Fantasy Spotlight: Backwoods Banshee by David Slayton

Backwoods Banshee

While Adam copes with fresh trauma and relationship trouble, he must investigate banshees and the Between in the newest book in the Adam Binder series from beloved author David R. Slayton.

Purchase Backwoods Banshee

Months after Annie’s return, Adam Binder is still plagued by nightmares about his unborn nephew, and tension is building between him and his boyfriend, Vic, as Adam struggles to recover from the torture he suffered at the hands of a vicious cult.

Meanwhile, banshees have begun preying on humans and fae alike, the Lost Ones—mortals trapped in the Spirit Realm—are on the brink of an uprising, and the Between, a forbidden magical realm where Adam battled the Red Wolf, holds a secret that elves are desperate to keep.

Even more mysterious, someone is purging knowledge about the elven religion from every known repository of information, and not even Jack, the librarian at Rogue Community College, can figure out how or why.

Somehow, these things are all connected, and Adam needs to piece it together and find out who is behind the chaos before the Spirit Realm is destroyed.

Backwoods Banshee is part of the award-winning Adam Binder series:

Author Interview with David R. Slayton:

Hi David! Congratulations on the release of your new book!
Backwoods Banshee is the fifth book in your Adam Binder series. Can you give us a brief description of the series as a whole?

The series is about Adam Binder, a broke, gay witch from Guthrie, Oklahoma, who has to go to Denver to repair his relationship with his estranged family when his sister-in-law gets possessed. Through his adventures he’s faced down more than one big bad, fallen in love, healed quite a bit, and despite his low standing in the magical hierarchy, established himself as a hero. The Scottsdale Public Library said that the first book, White Trash Warlock, is as if the Dresden Files and Supernatural had a gay baby. I think that sums it up nicely.

What, or who, was the inspiration behind your main character?

Adam has a lot of my background. He’s from Guthrie. He’s a high school dropout. We both grew up in a trailer in the woods. I love urban fantasy but it so often takes place in large cities like Chicago and I could never see someone with my background in it. I essentially wrote what I wanted to read, to highlight a hero from a working-class background who gets to be the hero.

How does Adam grow throughout the series, and what changes for him in Backwoods Banshee?

My poor golden boy. I’ve certainly put him through the wringer. He’s grown up a lot. He’s less cocky, less naïve. By the fifth book, or the sixth, if you count spin off, Rogue Community College, which I do, he’s a little slower to throw himself in front of a bullet for someone he doesn’t know. There’s also a three year time jump between Deadbeat Druid and Redneck Revenant, so we get to see an Adam who’s a little bit older and a lot more settled into his skin.

Describe one unique fantasy aspect that you created in these books.

I’m especially proud of my take on the elves, who one reviewer said would have Tolkien spinning in his grave. They have a fascination with the past that can hinder their understanding of the humans they interact with and cosplay as gangsters from the 1940s. In Denver they reside in Lakeside, our run down amusement park. Their Queen, Argent, likes fast cars and it’s been said that she would fit nicely in a Fast and Furious movie.

Did you have the series planned out at book one, or do you come up with new stories as you go? Do you have any more Adam Binder books planned?

I wrote White Trash Warlock on a bit of a whim. I’d been struggling to land an agent or a deal with my epic fantasies, so I was starting to despair about publishing. That lead me to write something just for me, and that became Warlock. When we sold it to Blackstone they wanted a three book deal and I was ecstatic to get the chance to expand the world and story. At the moment it’s planned to end with book six, Pawnshop Paladin, but if the reader interest or the sales are there I have ideas for a third arc and trilogy.

What was the most difficult scene for you to write in Backwoods Banshee? Which was the most fun?

Adam is dealing with some fallout from Redneck Revenant, and that includes PTSD. These books have always had a theme surrounding mental health. Banshee is exploring a new side of that. It was hard to write and tow that line. It also dips a little closer toward horror, and that was fun, new territory to explore. The most fun scenes involve a new set piece, the Night Market, which is a magical flea market. If you’ve read the series you know that I like to include local landmarks. The Mayan theatre makes an appearance and the Night Market is accessed through one of the antique malls that you’ll find along Broadway.

What does your writing routine look like?

I’m writing full time now so it looks a lot like a nine to five, though I don’t resent working late if I have the brain points to go late. I get up, feed the cats, put of the coffee, and get to work, usually with one of the kitties at my side. I try to take a break to stretch and move around a bit about once an hour but on a good day, when I’m focused, I can write about 2500 good words. One of the hardest things is giving myself permission to take a day off from time to time. There’s a lot of guilt. I feel like I’ve been given this incredible gift, to get to do what I love, and I don’t want to abuse that privilege.

What’s your go-to beverage while writing?

Coffee! It’s almost ritualistic, though at my age I’ve had to switch to decaf in the afternoon.

What does writing success look like to you?

Reaching readers. Reading a good review or meeting someone at an event who found my books and was touched by them is the highest compliment. A fan recently drove several hours to meet me at the Wyoming Pop Culture Con in Casper and gave me a painting inspired by The Silent Paths of Night. There’s nothing like that feeling, knowing that my words had that kind of impact on someone.

What books or authors have had an influence on your writing career?

Margaret Atwood was a huge one for me. Her prose, especially in Cat’s Eye, was something I wanted to reach for and will likely never reach. Lois McMaster Bujold’s Curse of Chalion is a critical book for me. Rilke’s poetry. I really feel writers should read as much and as widely as possible and I work to vary my reading by genre and form.

Tell us what readers can expect from you next.

The third and final book in the award-winning Gods of Night and Day series, The Sun’s Last Dawn, will be out next year (2027). The sixth Adam Binder book, Pawnshop Paladin, may be out in 2027 depending on the publisher’s timeline. It may be 2028. I have something else huge to tell you about soon, but am sworn to secrecy. Follow me on social media or sign up for my newsletter at www.davidrslayton.com, though you should be able to hear the squee of excitement three states away when the news drops.

Thanks for joining us!

David R. Slayton

David R. Slayton (He/Him) grew up in Guthrie, Oklahoma, where finding fantasy novels was pretty challenging and finding ones with diverse characters was downright impossible. Now he lives in Denver and writes the books he always wanted to read. His debut, White Trash Warlock, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. In 2015, David founded Trick or Read, an initiative to give out books along with candy to children on Halloween as well as uplift lesser-known authors or those from marginalized backgrounds. His epic fantasy, Dark Moon, Shallow Sea, won the Colorado Book Award.

Find him online at:
www.DavidRSlayton.com