Laura Bickle is the author of numerous books including Mercury Retrograde, Dark Alchemy, Rogue Oracle, Dark Oracle, Embers, Sparks, The Outside and The Hallowed Ones. I recently spoke with her about her writing inspirations, how she conceived of her books and the challenges she has faced as a writer.  Read what she had to say below.

When did you realize you wanted to become a writer?

“I’ve always been scribbling, ever since I was old enough to hold a crayon. I didn’t believe, until recently, that other people would want to read what I wrote. It’s incredibly exciting to hear from folks who’ve enjoyed the stories I tell.”

What writers inspire you?

“My all-time favorite book is Robin McKinley’s HERO AND THE CROWN. I read it when I was a pre-teen, and fell in love with fantasy ever after. It was the first book I’d read that had a female protagonist who slew her own dragons. I was hooked.”

You have a number of books which are classified under the Dark Alchemy series (Dark Alchemy and Mercury Retrograde). How did you conceive of this series?

“I’ve been accumulating books on alchemy for many years, and I was thrilled to finally be able to put them to good use. The whole history of alchemy is fascinating to me: the intricate symbolism, the obsession with immortality, the idea that rocks could be changed to gold. The theme of this book deals with the second of seven processes in classical alchemy, the dissolution process, in which all that is known is dissolved by venom in the crucible of the alchemist’s lab.

I’ve lately been obsessed with serpents of all kinds: dragons, basilisks, Medusa and her sisters. I have a garden in which snakes like to gather, and I’m curious about them. The snakes I have in the garden are small DeKay’s snakes, and they’re quite shy. There’s something very mysterious and elusive about them, and I wanted to explore how they might be related to the dissolution process.”

You have also published your Delphic Oracle series under the name Alayna Williams (Rogue Oracle and Dark Oracle). Can you tell us about this series?

“My Oracle books are about Tara Sheridan, a criminal profiler who uses Tarot cards to solve crimes. She’s a reluctant member of a secret order of oracles that descended from the Oracle of Delphi.

I’ve been collecting Tarot cards since I was a teenager, and it was a lot of fun to get the chance to apply the cards to a story in a very central way.”

Your Anya Kalinczyk series include books Embers and Sparks. What was your inspiration for these books?

“Those two are very much Ghostbusters in Detroit with dragons and arson. Anya Kalinczyk is the rarest kind of medium, a Lantern. Where other mediums allow spirits to use their hands and voices to communicate with the physical world, she devours them. She uses this ability in her off hours as a ghost hunter, but it creeps into her day job as an arson investigator.

Anya has a fire salamander familiar, Sparky. Nobody else can see him, but he’s fiercely protective of her. When he’s not on watch, he curls up at the foot of her bed with his favorite toy, a Glo-Worm.”

Your Young Adult books include The Outside and The Hallowed Ones.  Are there any challenges you faced writing these books that you didn’t experience in writing your urban fantasy series?

“The funny part about THE HALLOWED ONES is that I didn’t set out to make it YA. It just came out that way…I knew that I wanted to tell the story from the perspective of a young Amish woman who was dealing with issues of conformity and autonomy. I was completely unaware that it was YA until I turned it in to my agent. Entering a new genre was challenging for me, but a delight.”

Are there any current projects that you are working on that you can share with us?

“I’m continuing my Dark Alchemy series with a new release soon…stay tuned for details!”