Confession: I Hate Vampires and Werewolves

I’ve always considered myself an epic fantasy girl. Give me a hero, an evil nemesis and an impossible quest and I’m in my element. I devour books by Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson and Robin Hobb as if they were slabs of chocolate. The guilt-free kind.

So it came as a bit of a surprise that I prefer writing urban fantasy. I don’t generally read a lot in this genre (am I allowed to say that out loud?), because I don’t particularly care for vampires or werewolves. Is it just me, or are the majority of urban fantasy novels overrun by these two supernatural creatures? I don’t know if it’s the result of living in a post-Twilight era, but I have yet to find a series that does not have a brooding immortal with overlong canines in it.

Since when has deathly pale with a thirst for blood been sexy? And don’t even get me started on hairy beasts that mark the furniture. Imagine all the vacuuming. No thanks!

I promise you that my Mythical Menagerie series (first installment coming soon – sign up to be notified here), which takes place in a world where creatures from myth and folklore live among us, will never have a vampire or a werewolf in it. Unicorns, yes. Dragons, definitely. Lesser-known creatures from Far Eastern, African, and Native American traditions, most probably.

[image error] Werewolf vs Vampire | © Dragoart

There’s a whole world rich in lore out there. I think it’s time we looked a little further than the confines of the traditional denizens of the urban fantasy sphere and be more creative with our choices of characters.

Can you suggest a good urban fantasy series without any werewolves or vampires in it? What other supernatural creature has become a cliché of the genre too? What are your favourite mythological creatures?