True passion and dedication to the craft of writing are embodied in the work of Charles de Lint. With an illustrious, multi-decade career of creating enthralling worlds and compelling characters, de Lint seems never to be without the inspiration and wisdom to envision a new story in his favored genre of urban fantasy. In reflecting on the path towards finding his literary voice and anticipation of a new installment in his latest Juniper Wiles series, de Lint provides a peek into everything from his key influences to valuable lessons learned in the practice of spinning a story.
About the Author
Charles de Lint is a Canadian author with more than eighty published adult, young adult, and children’s books. Widely recognized in his field, he has won the World Fantasy, Aurora, Sunburst, and White Pine awards, among others. He has been inducted into the Canadian SF & Fantasy Association Hall of Fame and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the World Fantasy Organization. De Lint is also a poet, musician, songwriter, performer, and folklorist, and writes a monthly book review column for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. He makes his home in Ottawa, Ontario.
Thank you, Charles, for joining us, let’s get started!
As the author of over seventy books, you have quite a long list of titles attached to your name. Of those, which would you say is most memorable to you? Which one had the greatest impact on your writing?
Probably Dreams Underfoot, since the stories in it were where I learned how to write short stories, where I was no longer trapped by a linear, good/bad guy narrative.
But, you know, each book and story is different. You have to learn all over again each time you start a new project because all you really know is how to write the book or story that you’ve finished, not the one that you’re beginning. And you learn something new from each one.
Do you remember the original inspiration behind your very first book?
The Harp of the Grey Rose was my first finished book, and The Riddle of the Wren was the first one published. Both grew out of a love of secondary world fantasy, myth, and folklore, and both were, unfortunately, rather derivative. But I have always loved telling stories, which is why I wrote them. I wanted to add to the canon that had given me so much pleasure, but my skills were still developing. I didn’t start to find my own voice until Moonheart.
Many of your books have drawn on inspiration from folklore. What is your favorite folkloric tale? Is there a story you want to use for inspiration that you haven’t had the chance to yet?
I don’t really have a specific story I can point to, but I’ve always been drawn to those that featured tricksters.
Music has been a prominent aspect of your creative journey. In what ways have music and storytelling overlapped for you?
I was a musician first, playing in bands for years, first psych folk/Americana, then Celtic music. It was stumbling upon a Seamus Ennis album in the seventies when I realized Celtic music was the soundtrack to the fantasy I loved, and that got me playing it exclusively for a long time. And why so many characters in my earlier books were musicians.
Music has taught me how to choreograph the flow of a story, just as the visual arts have taught me to hone in on what’s necessary to drive the narrative forward, or give just the right details for the story to come alive in a reader’s head.
Your work helped pioneer the urban fantasy genre. What initially drew you to this mix of the fantastic and the realistic?
I wrote Moonheart because, at that point in my life, I was reading a lot of non-genre fiction. It was my wife who suggested I combine real-world characters and situations with the myth, folk, and faerie tales I loved. It allowed me to tackle real-world concerns, but still gave me that happy buzz that a Sense of Wonder brings to a story.
What is your favorite aspect of the urban fantasy genre, as a reader or as a writer?
As I mentioned above, the chance to combine elements of the real world with a Sense of Wonder. My favorite thing about stories is the characters. I like how their interactions with the supernatural clarify their character, allowing them to grow, utilizing their own strengths and moral structure to prevail against real-world problems, and by doing so, instill hope into the narrative.
Can you tell us a bit about what your writing process is like? Do you plan out your stories in advance, or start with an idea and let the rest come as you write? Does your story start developing around specific characters, or does the worldbuilding come first?
I come up with a character and a situation and then just follow through. I meet my characters as we meet people in our daily lives, at a party, in a coffee shop, or at an art show. First, I learn their name, then what they do, and slowly they reveal more and more about themselves as the story unfolds. Since most of my stories are set in the real world, there’s no real worldbuilding involved, although I do have to think about their interrelationships. When they cross over to the otherworld, as they often do, I just let my imagination take over.
Lastly, do you have any upcoming projects you can tease here for fans of your work?
I hope to release the third of my Juniper Wiles books this year. It’s called Juniper Wiles Does Not Want to Be Queen. Since I’ve been an indie writer/publisher for almost a couple of decades now, and the publishing process takes a lot of time when you’re doing it on your own, the other half dozen finished novels, novellas, and novelets I have completed will be coming out as I can get to them.
And of course I’m always writing new ones…
Our biggest thank you to Charles de Lint for a new wealth of insight into an author’s artistry and process. Be sure to stay up-to-date on his Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky, and to check out his personal website, Bandcamp, and Patreon!
Read more on other authors fascinated with fantasy here!
Find de Lint’s works and other natures of fantastical stories on our Bookshop bookshelf Fantasy Lovers Paradise: Epics, Romances, and More!
