1 of 2 2 of 2 Wren Hartman puts a little magic into reality. Writing a mix of YA and adult fiction, the New Westminster-based author’s signature style is a mix of the paranormal and the mundane. Werewolves, fairies, and AI dystopias abound, juxtaposed with prep school socializing and small business management and crappy exes: an imagined alternate world with deep roots in this one.
Her new novel, A Midnight So Deadly (out August 28), is a cozy thriller set in Vancouver. When dream content creators Maeve and Peri realize that slumberland illusions are blending into the waking world, reality itself begins to crumble. In between hazy half-remembered slumberings and tounge-in-cheek descriptions of Main Street breweries, a mystery bigger than either of them begins to take shape.
Crafted with precise prose and an engrossing plot, it’s easy to get swept away—though, given the emphasis on what happens with your eyes closed, it’s perhaps not a before-bed book. Below, Handman tells us about her favourite duck pond, the allure of speculative fiction, and how writing runs in the family. Tell us about yourself.
I’m just a little bit obsessed with the written word, and I’ve been telling stories as long as I can remember. I’ve always known that I wanted to be a writer, though the shape of what that means to me has changed over the years. Being a professional writer means that I do a lot of different kinds of writing to pay the bills.
I’ve done everything from ghostwriting a .