Elixir
Mabily "Mab" Jones is just a twenty-something, over-educated, under-employed New Yorker trying to survive as a private eye's unpaid intern . . . or is she? Once a powerful fairy, but tricked by the Fairy Queen into human form, Mab is forced to face her changeling past when investigating a missing person case at a modern speakeasy.
Obadiah Savage bootlegs fairy Elixir to human customers thirsting for a magical fix. But when Mab and Obadiah become joint suspects in a crime they didn't commit, the only way to prove their innocence is to travel back to the fairy realm. And when Mab confronts the Fairy Queen and learns the depth of her betrayal, she must decide if the fate of the fey world is worth destroying the lives of the humans she's come to love.
Following the events of Elixir, Mabily “Mab” Jones’ life has returned to normal. Or as normal as life can be for a changeling, who also happens to be a private detective working her first independent case, and dating a half-fey.
But then a summons to return to the fairy world arrives in the form of a knife on her pillow. And in the process of investigating her case, Mab discovers the fairies are stealing joy-producing chemicals directly from the minds of humans in order to manufacture their magic Elixir, the dwindling source of their powers. Worst of all, Mab’s boyfriend Obadiah vows to abstain from Elixir, believing the benefits are not worth the cost in human suffering—even though he knows fairies can’t long survive without their magic.
Mab soon realizes she has no choice but to answer the summons and return to the Vale. But the deeper she is drawn into the machinations of the realm, the more she becomes ensnared by promises she made in the past. And in trying to do the right thing, Mab will face her most devastating betrayal yet, one that threatens everything and everyone she holds most dear.
Sure thing! I write the Changeling P.I. urban fantasy series with HarperCollins Voyager Impulse. It's about a fairy, tricked by the Fairy Queen into human form, trying to make it in New York City as a private eye's intern. While investigating a missing persons' case, she meets a mysterious nightclub owner, who she thinks might be a changeling like herself. But actually he's bootlegging the fairies' magic elixir, granting humans temporary powers, with disastrous results of course!
If you like fun, feel-good, urban fantasy, a touch dark, but never gory or grim, check out ELIXIR, and UNVEILED, books 1 & 2 of the series, which are available now.
I'm hard at work on book 3!
Who designed the covers?
The talented folks in the art department at Harper designed all my covers, but I was lucky that they let me have a lot of creative input. I'm very happy with how they turned out. I particularly love what they did with the wings on the ELIXIR cover. It says 'fairy' without being twee, and I think it perfectly captures my heroine's dual nature as both supernatural and human.
How much of the book is realistic and are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Since I write fantasy, I mostly get to make stuff up! But I think that our life experiences always influence our writing, even when creating a magical world. I moved around a lot as a child, and was constantly having to adapt to new places and people. As someone who was never really "from" anywhere, and often felt out of place, I always related to stories of changelings, and fell in love with these outsiders of folklore, which is why I wanted the heroine of my series to be a fairy changeling.
Is there one person past or present you would meet and why?
I would love to meet all of my favorite writers! Unfortunately I can only do that in fantasy because most of them are deceased: William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Rumi, Charlotte Bronte, Virginia Woolf, the detective novelist Dorothy Sayers, the poet Mary Oliver (who I have actually met.) All of them together would be the ultimate dinner party!
If any of your books was made into a film who would you like to play the lead?
There's a young British actress named, Carey Mulligan, who is my mental image for my heroine, Mabily Jones. (Mulligan played Sally Sparrow in Doctor Who, and Daisy in the The Great Gatsby) She has that cute but slightly mischievous, elfin quality. For my hero, Obadiah Savage, I picture someone ruggedly handsome and a little rough around the edges, like Joe Mangianello.
Do you have a blog/website? If so what is it?
My website is www.ruthvincent.com, where you can find my blog, and all the latest on new releases. You can also connect with me me on social media at Facebook.com/RuthVincentAuthor and on Twitter at @ByRVincent