One thing I love about the indie author community is discovering how many similarities we writers have. My own path started with studies in mortuary archaeology, but writing ended up setting the tone for my path. And I’m not the only one! Wendolyn Baird, or Wendy, is a “halfway anthropologist and a full-time writer,” and she’s got one heck of a story to tell.
Nikki: Thank you for joining me, Wendy! I’m so excited to hear about The Last Incarnation of Mairi Fable, which just went live in June.
Wendy: I’m excited to tell you about it! My June release, The Last Incarnation of Mairi Fable, is the first installment of an adult romantasy trilogy. The novel follows Mairi as she navigates a new home, old wounds, and strange visions that she can’t deny. Star-crossed lovers from the beginning of her town’s history were torn apart prematurely, and their tragic love story appears to be repeating. With a dashing curator at her side, and a historic mansion that responds to her presence, it’s up to Mairi to figure out what the local coven and fae want with her… before it’s too late.
My books are filled with messy heroines, sentient buildings, chaotic families and friends, and the type of creepy-cozy vibes that I hope will make you want to bottle them up to carry them around your neck.
The Last Incarnation of Mairi Fable is the first installment of The Wretched Daughters trilogy, which will follow the misadventures and romances of Wormwood women caught in the crossroads of faery conflict. Other works to date include October Darlings, Deadly Darlings, and Forever Darlings, as well as Shattered: A Tempest Coven Novel.
Wow, I love those titles. It seems like there’s a lot of diversity in your works! What genre do you usually write in?
My books generally lean towards urban fantasy, with an emphasis in witches, ghosts, and haunted and/or sentient buildings. I also have a penchant for romance and found families.
Funnily enough, while I do adore reading urban fantasy, my writing tends to stray a bit darker than my reads. I’m currently in love with witchy rom-coms, but somehow all of my characters prefer to exist in chaos and danger.
Ha, I can relate to characters thriving in chaos. Did you always know you’d be an author one day?
Believe it or not, I always wanted to be a writer. I remember being taught the parts of a book. As soon as I was told writer was a career choice, I was hooked. It seemed like magic.
It’s always such a treat when we end up exactly where we suspected. What was the first book you published?
My debut novel, Shattered, was a very messy story about a witch stepping into dangerous territory in order to save her sister from herself. It includes a grievously besotted mage, a hilarious familiar, and a seer I just couldn’t get enough of.
That sounds like such a vibe, oh my gosh. And you write for the young adult audience, too, right?
I do! October Darlings is my YA trilogy. Addie, like myself, is half Mexican and dealing with the loss of a parent from a young age. When she moves back to her childhood home, she finds it haunted with generations of her family and hiding a lethal secret. Her story leads into a larger cast of characters, including shifters, that exist in the same universe as Shattered.
Oh my gosh, I love that you’re tying your stories together. That’s brilliant worldbuilding. Having mentioned that you share some traits with Addie, can I ask if you typically like your characters? I know they sometimes get under our skin as authors!
I do and I don’t. Mostly, I like my characters, but they do get bothersome at times. My main issue is that in writing them as relatable, they are all, of course, flawed. Sometimes the little white lie or jealousy is hard to write.
Flawed characters are the best characters, though, because they feel so real and human. Let me ask, if you could live in one fictional world, which would you choose?
Is it cheating to answer with a world of my making?
Ha, not at all!
There’s a city in the Wretched Daughters trilogy that contains separate boroughs full of witches, ghosts, and demifae that I wish I could explore. The fact that it contains a magic library is no hidden factor.
But if I couldn’t live there, then definitely the town of Thistlegrove from Lana Harper’s books. Year-round perfect weather and attractive witches running around? Yes, please.
Those are both amazing candidates, and I love Lana Harper’s work. Do you have a favorite author?
So many favorite authors, but the one that I always come back to is Ray Bradbury. There’s something about the melancholy of his prose that really speaks to me.
I love Ray Bradbury! He’s one of the writers that taught me that you can write in multiple genres, as long as you have a common thread like melancholy bringing your body of work together. What about favorite book? Do you have one?
Oh, god. My favorite book? That feels like a trick question, how could I possibly pick? Off the top of my head, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith), The Night Circus (Erin Morgenstern), and One Last Stop (Casey McQuiston). Of course, none of those are even in my “favorite” genre. Isn’t that how life goes?
That truly is how life goes. Let’s shift gears to talk about your work and cadence as a writer. What does your writing routine look like?
Immediately after breakfast, I settle in for coffee and pull up my writing playlist. Depending on the day, I’m either working on my notes, or writing right off the bat. I’ll take a break for other responsibilities, but by mid-afternoon, I’m back at it. I used to write in the evenings, but hyper-focus and exhaustion have taught me that leads to way too many typos.
Whatever it takes to avoid those typos. (laughs) I love that you mentioned writing playlists. What kind of music do you listen to?
Put together a playlist with The Lumineers, Hozier, and Death Cab For Cutie, and then remix that with Horrorpops, Pixies, Nekromantix and Tiger Army. Other days, you’ll find me singing along to Jim Croce, The Beatles, or Simon and Garfunkel. It really just depends on my mood, but I will say, I have started including playlists in my novels.
In the October Darlings trilogy, it’s located at the back, but The Last Incarnation of Mairi Fable keeps it front and center.
Honestly, finding those elements in books just gets me so excited! And I’m not surprised that your musical taste is as varied as your literature taste. So, since you usually write after breakfast, is it safe to assume you’re a morning person?
I am very begrudgingly, a night person. It’s strange because I prefer hanging out in the sunlight, but I really don’t function well before nine or ten.
That is so interesting! Is there an unusual place you enjoy writing, or do you knock out most of it at home?
The gym! I know that seems counterintuitive, but I love writing at the gym. It’s easy to settle on a bike, pull up a word document on my phone and start typing. Before I know it, I’ve biked six miles and have a few extra pages done.
Oh my gosh, now I’m intimidated. (both laugh) That’s so impressive! So, what’s coming next?
I’m actually hard at work drafting out the second Wretched Daughters book. The story takes place over three installments and Lilith Mason Takes On The Everlore is up next. After that is book three, and then I currently have a dark circus dystopia on my back burner that I’d love to get back to.
I love that. So you have at least one work in progress that’s waiting for some love… do you have any other partially finished or brainstormed projects?
At least five. But I have notes on them all!
Admittedly, I have another two or three kidlit books I’d love to get around to as well. I’m really debating the art style on those before I get started. Writing never truly stops for me, I just take breaks now and again.
Beautifully said. Where do you find the ideas for your stories, Wendy?
All over the place. It could be a song lyric, a shade of blue, a funny mailbox, or even a dream. A spark of an idea will pop up and I follow it. Mostly, I figure out who my main character is and they’ll tell me the rest from there.
Our characters really do have minds of their own. I know you call Texas home… are any of your books set there?
Texas, contrary to popular belief, isn’t all rural or desert. My books exist in primarily fictional places, but my newest novel does take inspiration from growing up on the coast. Salt air clings to you and there’s a catharsis in watching crashing waves beneath that is a feeling.
That’s so beautiful. Growing up in Cleveland, I live on a different sort of coast, but it’s easy to forget how many places have such rich and diverse landscapes. So, we know you enjoy time on the coast. What else do you do for fun when you’re not writing?
Mainly hanging out with my family. I know that sounds boring, but I married my best friend over twelve years ago and I really just like watching movies or exploring places with him. I’m obsessed with museums, bookstores, coffee shops… really anywhere quiet that I can either learn from or grab a treat.
That is such a vibe, and an important reminder to take time to recharge our batteries. Do you have any other pieces of advice for aspiring authors?
Just write. Good or bad, please grab a sheet of paper or a keyboard and put anything and everything down. The only way forward is to start a word at a time, and the more you put down on paper, the easier the words flow.
Beautiful. And I just have one more question before I set you free to go explore and snack. What’s the best thing a reader has told you?
One person messaged me that they get book hangovers, where putting my book down makes real life seem surreal. I’ve also gotten a very upset message about how creeped out they were by a certain scene (hey, it was a ghost story, so it makes sense).
I absolutely love hearing how drawn into my stories readers get. The overall consensus is that the details are undeniable and my characters are relatable. I think that’s the best… giving my readers someone to relate and a world to escape into.
Wendolyn Baird is an indie author to keep on your radar! In addition to weaving beautifully magical worlds, she’s got even more in the works. Connect with her on Instagram to keep her projects on your radar.
Want to learn more about other indie authors you need to know? Keep an eye on my Indie Author Spotlight Series for spotlights that span various different genres.