With The Wayward Mage (paperback, Kindle), urban fantasy writer Sara Hanover is concluding the Wayward Mages series she started in 2018 with The Late Great Wizard and continued with 2020’s The New Improved Sorceress. In the following email interview, Hanover not only details this final chapter, but also who’d she’d cast if it ever made it to the big screen.
To start, what is The Wayward Mages series about, and when and where do these novels take place?
These are urban fantasy books, meant to be magical and fun, with an edge of snark. The general location is Richmond, Virginia.
And then what is The Wayward Mage about, and how does it connect to the previous novel, The New Improved Sorceress?
The Wayward Mage is book three. The Last Great Wizard started the series, The New Improved Sorceress is book two.
When in the process of writing The New Improved Sorceress and the first novel, The Late Great Wizard, did you come up with the idea for The Wayward Mage?
There was always a story arc in mind for the series, as well as minor story arcs for each book separately.
Are there any writers or specific stories that you think had a big influence on The Wayward Mage but not on the other Wayward Mages novels?
Not as such. Wayward really fell in line with the first two books and their character / story needs.
What about such non-literary influences as movies, TV shows, or video games; was The Wayward Mage influenced by any of those things?
Nothing at the time the books were written. All three books were written by the time I discovered The Umbrella Academy.
Now, as we’ve been discussing, The Wayward Mage is the third book in your series, The Wayward Mages. The title makes me think it might be the last one. Is it?
It is the last one. I wish that weren’t the reality, and it wasn’t up to me to end it. It forms a trilogy only because of the overall story arc that needed to be completed.
There are some people who, upon hearing that The Wayward Mage is the final book, will decide to read all three books in a row. Do you think this is the best way to read these books?
The books can be enjoyed back to back to back, and I think they’d probably be best that way, but it’s not really necessary.
Earlier I asked if The Wayward Mage had been influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games. Has anyone expressed interest in turning The Wayward Mages series into a movie, show, or game?
I’ve had no interest to my knowledge.
If someone did want to do this, what form do you think it should take?
I think the three might be blended into a good movie.
And if that was going to happen, who would you want them to cast as Tessa and the other main characters?
In looks, Millie Bobby Brown [Stranger Things] as Tessa, [The Right Stuff‘s] Colin O’Donoghue as Malender, and Mark Sheppard [Supernatural] as Simon Steptoe. Those are the three “looks” I imagined when writing.
Finally, if someone enjoys The Wayward Mages novels, what urban fantasy novel of someone else’s would you suggest they read next?
Patricia Bray’s books, Faith Hunter’s Jane Yellowrock series, Kat Richardson’s Greywalker books, and C.E. Murphy’s The Walker Paper series. Oh, and Ilona Andrews’ Innkeeper books.
