Faith Hunter: Where should you start with her books?
Celebrating the bestselling urban fantasy author of the Jane Yellowrock series and more.
“To me, it doesn’t matter what kind of book it is, as long as your character grows.”
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Getting to Know Urban Fantasy Author Faith Hunter
Faith Hunter is the award-winning urban fantasy author of multiple series—the Jane Yellowrock series, the Soulwood series, the Rogue Mage series, the Junkyard Cats series, and more. She also has written three novels, two anthologies in that series, and coauthored a Role Playing Game.
Hunter fell in love with reading in fifth grade, and best loved science fiction, fantasy, and gothic mysteries. While in high school, she decided to become a writer—and sold her first book in 1989.
She is also the coauthor and author of 16 thrillers under pen names Gwen Hunter and Gary Hunter. Altogether, she has 40+ books and dozens of short stories—and is juggling multiple projects. Her dozens of books are in print in more than 30 countries.
How the Growing Popularity of Vampire Stories Has Impacted Faith Hunter’s Own Fiction
In the years since she started writing fiction, vampire stories have seemed to proliferate more and more. Hunter talked to Monster Complex about how much difference that has made over the ears to her Jane Yellowrock series:
“I’m glad I got started when I did, because I didn’t have to worry about stepping on someone else’s toes and maybe accidentally stealing someone else’s concept—well, it wouldn’t have been ‘stealing,’ it would have been my own concept, but I might have been led the same direction as someone else accidentally. That does happen.
“But fortunately I came in early enough. There weren’t as many 14 years ago as there are now. So it’s been much easier on me than I think it would be had I come in in the 2020s to start writing about a world with vampires.”
What Ties Faith Hunter’s Different Fiction Together
Hunter has written lots of books under different names. She talked to Monster Complex about the common denominators for her work:
“The interesting thing about writing the fantasy field is that not only do you have to use all of the devices and concepts that are used in ‘higher literature’—and I will put that in quotes—you also have to keep a world-building straight and use the world-building. You’re doing twice as much as a writer who just writes literary fiction, because you’re adding in a completely different paranormal world, and that paranormal world comes with its own problems and negatives and positives. And instead of this paranormal element being a magic wand or a light switch or—flip!—everything solved, everything has a price. So the use of magic is its own un-reward. There’s always a price.
“That’s why I like writing, period. It doesn’t matter what I write. But when I get to write fantasy, I get to throw in all of these amazing paranormal complications. And I end up with these multi-multi-stranded plot lines that end up all twisted and woven and stretched and pulled. I don’t know if I answered your question again but that’s what they all have in common.”
Further reading:
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Faith Hunter: Where should you start with her books?
Jane Yellowrock Series
The dark urban fantasy Skinwalker series features Jane Yellowrock, a Cherokee skinwalker who tracks, hunts, and kills rogue-vampires for a living—that is, until she takes a gig working for Leo Pellissier, the Master of the City of New Orleans. The series is set in an alternate reality, modern-day world, one inhabited by humans, vamps, and other things that go bump in the night.
Jane Yellowrock stories in anthologies and bonus books
Kicking It (Chicagoland Vampires)—also with stories from Chloe Neill, Rachel Caine, Kalayna Price, and more
Have Stakes Will Travel: Stories From the World of Jane Yellowrock
Easy Pickings (A Jane Yellowrock/Walker Papers Crossover) by Faith Hunter and C.E. Murphy
Strange Brew—also with stories from Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, and Jim Butcher
Soulwood Series
The Soulwood series features Nell Nicholson Ingram, and is a spinoff from the Skinwalker series. Nell is an escapee from a cult, a solitary woman with deadly magic of her own.
Rogue Mage Series
Rogue Mage is a dark, urban fantasy series featuring Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage in a post-apocalyptic, alternate reality, urban fantasy world. These novels are the basis for the Rogue Mage World Book and Role Playing Game. The two anthology collections include stories from authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, Lou J Berger, Ken Schrader, Spike Y Jones, Diana Pharaoh Francis, Christina Stiles, Tamsin Silver, Melissa McArthur, Jean Rabe, and Lucienne Diver.
The Junkyard Series
Post-Apocalyptic science fiction, the Junkyard series stars Shining Smith, a tough SciFi heroine who is far more than she seems.
More from Monster Complex
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27 Striking Vampire Books—including horror, romance, fantasy, and comedy titles
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Top 61 Monster Complex posts in 2022 about authors and books
Further reading online
11 Books like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (The Portalist)
What Is Urban Fantasy? (A Little Bit Human)
If you like X, you should try Y: Urban Fantasy Recommendations (Tor.com)
Best Urban Fantasy Series, Ranked (MovieWeb)
The 10 Best Urban Fantasy Novels For Those Magical Big City Vibes (The Mary Sue)
42 Best Vampire Books That Aren't 'Twilight' Or 'Dracula' (Bustle)
8 Fantasy Books Set in Cities in the United Kingdom (Book Riot)
15 Best Urban Fantasy Series Of All Time To Watch Online [Action, Thriller, Mystery, Horror, Fantasy] (bingepost)
Urban fantasy novels: why they matter and which ones to read first (The Mandarin)
Urban Fantasy vs Epic Fantasy | Diving Into Subgenres – A Dance With Books (A Dance With Books)
Urban Fantasy 101: 10 Books to Get You Started (The Portalist)
10 Urban Fantasy Books You Should Read If You Loved 'Jessica Jones' (Bustle)
27 Female Authors Who Rule Sci-Fi and Fantasy Right Now | EW.com (EW)
The urban fantasy author stops by as part of her blog tour for her latest novel! Faith Hunter talks to Monster Complex about the fun—and challenges—of writing a magical story that’s also a police drama.