Evette Davis
Author Interview - Evette Davis
Author of The Others
Much as she wishes otherwise, superstar political consultant Olivia Shepherd was born a powerful empath. It’s a legacy she walked away from long ago—but when she wakes up one morning to find Elsa, a tenacious time-walker, standing in her kitchen, she realizes she can no longer ignore her gifts. She is quickly plunged into the hidden world of powerful “Others” and drafted to work for the Council, a shadowy organization that summons the fog to San Francisco to obscure their involvement in human affairs.
Complicating matters further is Olivia’s new love interest, William. A centuries-old vampire, William is far too jaded to take an interest in human affairs—but Olivia no longer has the luxury of remaining impartial. As shocking details from Olivia’s own past emerge and her role in the Council begins to take shape, will she rise to the challenge of her destiny?
Author Interview - Evette Davis
Author I draw inspiration from:
I’ve been a voracious reader since childhood, so listing a specific set of writers without leaving someone out is challenging. However, Ursula Le Guin, Deborah Harkness, and Norah Roberts have been huge inspirations. I keep Norah in the mix because she is so popular and such a good storyteller. It’s easy to be very intellectual about your influences, but I pay attention to writers who give readers what they crave. Le Guinn because she was a world builder who grabbed you with her tales of the tension between good and evil. And Deborah Harkness because her All Saints Trilogy is one of my favorite reads. For specific books, I would say Dracula is a long-time favorite, as is The Historian.
Author Interview - Evette Davis | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
Oh, my goodness. I love to read a good book anywhere. Any place can become instantly comfortable when I have something good to read.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
This is a moment that calls for a clever answer, and I just don't have one. If I were pressed, I'd probably say Sherlock Holmes.
Author Interview - Evette Davis | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
I was in my thirties when I decided to try writing novels. My lifelong dream was to become a newspaper reporter, and I worked on school papers from elementary school through college. When I graduated from college, I got a job as a junior business writer for a local paper. I worked for newspapers until I went to Washington, D.C., and got involved in politics. From there, I went into public relations and started my own firm. Just after my daughter was born in 2003, I began to think about writing novels.
Olivia, the main character in the novel, is the lifelong embodiment of a question I have been trying to solve for decades: where do women derive their power, how do they learn to use it, and how do they reconcile being leaders in the face of societal expectations? The Others began as an idea for a play. I had an idea to create a frustrated political consultant down on her luck who starts seeing an ancient female warrior off-stage. The guide would give her funny advice on besting her adversaries, but only she could see her. Playwriting is not my jam; that is how the novel and the character were born.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
Paperback, e-book and eventually an audiobook.
The last book I read:
Black Bird Oracle, Deborah Harkness. I'm actually in the middle of it and highly intrigued. She is one of my favorite authors, and the All Souls Series is one of my top series. I've re-read it several times.
Author Interview - Evette Davis | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
I write by hand, in pencil, in moleskin notebooks, and then I transfer everything to my laptop later as I create a first draft. A lot can and does change as I move from my notes to actually writing it out.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
I'll have to think about this.
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
I actually have a "day job" as co-owner of a public relations firm in San Francisco. I've been running the business for 25 years and writing on the side. It's not ideal, but I've made it work. Although I love my work and the people I work with, I would like to write full-time one day.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
I'm not sure what era it belongs in, but my typical uniform is a pair of faded blue jeans and a crisp white oxford shirt, with a black, grey, or brown sweater vest.
Place I’d most like to travel:
Very much on my bucket list is Poland because of my family's connection to the country prior to the Holocaust. I'm curious about my heritage, and in general, I feel very at home in Central and Eastern Europe - no doubt because I'm Jewish.
My signature drink:
Rose all day and a touch of mezcal, please.
Favorite artist:
Aimee Mann; T.S. Eliot; Henri Matisse
Number one on my bucket list:
I would like to speak French and Spanish fluently, play acoustic guitar, and return to letterpress printmaking.
Anything else you'd like to add:
I love public libraries and have spent a good deal of my professional life helping support them. I love being outside and walking around. I can do interesting cities or hiking trails, I just like to keep moving. I’m a big fan of live music, and finally, I split my time between San Francisco and Sun Valley, Idaho.
Find more from the author:
https://www.instagram.com/evette1364
https://www.facebook.com/evette.davis.399
www.evettedavis.com
https://evetted.substack.com/
About Evette Davis:
Author Interview - Evette Davis
Evette Davis is a science fiction and fantasy writer. She is most recently the author of 48 States, which Kirkus named one of the Best Indie Books of 2022. The book was also a quarter-finalist for the BookLife Prize 2023 and longlisted in the 2023 Indie Book Awards.
Davis is also the author of The Others and The Gift, the first two installments of The Council Trilogy, which Spark Press will release in September 2024 and March 2025.
When she's not writing novels, Davis advises some of the country’s largest corporations, non-profits, and institutions as a consultant and co-owner of BergDavis Public Affairs, an award-winning San Francisco-based consulting firm. Before establishing her firm, Davis worked in Washington as a press secretary for a member of Congress. She previously was a reporter for daily newspapers in the San Francisco Bay Area. Davis splits her time between San Francisco and Sun Valley, Idaho. Visit www.evettedavis.com for more information or to sign up for her newsletter.
