After reading the new Marvel Heroines novel from Aconyte Books, Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest, I had a quick chat with author Cath Lauria about the book, and why Elsa Bloodstone is such a cool character. The full review of Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest can be found here.
Are you a big fan of comics, and how did you discover the character of Elsa Bloodstone?
I was a huge fan of comics in my teens and early twenties, then had to cut back as things like working a job and paying bills on time took over my life, ha. I started as an Uncanny X-Men fan, then branched out into other Marvel properties and some Top Cow. I didn’t become aware of Elsa Bloodstone as a character until the chance to pitch for her appeared. Then I became OBSESSED!
How did you get involved in writing for Elsa?
This is one of those “gritty determination” combined with “dumb luck” stories 😉 I got my foot through the door with Aconyte Publishing when I saw a chance to write in an anthology of theirs. I didn’t have any previous IP experience, but I’d published lots of genre fiction with small presses over the past decade, and my sample was good enough that they welcomed me on board. Then they made a deal with Marvel to produce novels, and I almost died because WHAT!? As soon as I saw the Marvel Heroines line, I knew I had to try for it. I looked over the list of potential Heroines and when I saw Elsa, I was hooked. I wrote a few pitches, this one got chosen, and then I dove in and wrote the heck out of it.
What is it about Elsa that appeals to you over the more recognisable, mainstream heroes in the Marvel Universe?
Part of the appeal of Elsa, for me, was the fact that she was a little less mainstream. A character with a lot of lore and history is, well, intimidating, and this was only my second attempt at IP, so I didn’t mind having that backstory cut down a bit. That said, Elsa is a fabulous character who SHOULD be more of a recognisable hero in the Marvel Universe, because she combines badassery and hilarity in a way few others do. She reminds me of some of my favourite urban fantasy heroines: highly competent, wise-cracking, with an exciting job that she carries off with style. How could I resist her?
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| Elsa Bloodstone in Marvel Comics. |
The story has a few recognisable characters make appearances, or are mentioned in passing, were there any characters that you were tempted to include in the story but didn’t quite make the cut?
I really, really wanted to put the actual Tony Stark in this book instead of my girls just hitching rides on his jets. I toyed with the idea, I touched the edges of it, but in the end I didn’t do it because I didn’t write him into the first pitch, and he’s one of those big, complicated characters that you’ve got to tread lightly with in a project that’s not directly related to him. Same with Blade—how cool would that cameo have been? As it is, though, I love that I got to include a brief glimpse of Doctor Strange 😊
The book features a lot of different monsters, some that you’ve created just for the story, and a few that people will recognise from mythology. How did you go about choosing what creatures were going to make an appearance?
One of the most entertaining things about writing this book, for me, was figuring out the monsters. Partly my choices are based on location, like utilising a popobawa in Mombasa, while others took place in completely made-up locations and gave me the kick I needed to come up with my own monsters, like the oozing sentient radiation on Bloodstone Isle. Any Elsa Bloodstone story has to have interesting monsters, so this part of putting things together was basically like me being in a candy store going “Oooh, some of this, one of these, definitely some of that—and heck, sure, let’s throw in some dinosaurs!”
You’ve made the story feel very accessible, I myself have never actually read any comics featuring Elsa, but you made it really easy to get to know who she is, as well as a number of her supporting cast. Was it a challenge writing for an established character but making it easy for people who’ve never encountered her before to get along with the book?
I came from a place of discovering Elsa as I wrote this story, so for me, writing her in a way that was accessible was part of the process of writing her, period. This is the result I was hoping for, too—that she would be fun to read about without throwing too much information at the reader, while maybe making people interested in finding out more. Like, don’t we all want to know about Jeff the Land Shark, or the work Elsa did with Misty Knight? I hope so.
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| Cath's next book with Aconyte, Arkham Horror: The Devourer Below |
The story has a lot of action sequences in them, with Elsa fighting with a variety of weapons against a mixture of foes. How do you approach scenes like that, is it difficult to do?
I’m pretty lucky when it comes to the fight scenes, because I’ve got a long-running personal interest in fight choreography, and I know a number of people who are experts in knife- and gun-work. That’s not to say that the fight scenes are realistic for anyone who isn’t a superpowered badass like Elsa, but I had a lot of opportunity to talk things out and make sure it was all exciting and, at least, not completely physically impossible.
Are there any other Marvel characters that you’d want to write for in the future?
Oh boy. Heck yeah, I would love to write more Marvel characters, including revisiting Elsa Bloodstone if that were in the cards. Never say never! And I’m actively pursuing a few different avenues with Aconyte when it comes to Marvel characters, so hopefully I’ll have good news to report there soon.
Your next book is ‘The Devourer Below’, a part of the Arkham Horror series, with Elsa Bloodstone dealing with monsters is it safe to say you’re a fan of horror? And if so, what is it about horror that appeals to you?
I started off as a real fan of thrillers, and thriller and horror are kissing cousins in genre writing. I love the suspense, I love the fear and the fight, and I love being able to work with creatures that exist in a world outside the character’s normal experience, and how wrong it feels when they start to infiltrate the character’s world. I think horror can be worked into almost any kind of story, but I’m enjoying tightening my focus and really delving into the horror realm.
What can people look forward from seeing from you going forward?
I hope that people can look forward to a lot! I’ve got several pitches in for novels in a couple of different IP properties, as well as some for anthologies. I’ve also got a few original novels in the works, and my romance pen name is writing faster than ever. I think there’s a lot on the horizon!
Anyone interested in seeing more of Cath's work can head over to her website to find more on her back catalogue.
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