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Jes Battis
What would a vampire courtroom look like?
How would you test a demon’s DNA?
Jes Battis can answer these questions and much more. Battis is a science fiction author who has developed inspiring works of what CSI would be like on Halloween, combining beautifully the elements of magic and technology to fit together and make them credible.
Battis’ novel Night Child stars Tess Corday, an Occult Special Investigator (OSI) who tackles crimes and misdemeanors of the supernatural in modern-day city of Vancouver. The novel takes goblins, vampires, warlocks, and more into a forensics lab where the heroine works to solve murders of this sort.
Currently Battis is anticipating the sequel to Night Child and his OSI series, A Flash of Hex, to be released on May 26th. What more can readers expect from the crime labs of magic and mystery? Jes Battis tells us all about his world.
Jackie Sonnenberg: Which was the very first book you published, and how has it given you your identity as an author?
Jes Battis: I published a book of criticism called Blood Relations, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. I am very grateful to McFarland Press for taking a chance on me. A lot more scholars now find themselves drawn to independent reference presses, such as Lexington, Continuum, South End, IB Tauris, and others, since University Presses have review times that can last for years. Plus, pop culture scholarship isn't always a safe gamble for them. Publishing that book sort of made me known as 'that Buffy guy,’ which is a compliment to me.
JS: What inspired you to write the first book about Tess Corday, Night Child?
JB: I wanted to write about the intersection between magic and technology, and I also wondered: what happens when a wizard gets murdered? Sure, there's an investigation within some kind of occult community, but is there a police force, a forensics lab? How would those two forces, forensic science and magic, combine in an urban city like Vancouver?
JS: Is A Flash of Hex the sequel to Night Child, as in is it supposed to take place directly after the events in the previous book?
JB: Hex takes place exactly one year after Night Child, and delves into the drug trade among wizards and demons. It is set in various parts of Vancouver, including the Downtown East Side, Commercial Drive, and the West End.
JS: Do you see books about Tess Corday stretching into a long-term series that can take you anywhere you like?
JB: I have a contract for two more books, which will make four, and I have stories planned after that.
JS: If Night Child were to be made into a movie, who would play Tess?
JB: Me, of course.
JS: What makes science-fiction so compelling and so different to write?
JB: It explores ethical possibilities. What happens if we achieve X (faster-than-light travel; medical immortality; a living computer). As a genre, SF has the political duty to address global inequalities. Fantasy can do so as well, but critics like Todorov and Armitt think that it does so more mythological, more elliptically. I think Samuel Delany is the perfect example of a highly politicized writer of SF who talks about being black and queer, both as an academic and as a novelist.
JS: While creativity must be a big benefit to use with science-fiction, what are the rules every sci-fi writer must follow?
JB: Even an imaginary universe has to follow physical rules. The rules may not make 'real world' sense, but they have to make sense within the boundaries of the fantasy-scape. Plus, all you have to do is read Stephen Hawking to see that the 'real' universe is as bizarre as something out of Star Trek.
JS: Have you or would you consider writing other genres? Why or why not?
JB: I think both Fantasy and SF have the capacity to challenge discriminatory norms around race, gender, sexuality, poverty, and class. Although SF/Fantasy has a rich tradition of gay, lesbian, and trans characters, there still aren't enough. Queer writers of fantasy and science fiction have the obligation (which can also be a great pleasure) to write about queer characters in their novels. I really look forward to seeing this part of the fantastic cultural landscape changing.
Jes Battis was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He has a PhD in English from Simon Fraser University and currently works as a post doctoral research fellow at the City University of New York, specializing in teen gay and lesbian literature.
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