Mason author’s latest novel is a mash-up of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and ‘Golden Girls’

During his undergrad days at Michigan State University, Hugo Award-winning author Jim C. Hines began writing science-fiction and fantasy stories.

“Those early stories were really, really bad, but I got hooked,” said Hines, of Mason. “I loved creating stories, I loved science fiction and fantasy, and I loved the idea of connecting with readers through my stories.”

Jim Hines

A native of Philadelphia, Hines graduated from Holt High School. He is an alumnus of MSU, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and Eastern Michigan University, where he earned a master’s degree in English and creative writing.

His latest novel, “Slayers of Old” (DAW, $29), is a humorous urban fantasy about a group of three former monster hunters — Temple, Jenny, Annette — who now run Second Life Books and Gifts in Salem, Massachusetts. The trio must come out of retirement to save the world again. 

The book is billed as “‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ meets the ‘Golden Girls.’”

“I’m a fan of both ‘Buffy’ and ‘Golden Girls,’” Hines said. “‘Buffy’ wasn’t perfect, and the creator has turned out to be rather problematic, but the show was revolutionary when it came out. And ‘Golden Girls’ is pretty much perfect. Both shows have great banter and humor and a strong sense of found-family love that I wanted to incorporate into ‘Slayers of Old.’” 

The author explained the genesis of his 21^st novel. Part of it included turning 50 in 2024. 

“While I don’t consider myself old — though my kids might argue the point — I’m definitely noticing that I’m not as young as I once was. That was a part of it, trying to write truthfully about both the good and the bad of getting older,” he said.

Another seed for the novel came from a short story, “Hunter, Healer,” that he wrote for a 2016 anthology called “Shadowed Souls.” 

“The first scene of ‘Slayers’ has a lot of overlap with the start of that story,” he said. “Part of my approach has always been to poke at the tropes of different genres and see what falls out. This time, I wanted to play with urban fantasy and to write about those elements from a different angle.”

He noted that each of the three protagonists was inspired by a different popular urban fantasy character. However, he’ll leave up to readers to figure out who’s who.

“Temple is the oldest of the three,” he said. “At 99, he recognizes his time is almost up. He feels things slipping away, and it makes him cranky. But he’s still a magical bad ass when he has to be.

“Jenny did the teenage hero thing when she was younger, but as powerful as she was, she was still a kid. She came away with a lot of trauma and has tried to get away from the monster-killing business. Instead, she offers magical healing services and helps run the bookstore. 

“Annette is the most cynical of the three. She’s an ex-private investigator who happens to be half succubus, making her stronger and faster and, well, sexier. In the midst of trying to save the world, she’s also working to reconcile with her son and get quality time with her grandchildren.” 

For Hines, one of the best parts of writing the novel was creating the secondary characters. 

“The mice who live in Temple’s attic have absorbed a lot of magic over the generations, and they’ve evolved into delightful little punks,” he said. “There’s a bit with a were-jaguar named Anton that’s just fun. He’s a nod to my author friend Anton Strout, who passed away a while back (in 2020). The Pukwudgies — small creatures with quills and the facial features of a potato — only show up for a couple of pages, but I love them. And then there’s the tentacled cat. From some of the reviews I’ve seen, the tentacled cat steals every scene he’s in.”

Writing the novel was not without its challenges, however. 

“While the main characters are a bit older than I am, several younger characters play important roles as well,” he said. “While writing the book, I found myself having to go to my stepchildren to ask for help — Do kids these days still say things like ‘throw down’ for fighting? Do they say ‘cool’ anymore? They were very helpful. And, yes, they also laughed at me.  

“Another challenge was that every time I’d write about Temple baking sweets, I’d get hungry,” he continued. “Writing this book was not good for my diabetes. Don’t worry, I mostly resisted those cravings.”

“Slayers” is one of the few standalone novel Hines has written. There are no plans for a sequel — at least for the moment. 

“Though there’s certainly room to revisit these characters and their world if I change my mind,” he said. 

For the audiobook adaptation, Brilliance Audio brought in a different narrator for each of the main characters: Nancy Wu, Paul Bellantoni and Courtney Patterson.

“I’m usually not involved in that part, but they shared sample readings from different actors who were trying out. It was interesting hearing different people’s takes on Temple’s raspy grumpiness or Annette’s French accent. And it’s always nice to see the audiobook company investing in the book,” Hines said. 

He cannot take credit for the book’s title. 

“Early working titles included ‘Guardians of the Gift Shop,’ ‘Second Life Crisis’ and ‘Demons and Doilies,’” he said. “My wife, Jen, was the one who suggested ‘Slayers of Old,’ which everyone agreed was better than any of my ideas.”

Keep up with Hines at jimchines.com.