Meet Halli Starling

My hearts, I can’t wait for you to meet Halli Starling—a queer librarian with a passion for the occult and all things strange and historical. Based in Michigan, they share a cozy life with their spouse, a pair of feline supervisors, and an endless stack of books. When not writing, you’ll find them co-hosting The Human Exception podcast, rolling dice in D&D, or soaking up Michigan’s beautiful outdoors.

We planned this interview to drop right after Halli’s gorgeous cover reveal for Demimonde with IndieVisible on January 7. The book is scheduled to hit shelves March 25, so mark your calendars! And don’t miss our Instagram Live on Friday, January 17, at 7 p.m. Eastern—we’ll be talking all things Demimonde and more.

JEN: Halli, thanks for doing this interview. Nice to meet you! Please, tell me about you.

HALLI: I'm that kid who grew up in libraries and decided becoming a librarian was definitely the career path I wanted to take. I got my master’s in library and information science well over a decade ago and spent many years working reference desks, running programming, and managing departments. I left libraries for the world of publishing but am really grateful I get to keep working with books and promoting marginalized voices. But I didn't really start writing seriously until 8 years ago, when I ran my first Dungeons & Dragons campaign. I'd always wanted to write a book but didn't know where to start, and after that campaign ended, I realized I had hundreds of pages of this massive story. I'd written a book (probably more like two or three!). So, I sat down to write a vampire book, Wilderwood, and have been writing ever since. Each book I write improves my skills, my prose, and deepens my desire to tell character-first stories that don't hold readers' hands but let them explore the narrative the way that suits them.

JEN: This is so fascinating to me! I’ve always been curious about D&D but have never had the chance to play. I used to work with someone who would tell me all about the elaborate scenarios she created—it sounded so creative and immersive. What’s your favorite genre to read? And to write?

HALLI: To read: gothic/paranormal/historical romance OR nonfiction. I'm a big nonfiction buff. To create: romance for sure, but I like throwing a genre on top of it, like historical fantasy or thriller.

JEN: I love that mix—it feels like it gives you so much room to explore different tones and themes.

HALLI: I'd say it's about the role of queer voices and queer history in literature today. Given all the attempted book challenges and bans going on in the US, those marginalized voices (not just queer ones, but all marginalized voices) deserve bigger and bigger platforms. Regressing our reading back to only white, cis, straight is deeply damaging.

JEN: I completely agree about marginalized voices deserving bigger platforms.  Who is your favorite author?

HALLI: Favorite author is...that's really tough! For me, it depends on the genre. For historical romance, definitely KJ Charles and Cat Sebastian. For fantasy, Robert Jackson Bennett, and a recent favorite is Julie Leong, who wrote the most amazing cozy fantasy called The Teller of Small Fortunes. If we're talking literary, I'd have to say Mariana Enriquez and V Castro (though both do have paranormal themes in their work as well).

JEN: Every one of those names is new to me. I love it! What other creators are you friends with, and how do they help you create better?

HALLI: The indie author community is so vast and varied, and I count myself very fortunate to have made friends like Kristina Carmela and Merlina Garance. Everyone is so supportive and kind and knowledgeable.

JEN: Kristina Carmela is a huge supporter of indie authors. Nominations for the 2025 Indieverse Awards are open until January 13! What's your favorite music? Do you work best with music or without? 

HALLI: I absolutely cannot write with any distractions, and I envy people who can write while music or the TV is on! I have to stick to silence or something unobtrusive, like white noise or chillhop playlists.

JEN: My new thing lately is ambient videos on YouTube. If it’s more distracting than a crackling fire or ocean waves, I’m sunk. Where are you from? Do you live now where you grew up?

HALLI: I'm from Ohio, in the US, but currently live in Michigan. Ohio is...not very interesting and as someone who lived 35+ years there, I have no desire to include it into any of my work. Michigan has some truly unique, beautiful places and fascinating history, some of which has made its way into one of my books. In The Way We Wind, two characters go on a ghost hunt near an abandoned copper mining town in the Upper Peninsula. Those towns do exist and there’s some dark history in that area that could easily lend itself toward ghost stories.

JEN: The more I learn about Michigan, the more I think I’ll end up living there someday. Are you a morning bird or a night owl? When do you create best? 

HALLI: I write best at night, after my brain has shut off from work processes and tasks.

JEN: What sort of themes do you most enjoy tackling in your work?

HALLI: I am a very picky consumer of media, and I see this carried over into my work a lot. I don't enjoy entertainment that holds my hand through the entire story; it feels tedious and boring, and is often, for me, deeply unimaginative. So, I like to give readers either straightforward stories, like my novellas, that are character-focused, or more complex books like Coup de Coeur and Venor, which anticipate that readers who get invested will want to follow along for the rest of the story. Thematically, I've recently come to understand that a lot of my work is about grief, redemption, and rebirth/finding a new path. I think age plays a big part in this, since I don't believe I could have written those books ten years ago, but now they seem to be pretty prevalent in my work.

JEN: That’s such a thoughtful answer—I love how intentional you are with the way you craft your stories. I think readers can feel it when an author trusts them to engage and interpret without being spoon-fed. Thematically, grief, redemption, and rebirth are so resonant, and it’s fascinating how our own growth shapes what we write. What's coming next? Do you have any planned releases or works in progress?

HALLI: I do! I usually have two books being written at once. Currently, Demimonde, the second book in my Oracle, Tailor, Curator series, is being wrapped up for March 2025 publication. I'm working on a queer romance novella called Pose for Me, something I'll likely offer for free, since it's really just for fun and every now and then we all need an easy read. And then I'll be working on the sequel to my werewolf thriller, Venor, with hopes of publishing that at the end of 2025.

JEN: In what ways does creating energize or exhaust you?

HALLI: For me, creation is wholly separate from anything else I do in my daily life. It is work, yes, but I've often said writing and therapy help me battle my demons, and without one, the other wouldn't work. I also love taking my books to events and markets in the area; getting to meet other authors and readers is a singularly unique joy.

JEN: Where do you get the ideas for your books? What inspires you?

HALLI: Oh, so much. I've always been a bit of a goth, so this recent revival of interest in gothic literature makes me very happy. Anything weird or occult I find fascinating (there's a lot of that in my Oracle, Tailor, Curator trilogy; going as far back as Dr. John Dee, who served as a kind of court mage to Queen Elizabeth I).

JEN: I love that! Gothic literature is such a perfect blend of beauty and darkness, and it’s amazing to see it getting the appreciation it deserves again. Your trilogy sounds incredible—I’m a sucker for stories with historical threads like that. What has been the toughest criticism of your work you have received? What has been the biggest compliment?

HALLI: My books are almost always slow reads (slow builds, slow burns, that kind of thing). So, I've seen that a fair amount. On the flip side, I had a reader compare me to Helen Hoang as far as character development and voice were concerned. But the best thing that’s ever happened to me is getting to meet readers in my area and have some of them come back to me at another event and ask to have their books signed. That's wild.

JEN: Best feeling ever, I agree. What advice would you give to your younger self?

HALLI: Be kind to yourself. You're on your own schedule. Let yourself rest and recharge.

JEN: That’s such a great reminder—kindness and rest are so important, and I think we all need to hear that more often. Thank you so much, Halli, for sharing your insights, your process, and a little glimpse into the worlds you’ve created. It’s been such a pleasure to chat with you.

My hearts, please find and follow Halli on their website and all their socials: Instagram, Threads, and TikTok. Please plan to join us on Friday, January 17 at 4 p.m. Pacific. And keep your eyes open for the March release of Demimonde.