For Omnivoracious (Amazon’s book blog), I interviewed first time novelist Stina Leicht about her book Of Blood and Honey.
| Quote: |
| Amazon.com: 1970s Northern Ireland seems to be an unusual scenario for an urban fantasy novel. Why did you choose this particular period and place?
Stina Leicht: I once attended a panel at ConDFW about myth appropriation from minority cultures by fantasy writers with an emphasis on whether or not this was ethical. It was an interesting discussion. It was repeatedly stated that there wasn’t anything left to mine from Celtic myth. Based on the examples given, I understood that it wasn’t Celtic myth they were talking about. It was the English Victorian ideal of Celtic myth combined with other modern fantasy writers’ works. Irish fairies in particular have been transplanted so often that it’s no longer unusual to see them in New York or California. I had an urge to send them home again and allow them to reassume their original form as much as possible—that is, the tall tales of Fionn mac Cumhaill, Cuchuilain, and the Fianna. Of course, not everything I did fits because I’m American, but I gave it a shot. |
| Quote: |
| Amazon.com: The stories of the Fey read with an air of authenticity. How much is from the previously established legends and how much did you develop whole cloth?
Stina Leicht: I used the legends of Fionn mac Cumhaill for the most part. I twisted them a little, and I think in the actual legends Bran and Sceolán are Fionn’s cousins, not his nephews but that’s what happens when you’ve a mind like a steel sieve, and you’ve a ton of details to track. In the legends, Bran and Sceolán’s mother was pregnant when she was transformed into a dog by a jealous woman of the Sídhe. She was still in dog form when the twin boys were born. So, Bran and Sceolán are humans in puppy form. I don’t think they ever transform back into humans in the stories—although, their mother does. I’ve liked púcas since watching Jimmy Stewart in Harvey at a young age. So, I thought it’d be interesting to combine the two legends. |
This is but a small snippet of the lengthy interview. Stina and I also discuss the Fey, researching prisons, the art of violence, and why women find it easy to write male characters.