When I think about writers who have long resisted being boxed in, I think of Barbara Hambly. In addition to being an award-winning and incredibly prolific novelist across many genres (fantasy, sci-fi, and historical fiction), Hambly has also written for the screen, tackled high profile media tie-ins, and much more. During Celsius 232 this year I was able to sit down with her to talk through her tenure in the industry.
A soft, grey rain set the tone for our interview. Hambly had just wrapped up her panel with Brandon Sanderson, so we crossed the sprawling garden that connected the auditorium to the hotel before settling into a cozy corner of the lobby. From her diverse career to her new ambition, here is Barbara Hambly.
Looking Back at a Layered Career
Like the best speculative fiction authors of her generation, Hambly grew up on The Wizard of Oz, The Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars. Other cited influences are The Phantom of the Opera and The Beatles. These great works inspired Hambly to go all in and pursue a career as a writer, which has led to over 70 published novels and other works across a variety of formats. She’s written for cartoon television, screenplays, audio dramas, media tie-ins, graphic novels, and more.
Those works include bestselling Star Wars and Star Trek novels, the Benjamin January historical mystery series, and the highly acclaimed Windrose Chronicles (Sanderson frequently cites Dragonsbane as the book that made him want to become a writer).
Backstage, before their panel together at Celsius, Sanderson said to Hambly: “You’ve done pretty much everything there is to do as a writer.”
What’s Next?
It turns out Hambly has more up her sleeve. “I want to write [video] games,” said Hambly when I asked her what’s next. “I’ve talked to a couple of people about writing video games, and it seems like something I want to find out more about—it’s the new thing.”
Because her attitude about the whole idea felt so refreshing, so inquisitive and so curious, I wondered if all of her career shifts from genre to genre, or format to format, came from a similar place. “Those were more natural,” she said, using the example of when she pivoted to historical mystery after doing a fantasy series. “I decided to write historical murder mysteries because I love historical murder mysteries. At the time, it was getting harder to make it as a fantasy writer. I had written a historical murder mystery and I sent it to an editor who really liked it and ended up buying it.”
Hambly went on to say that murder mysteries are often in series, which was why it felt natural to expand her story to focus on her lead detective—Benjamin January—across a variety of cases and situations. In time, the Benjamin January series became a character study of sorts, as many great detective stories do. “It’s like with Sherlock Holmes,” Hambly said. “You don’t care who actually killed Professor Moran. You want to see Holmes and Watson interacting. It’s like a TV series in that way.”
I pointed out that it has an episodic quality, to which Hambly readily agreed. “I loved episodic TV. It annoys me to have a whole series arc. I want to be able to watch a half hour or an hour at a time and have it be a story on its own. That was a lot of the inspiration for the Benjamin January series.”
Somehow, we got onto the topic of how the internet has changed how authors interact with their readers. “I’m much more in contact with my audience now,” Hambly said. “In the pre-internet era, I used to get a huge manila envelope with fan mail from my publisher, because that’s how people got in touch with authors—they would write to the publishers.” Hambly calls her relationship with her audience today more “immediate” than before.
What Video Games Is Barbara Hambly Playing Right Now?
“Every Monday night, [my friends] and I get together and we play Star Wars: The Old Republic.” Hambly and her friends have kept this tradition going for twenty years now, she said. They started with World of Warcraft and played that for years. “The quests eventually got repetitive,” Hambly admitted. So, they switched over to Star Trek. “And none of us liked the gameplay on Star Trek. For whatever reason, I never felt comfortable in the space battles.We’re still playing The Old Republic. I’m terrible at it,” Hambly laughs. “My friends have to tell me what to do. But, I love the gameplay.”
These evenings are part of the reason Hambly sees value in video games as storytelling mediums and as vehicles for connection. It’s kept her close to her friends for years, and they have a shared love of gaming to bond over.
When I asked her about the video games that inspired her to write for the medium, she said she couldn’t name any just yet. She’s looking forward to expanding the scope of the games she’s playing, and also to chatting with some industry experts to get a feel for where she may want to break in.
“I love console games,” Hambly shared instead. “I love Diablo. I loved Tomb Raider. I loved Prince of Persia. Those are my favorite kinds of games because they’re like being in a movie.”
It’s safe to say that whatever is on the horizon for Hambly, we won’t be disappointed.
Providing a Refuge: A Writer’s Job
Towards the end of our interview, Hambly became contemplative. “One of the things that I see as my job… is [to give] people who have a long plane flight in front of them or people who are just really tired [a way to] take their brain out and put it in some cold water for two and a half hours. And, I’m glad that people are able to use my stories as a way to be some place else when they need that.” I said that stories are refuges, in a way. “A refuge, yes,” Hambly agreed. “Particuarily people who are in high school. It’s a very difficult time.”
Fifteen-year-old Barbara Hambly needed The Lord of the Rings when it first fell into her hands, and even credits the teacher who gave it to her for “saving my life.” After Hambly mentioned that specific age, we discussed that tenderness of fifteen. “It’s a tumultuous time for anybody, I think,” Hambly said. “For lots of reasons.”
Where to Start With Barbara Hambly
If you haven’t had the pleasure of getting lost in one of Hambly’s many worlds, now is the time. From Hambly herself, here is a list of potential starting points with her work.
- If you like fantasy, start with Dragonsbane.
- If you like mystery, try the Benjamin January series, which starts with A Free Man of Color. Do note that you can read these out of order if you’d prefer to jump in somewhere else, but they’re best enjoyed in order for the characters and their journeys. There are a whopping 26 adventures in this series!
- If you want something with vampires, try the James Asher series which starts with Those Who Hunt the Night. These are best read in order of publication.
- And, if you want the book that Hambly claims as her most underrated gem, read Bride of the Rat God.
Comments (1)
I remember when I started making games like a dozen years ago and I was frustrated at something not going my way, a much older friend told me not to worry cos you’ll be in it for the long haul, you’ll be making games when you’re 70. she was right and it was encouraging. We need more older folks (sorry Barbara!) writing games and about what’s interesting to them and their lives. I love that, and I love that despite her enormous experience (and suc cess) in one field, she’s still eager to try new things. inspiring!!