Q&A with E.L. Deards

 

E.L. Deards is the author of the new novel The Lavender Blade. She also has written the novel Wild with All Regrets. Also a veterinarian, she is based in the UK.

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Lavender Blade, and how did you create your characters Colton and Lucian?

 

A: The idea started as an elevator pitch: a pair of con-artist demon exorcists going around scamming the nation’s wealthiest—until one of them gets possessed for real. I was fascinated by the challenge of having a character the reader already knows and loves slowly turn into something unrecognizable. Would anyone notice? Would it still feel like him?

 

Creating two distinct entities within one body was just really fun.

Lucian came first. Colton sort of grew around him, a foil in more ways than one. I love a sunshine/grumpy dynamic, but I try to balance their flaws and strengths, so it doesn’t just feel like one’s the moral compass and the other’s the chaos.

 

Usually I start with a rough plot, and then the characters start making decisions I didn’t plan for. I have this weird little 40-question exercise I use when I’m stuck—favourite season, most irrational fear, battle royale strategy. That sort of thing. It helps them become people.

 

Q: The writer Nina Varela called the book “occasionally blood-drenched, fiercely hopeful, and quick as a blade in the dark.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I love it. And I’m glad she found it only occasionally blood-drenched. I really do try to keep up a quick pace and keep the dialogue snappy, so hearing that it came across is deeply validating. The drama of the description is absolutely what I live for, but I was genuinely touched by how generous Nina—and others—have been with their blurbs. It means a lot.

 

Q: In a previous Q&A, you described The Lavender Blade as “completely different from” your debut novel, Wild with All Regrets. How would you compare the two?

 

A: Tone and genre-wise, they’re polar opposites. Wild with All Regrets is historical literary fiction set in WWI; The Lavender Blade is fast-talking, magic-drenched chaos with demons and fake exorcists and a very unregulated amount of flirting. But I think the style—introspective, character-driven, emotional with a touch of the paranormal—still links them.

 

I mostly just write stories that interest me. I like challenging myself: whether that’s researching a historically accurate WWI trench scene or inventing a half-magical, half-steampunk society with artificial hearts and horse-drawn carriages. The only thing that’s consistent is me, I guess. And I only write when I have a story I’m really excited about. My muse does not believe in genre loyalty.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from The Lavender Blade?

 

A: Mostly? I want them to have fun. I want them to laugh, to hold their breath, to care about the characters, and ideally to be annoyed when they have to put the book down.

 

There are some deeper themes in there—like how political narrative can shape reality, how perception becomes truth if you sell it hard enough, how trust can be a performance or a weapon—but honestly, I hope people just enjoy the ride. And maybe wonder how on earth someone got a pig into a restaurant.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m toying with a sequel to The Lavender Blade. I’d love to explore more of the world and revisit Colton and Lucian—there’s definitely more story to tell. But I’m also deep into studying for my surgical residency right now, so writing has to fit around that. Keep an eye out, though. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of them.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I’ve been really surprised—in the best way—by how positive the feedback has been so far. It’s been incredibly encouraging, and I’m hopeful that the book will find the readers who’ll love it most.

 

I still find it a bit surreal that people want to read what I write. I’m just an awkward, nerdy vet with a lot of feelings about narrative structure, but I’m really glad something in my voice is resonating.

 

Also: thank you to everyone who reads my work, recommends it, or messages me just to say they liked a certain line. I appreciate it more than I know how to say.

 

(And if we want to talk about my late cat Dangercat being the best creature to ever exist... we absolutely can. But that might need its own interview.)

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with E.L. Deards.