Discovery: Interview with Louise McLaughlin

It’s our pleasure to host Louise McLaughlin, whose debut novel, Discovery, the first book in her urban fantasy series, D Notice, was just released on May 4th, 2025!

This interview is posted as part of the Wyrd & Wonder Month hosted by some amazing ladies. Check out all content on Instagram, and BlueSky!

Louise was born in the same hospital where George Orwell wrote 1984. When growing up in East Kilbride in the 80s, it was clear to see the legacy he left; there was a library on every corner and two nuclear bunkers. She went to Glasgow University and achieved a Master of Arts. She then joined the sensible corporate world of paper shuffling. For the last 25 years, her career has culminated in various promotions to the heady heights where she now tells stories for a living. She still shuffles paper, but virtually now, so that’s progress.

Connect with Louise McLaughlin

• Link
• Bluesky

The gods, witches and politicians all enjoyed the daily tug-of-war for control. In a world of constant scheming and manoeuvring, until their peaceful world of ruining each other’s day was truly disrupted.

What if it was all just a distraction, keeping everyone busy until They came back home again?

At the urging of her beloved grandmother, Cassie takes an apparently safe and humdrum job in a government office in Glasgow. However, it turns out the conspiracy theorists are right, and there’s more to the civil service than box-ticking and inscrutable acronyms. When Cassie is drawn into a plot involving alien invaders, unscrupulous billionaires and the highest levels of government, she also discovers that living in her home city are a group of semi-retired gods, witches and supernatural beings, hidden in plain sight. As Cassie’s true power becomes apparent, she becomes a vital ally against the forces that want to rid the world of gods and humans alike.

They have only 10 days to save the human race and themselves.

Welcome to the Asylum, Louise! Take a seat by the fire, have a glass of beverage of your choice, and let us start!

What inspires your writing? Do you listen to music, stare into the fire, listen to the whispering of the wind, or make deals with the Devil?

I write what I would like to read. I am a big fan of urban fantasy with a light touch. A bit of escapism that can make me smile. I like just to walk around and imagine what’s really behind the facade. That’s where I can let my imagination run riot. When I walk down Argyll Street in Glasgow, it can transport me to a world with gods and witches. Or a walk in the woods can take me to a world of elves and the fey. 

What was the most memorable place you’ve visited? Did it inspire any of your work? How did that experience affect you personally?

I have travelled quite a bit, but recently, it was my trip to Iceland that you see references to in my work. I got to see the volcano erupt and an ice cave, the contrast of extremes and how life endures resonates with me. I love the Nordic traditional stories; the traditional Icelandic Christmas stories are unbelievably gory. The traditional symbolism they have is also fascinating. They have a compass rune, which represents the thought that you are exactly where you are meant to be. I love that. I am fascinated with traditional stories and how they relate to today’s world. 

Tell us about your publishing journey! When did you start writing, how did you become a published author and what were the most important lessons you’ve learned so far? How did you utilize those lessons when preparing to publish Discovery?

I was an avid writer when I was in my younger teens, preferring to write scripts for theatre. But as I got older, I was guided to get a proper job. I never lost my enthusiasm for creating. I was always painting and writing. Although I have had some success with my landscape paintings, I was a wildcard on the Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year, and I have had a few exhibitions. I never knew where to start with my writing. So I decided just to do it. I wrote my first novel, began the query process, and then I had a whisper in my ear to look at self-publishing. I didn’t want to be another vanity publisher, so I treated it like my business. I ensured that I engaged the right professionals in the development of the novel, a good editor and cover designer. 

I’m still relatively early in the publishing journey. For me, the biggest lesson I’ve learned is to change something if it’s not working. I take advice from my editor and from industry experts, and if something isn’t working, I’m not afraid to adapt and change.

Talking about Discovery, what was the main inspiration for the story? Which aspect of the book was the most challenging to write and why?

The inspiration for Discovery came from the world today and conspiracy theories, and I just thought, what would the world look like if the conspiracy theories were real? Along Argyll Street in Glasgow, there are various government departments, hotels, pubs, etc, and I just began daydreaming about what if the conspiracies about there being an evil organisation controlling the governments were real. Then, just for fun, I wondered what if gods and witches were small business owners on the same street as these government departments. 

The most challenging part was the countdown timeline, as various characters had their interjection in the story at slightly different times, so getting the timeline to flow was the biggest challenge. Satan will be ice skating to work before I attempt a countdown in any story again.

Discovery will be published on May 4, 2025. Congrats! If you could have a release party with your MC(s) present, how that would go down? 

That would be held in the Pyramid Bar (of course), with plenty of Angel Share to go round. Angel Share is the preferred libation of the gods. The taste is like rocket fuel with a hint of candy floss. Seth would be serving the shots. Eros would be reminiscing about the good old days. Agatha and Linn would be talking about which magic spell to use to turn Eros into a feminist. And Cassie and I would have a white wine (with an Angel Share chaser) and watch the chaos.

What would you say the main themes are in Discovery?  Is there something you’d like readers to take away from it?

The main themes are about control. Mother thinks she controls the world leaders. The world leaders like to think they control the people. Witches and gods manipulate people. People like to think they have control. It makes for a fun merry-go-round of egos.

If your MC(s) had to give a TED talk, what their choice of topic would be and how they would prepare for it? What would you talk about?

Seth’s TED Talk would be “How to create chaos with humans”. He would prepare by detailing his best methods of mischief and providing empirical evidence of how humans react when he deploys each method, including the infamous hand-washing incident and a whiskey tax that caused a riot in Glasgow.

I would talk about, “When daydreaming becomes the day job”.

Describe an asylum set in the world of Discovery!

It would be an old, dilapidated hotel run by witches. The witches would mesmerise the patients. Each patient would then enter their own mind and get the experience they deserve. 

What are your future plans? Are you working on something now? Do you have plans to visit any events in 2025?

I’m currently working on the next novel, titled Dimensions, which is due for release on Sept 25. It’s a standalone novel about Frankie, who is coerced into joining a secret organisation, The 23, who claim to control the code that is behind all reality on Earth. The 23 say they want to change the code to make humanity successful. Along with his friends Hugo, a scientist, and Dawn, Frankie discovers that The 23 has a much darker side. Their training abruptly ends when they learn there is a greater threat even than The 23. These three teenagers are uniquely linked to the code, and only they can help free humanity from its influence.   

This year I plan to go to the Edinburgh Book Festival and the Wigtown Book Festival, and I’ll try to get to as many book events as possible. It’s going to be a busy year.

While you are locked in here for eternity, we will allow you to invite one visitor (fictional and otherwise) – who would you invite? And no, they can’t help you to escape.

Isolation sounds lovely. 

Well then, it was a pleasure to have a chat with you! Please allow these nice attendants to escort you out. We hope you’ll enjoy your stay in the Asylum! Any last words? 

I had fun. Let’s do this again. 

*locks door*

Grab a copy of Discovery by Louise McLaughlin!