Chicago has Harry Dresden. Atlanta has Kate Daniels. London has Peter Grant. San Francisco has October Daye. It’s high time for Detroit to have its own urban fantasy mystery-solving series, and debut author V.L. Barycz has stepped up to bat (presumably at Comerica Park) to give the city its due. Her novel A Promise of Sirens introduces readers to a Detroit that’s struggling to find balance between magical and non-magical factions, and Brigitte Laveau Fitzpatrick is the person charged with the responsibility of managing it all.
With assistance from her (mysteriously powerful) partner, Graceland, Brigitte serves as the Senior Pilgrim of Detroit, and she’s poised to take on an even larger role in the politics of mortals and supernaturals: She’s about to become the Divine Arbiter, the person who negotiates between the children of the Allfather and the children of Mother Eorthe—as well as factions who possess betrayer magic and aren’t accepted by either group. With all the politics at play, it would be so easy for Brigitte to ignore a series of murdered sirens in her home city, or, at least, assign the case to someone of lower rank. But Brigitte knows that no one among the pilgrims is likely to care about bringing the killer of sirens—feared supernaturals thought to lure people to their deaths—more than she will. And she’s not going to let a series of murders in her city go unsolved.
Paste caught up with V.L. to talk about A Promise of Sirens, the inspirations behind its story, her favorite Dungeons & Dragons character, and more.
Paste Magazine: This is your debut novel—congratulations! What has the process been like for you, from beginning the novel up to preparing for your launch?
V.L. Barycz: Thank you, thank you. So, first off, I will say to those who have never entered the world of publishing—there is a huge difference between writing and publishing. Writing is often a solitary occupation, done in various states of undress with several cups of cold coffee surrounding you. Publishing is a team activity that is equal parts wonderful and doing the worst middle school group project ever. I adored the editing rounds because getting insight from professionals who know the business and the artistry was fascinating. I was very lucky that I had a fabulous editor, Alana, whom I could bombard with questions, but this business is not for the faint of spirit.
My favorite part was editing. My least favorite was marketing myself—I hate being perceived.
Paste: Tell us a little bit about the origins of A Promise of Sirens. Where did the seeds of this story begin?
Barycz: It all started with a Tumblr writing prompt. It was something along the lines of “Imagine you could get a shot of luck in your latte before a big presentation.” So, it snowballed from there—what does a world fully integrated with magic look like? Would water nymphs work for the water department? Would vampires want ethically sourced blood? From there it was, ok, who would create this world? I am absolutely fascinated by religions and the way humans throughout history, whether by natural evolution or colonization, change them to suit their purposes or for survival. My own upbringing was filled with speaking in tongues, filling your body with the spirit, sacrificing, and having certain “gifts” that were passed down through generations. Sounds incredibly pagan, right? My mama and gran called us Christians.
Religions across the board are the same in that they are based in magical thinking and our innate need for parental figures. They all involve rituals and rules, miracles and damnations. So, even if religions and families share roots, they can branch off, warp, get sick, or fall away completely. What I’m saying in a long-winded way is, what are religions if not a series of dysfunctional families? As the child of dysfunction, I eat that shit up.
Paste: While Brigitte is suffering from having lost her true love, Margot, she’s also surrounded by a very caring community—her parents are involved in her life, but not overly so, and they clearly care about her deeply. (Her cousins are maybe on the fence!) What was important to you in creating Brigitte’s community?
Barycz: I’m sure you know, but there is a common trope of parents always being dead or straight bums, and originally, I was gonna follow that tradition, because write what you know, and I have one of each. Then Brigitte’s parents, Odette and Rory, made me love them so much. The idea of having parents who are so powerful in their own right but haven’t lost touch with their humanity, who are unafraid to love fiercely, who would defy their gods if it meant helping their child, was such a delight—and maybe a glimpse into what Brigitte’s own future could be.
Paste: One of the locations readers will get to visit is a cafe run by werewolves, which also hosts game nights and Dungeons & Dragons. First, what would you order at the café? Second, what would you play in D&D?
Barycz: If I were a regular, I’d let Luna build me whatever his whimsy told him that day. As a tourist, definitely go with a Lady in White Latte. It’s a take on the classic London Fog Latte but uses white sage and blackberry syrup with a shot of intuition.
As for D&D, my goblin artificer, who was madly in love with her bowl-cut wig-wearing construct that she liberated from the capitalist corporation that stole him, is by far my favorite.
Paste: There’s a long tradition of mystery-solving urban fantasy characters. What are some of your favorites?
Barycz: As a true child of the late nineties, I was left to my own devices while my mama was working or under the care of my older brothers, which often meant reading things that were absolutely outside my age bracket. Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake and Anne Rice’s Lestat led to Patricia Brigg’s Mercyverse, Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, and Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid.
I lied. My first love of urban fantasy, now that I think about it, would be “The Bailey School Kids Series.” The kids are constantly having to figure out if the adults in their lives are mythical creatures. Vampires Don’t Wear Polka Dots.That series was dope.
Paste: The pilgrims help balance the wills of two creators: the Allfather and Mother Eorthe. If you were in Brigitte’s Detroit, where would you fall on the continuum? What community would you be aligned with?
Barycz: I would have been born of the Allfather without a doubt, because the daddy issues are strong with this one. But like Maman Brigitte, I would have aligned myself with the loa. I have a kink for earning my keep.
Paste: The themes of inclusion—despite historical ostracism—run deeply through this novel, with Brigitte fighting to expand alliances among magical people, as well as people ignoring the plights of those they consider “other” (the sirens being murdered). Can you talk about what that theme means to you and why you decided to work it into the story the way you did?
Barycz: That’s an albatross of a question. For me it was being othered as a child. Recognizing that you are looked at differently because of things outside of your control, whether it be socio economic, racial, because of a disability, identity, or simply because someone feels like being a dick, is a heavy burden to carry with such small shoulders. So much of that gets internalized, so you begin to believe the wild shit people put on you, especially when it’s coming from inside the house.
I hear a lot these days, “I shouldn’t have to teach you empathy, or I can’t teach someone how to care about people,” but yes, you should, and yes, you can. I’m not talking screaming into the void that’s on the internet. I’m talking about weaponizing whatever privilege you possess to help your fellow man, telling someone their outfit is stunning, being genuinely curious to learn, and not assuming the worst. That is teaching empathy; that is reinforcing communal bonds without exhausting yourself from the sheer doom dump of being able to access the world’s suffering at all times.
Paste: If you could hang out with any character from the novel, who would it be, where would you go, and what would you do?
Barycz: I like to think I could help Feather Glen make a banging Sunday dinner that would make a fallen god want to ask for seconds.
Paste: We all know writers never stop, even when their book is just releasing! What’s next for you?
Barycz: I would love for A Promise of Sirens to resonate so much with fans that I can continue Brigitte’s story. I have the second novel’s first draft done, so fingers crossed! Outside of the Pilgrim universe, my current WIP is titled Illumination and explores an alternative history where Thomas Edison, having discovered how to harness ley line energy, has reshaped the world in glorious and monstrous ways. The story follows Theodore Tagger, a citizen of Urnfield (one of the four districts that serve New London’s dome city), as he discovers himself ley-touched and embroiled in a resistance plot. Part rollicking heist novel, part political drama, Illumination should be ready for querying by the fall.
A Promise of Sirens is available now, wherever books are sold.
Jo Watkins is a former contributor to Literature Community News. She loves reading debut novels so she can claim she read them when. If that makes her a book hipster, she’s ok with that.
