miles of mystical archives under York Minster and the adjacent city, then I was definitely going to do that.
The Hiding sounds like it’s a dark fantasy tale. But then you have something called a “techno witch,” which sounds kind of sci-fi. Or something Paris Hilton would call herself when she’s DJing. So, how would you describe this story, genre-wise, and why that way?
For me, it’s definitely dark fantasy. If I was going to narrow it down further, I’d say contemporary urban fantasy. I love playing with the intersection of technology and magic. It’s something I really lean into for other books. If I’m writing fantasy that takes place in the modern day, why wouldn’t they have computers and phones? If I’m a witch with access to a computer, I’m definitely sticking some magic in there to see what happens. I disagree with the idea that magic and tech are fundamentally incompatible and I don’t think sentient fae creatures would logically not investigate and then create their own technology.
Unless I’m mistaken, The Hiding is your fourth novel after the three in The Fae Queens’ War series, though you’ve also written a number of short stories.
Technically, The Hiding was the fourth or fifth full length book I drafted, but as I mentioned before I did them in a weird order. I’d written another urban fantasy before this one as a throwaway project for National Novel Writing Month when I’d just finished reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. I fell in love with the idea of sticking magic into everyday Manchester.
Got it. Anyway, are there any writers, or stories, that were a big influence on The Hiding but not on anything else you’ve written, and especially not any of the Fae books?
Though The Hiding might seem very different to the Fae Queens’ War books, there’s a lot of the same influences in terms of traditionally published books: writers like Neil Gaiman, Melvyn Peake, Genevieve Cogman, Victor Hugo.
The biggest thing that influenced Hiding but not F.Q.W. was reading things written by my writing group. Somehow I ended up in a group of people who mostly wrote horror, which isn’t typically something I read at all. The Hiding ended up getting quite a bit darker due to their influence. Some of those stories are now published or soon-to-be-published so look up Taylor Grothe, Rae Knowles, Tanya Pell, and Amanda Casile.
What about non-literary influences; was The Hiding influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games?
I’m showing my age here, but definitely some TV I grew up with like Buffy and Charmed for that family / found family dynamic and hunting nasty magic things while hiding magic. I used to cowrite some games of Changeling: The Lost, so the World Of Darkness games are a big influence.
Now, you’ve already said that The Hiding is the first book in a series called The Seer Of York, with a sequel, The Somnia, out this time next year, and what you’re calling “Book 1.5,” Reawakening, slated for September of this year. First, what is The Somnia going to be about, and when does it take place in relation to The Hiding?
The Somnia starts about three months after The Hiding. The Hiding is a self-contained story arc with its own antagonist and resolution, but there are some mysteries left around Harper’s past and the general magical / political / religious landscape.
The Somnia delves into all of those a bit more, and has its own string of arcane murders.
And then what is Reawakening about, when does it take place in relation to The Hiding and The Somnia, and why is it “Book 1.5”?
Reawakening is a collection of short stories that take place in the gap between The Hiding and The Somnia. Hence “1.5” since it’s not a full novel. It deals with some of the aftermath of Harper’s decisions in The Hiding and sets up the main arc of The Somnia. It also introduces a new character’s point of view that will crop up more in The Somnia.
So, is The Seer Of York series going to be an ongoing thing or a set number of books like a trilogy?
I’ve sketched it out as a seven book series, though I’d like to do some more related short story collections as well. Each book has its own arc, but leads into a picture of the greater whole for the world and characters. The subplots will explore more about individual core characters — who each have their own relationship with the supernatural — and Harper’s world in general. There’s also an overall antagonist that we’ll learn more about as the series progresses.
Do you know what the other books will be called and when they’ll be out?
I’ve not named book 3 yet, but I’ve done the outline. It takes place in Venice and York and happens immediately after The Somnia. Working titles on the others are The Coven, The Gloaming, The Yokai, and The Magician. The next short story collection will be set prior to The Hiding and be about fan favorite character, Heresy. My intention is to keep on an annual schedule for publishing the other books.
Earlier I asked if The Hiding had been influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games. But to flip things around, do you think The Hiding could be adapted into a movie, show, or game?
I’ve always envisioned it as a TV series, one season per book. A series gives more room to explore world and characters and I find I personally prefer fantasy that’s given more space over stuff being squished in a film. Plus, as mentioned, there’s more influence from TV than from movies.
I think a role-playing game in their universe would be really fun, too. There’s definitely scope for people to make their own characters against the backdrop of hidden magic, secret police, and demonhunters.
So, if someone wanted to adapt The Seer Of York series into a TV show, who would you want them to cast as Harper and the other main characters?
I’m really bad at “who to cast” questions. Sorry. I’m terrible at names.
I’ve also tried to leave Harper’s cultural background open to reader interpretation, partially because she doesn’t know it due to magic memory erasure, but also so readers can view her how they want to. Me specifying an actor feels a bit too much like tying her down.
And if someone wanted to make it into a role-playing game, do you mean a tabletop one, a video game…?
My brain definitely goes to tabletop RPG first. There’s definite World Of Darkness influence in my writing, especially in The Seer Of York as I used to help write some Changeling and Vampire games a friend was running. I think they’re published by Paradox now, who also make some of my husband’s favorite computer games. I’ve played an RPG based on a TV show before — set in-universe but with our own characters — and it was really fun to explore the worlds like that.
Finally, if someone enjoys The Hiding, what novel or novella that’s in a similar vein / genre mix as yours, and by someone else, would you recommend they check out while waiting for Reawakening to be released?
If you like stuff that is on the border of fantasy and horror, the novella Your Blood And Bones by J. Patricia Anderson is an excellent short read.
For academia vibes and intrigue, The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman is a favorite, and finished now so you can binge it.
