Nicole Glover is joining us today to talk about her novel, The Starseekers. Here’s the publisher’s description:
In the 1960s, the world was caught up in reaching beyond our planet and into the cosmos. It felt impossible—but there was nothing science, math…and magic couldn’t make possible. The race to space was on, and the Moon was what everyone had their eyes on.
Including Cynthia Rhodes, a brilliant arcane engineer at NASA’s Ainsworth Research Labs. Talented in math and magic, she hosts a magical educational show… a job she took mostly for a chance to regularly see the dashing Theodore Danner, a professor of arcane archeology.
She is also an amateur sleuth—something that has run in her family for generations.
When a cursed museum curator nearly interrupts a broadcast of their show, Cynthia finds an eager sleuthing partner in Theo. Pairing up, they begin investigating the strange behavior of the curator and a mysterious theft at the arcane history museum—until one of Cynthia’s own coworkers perishes right in front of her in a major lab accident that endangers Ainsworth’s role in the space race.
Certain it was murder instead of an accident, Cynthia sees this as a separate case at first. However the more she and Theo investigate, Cynthia uncovers a surprising link between the two incidents. The museum theft and murder are part of a larger equation—one that includes deadly enchantments, rumored pirate treasure, a peculiar plant, and a dire threat to the space program as well as everything she holds dear.
The Starseekers is another rip-roaring adventure for the Rhodes family, who have been using magic to aid their community and solve mysteries since before the Civil War. The times may have changed, but a Rhodes once again finds themselves thrust into a world of murders, theft, sabotage, and curses, and this time the stakes extend to the stars themselves.
What’s Nicole’s favorite bit?
Giving my characters a hobby is one of my favorite parts of writing. Simple things like an affection for collecting stamps or trying recipes off of gravestones fleshes out a character and allows them to become more than a plot driver or a collection of traits. Hobbies brings insight to a character’s interior life and can help a writer develop a unique voice and tone to their narration of the story’s world.
But the best part of giving characters a hobby is the many ways it can be weaved into a book.
In The Starseekers Cynthia Rhodes has a passion for ink, fountain pens, and even stationery. She’ll spend hours in the ink shop, her cousin knows he can get her to co-host a TV show by paying her in ink bottles, and she always travels with pens and ink at hand. She even found her beloved cat her favorite ink shop. Being an ink lover works well with her character because as an engineer she does a lot of drawing and design. This interest also meshes well from being raised by her grandparents who are also artists and even made enchanted inks for Cynthia’s usage.
Cynthia’s passion for ink greatly figures into her sleuthing activities throughout the book. Not only can Cynthia correctly identify a brand of ink, by either sniffing or touching the ink, her use of inks shapes her unique brand of magic. Cynthia draws constellations on cards with ink (enchanted or otherwise) imbuing them with a variety of spells and charms. These cards are employed judicially throughout the story to get her out trouble, cause a ruckus, and sniff out clues. With a card she can set protection spells, undo curses, unlock doors and much more.
But my favorite bit in all of this is how I solved the problem of her carrying around ink wells by having her wear a poison ring.
I can’t remember when I first saw them, but I have been charmed by the idea of poison rings or pillbox rings. These rings have a small compartment that can hold liquid or other items tucked hidden behind a bezel of the ring. Pillbox rings have been for around for ages, and but the idea of poison contained them is such a richly gothic idea it pops up often in literature as a source of death and murder, (although research suggests that actual deaths rarely occurred).
I love a good hidden weapon or tool, especially ones that are quite subtle. This ring was something I saved in my files to keep in mind as a fun element for a future story, and a good place turned out to be The Starseekers.
Cynthia is not a fighter or one into the get into fist fights. She’ll use her magic and wits first, and a poison ring seemed to fit this vibe, especially as she has a pair of compasses (aka a drawing compass) that can turn into a small dagger.
Holding a special enchanted ink, the poison ring gets to shine when Cynthia injects the ink into her pen, in preparation to cast a spell. A small moment in the midst of everything, but one that left me delighted as I brought in an element that brought together my nerdy interests, ongoing character development, and propelled plot movement in a single stroke.
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BIO:
Nicole Glover is the author of the acclaimed historical fantasy series, Murder and Magic, which includes The Starseekers. Her books have received rave starred reviews for their unique blend of mystery, history, and fantasy and have been featured in NPR and local media, En Forme and the Virginian-Pilot. She’s been a Library Reads pick, made the Locus bestseller list, and most recently won The Webster Award. She lives and works in Virginia plotting her next fictional murder.
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