PHOTO: Barbara Barnett, author of The Apothecary’s Curse and Alchemy of Glass, channels science, myth, and character into genre-defying narratives.
Exploring Immortality Folklore And Fantasy Through History And Heart
Barbara Barnett blends Celtic mythology, Victorian medicine, and speculative science in immersive thrillers that challenge genre boundaries while grounding fantastical ideas in deeply human questions of love, loss, and healing.
Barbara Barnett writes with the mind of a scientist and the soul of a storyteller. Her work fuses the rigor of research with the enchantment of myth, offering readers a bridge between what we know and what we imagine might still be true. In The Apothecary’s Curse and Alchemy of Glass, she threads together Celtic lore, medical theory, and speculative science with remarkable precision and wonder, creating narratives that feel both ageless and startlingly relevant.
As a pop culture critic, editor, and author, Barnett brings an astute sense of narrative structure and character development to her fiction. Her years of exploring story from the inside out—through essays, interviews, and analysis—have shaped her ability to balance intricate plots with deeply human emotional stakes. Whether parsing the metaphors of Victorian medicine or mapping the possibilities of quantum time, she keeps one foot firmly planted in the human condition.
At the heart of Barnett’s storytelling lies a question: what happens when the boundaries between myth and science begin to dissolve? In her worlds, immortality is less a power than a weight; folklore is not escape but revelation. Her characters do not merely chase answers—they wrestle with them, live with them, and sometimes break beneath their burden.
Barnett’s work invites us to enter those liminal spaces where past and future converse, and where the real and the fantastical exist not in contradiction, but in harmony. She does not ask us to suspend disbelief; she asks us to believe a little more broadly.
How did your experience as Publisher & Executive Editor at Blogcritics influence the tone and themes in The Apothecary’s Curse and Alchemy of Glass?
At Blogcritics, I’ve conducted hundreds of interviews with creatives, including Hollywood writers, writer-producers and actors. We always come around to discussing story and character. How they balanced plot and character narratives.All of that was in my ear as I was writing Apothecary. Both novels reflect a blend of folklore, science, and historical detail, grounded in very human questions—how we heal, what we fear, and what we’re willing to sacrifice for love and immortality. Understanding that blend is a direct result doing countless in-depth, between the lines reviews and essays on television series and the characters that populate them.
In The Apothecary’s Curse, you intertwine Victorian London and modern-day Chicago—what research challenges did presenting both eras authentically pose?
I spent months reading about early apothecaries, their interaction with “gentleman physicians,” and the cultural struggles of the time. For modern Chicago, I leaned on personal experience to capture the city’s hidden corners and moods. The biggest challenge was making sure the transitions felt seamless—two worlds that feel real but carry the same sense of wonder and dread. I researched the serious current scientific work on immortality, as well as some of the more out-there ideas. I mined Victorian-era newspapers, maps, and history of early Victorian England. I also diddeep research into the mythology of the fairy folk.
You describe Alchemy of Glass as a blend of Celtic mythology, science, and fairy lore—how did you balance historical myth with speculative elements?
Magic and myth are science we don’t yet understand. That was my mantra throughout. I think of myth as the first science: our ancestors’ attempt to explain the inexplicable. So rather than see myth and science as opposites, I wove them together. In Alchemy of Glass, the legends of the fairies are lenses for exploring quantum physics and the nature of time. My rule of thumb: the magic must feel like it could be true if you tilt your head just right.
Gaelan Erceldoune is an immortal apothecary—how did you develop his character arc across both books to avoid stereotypes?
I wanted Gaelan to feel deeply human, not just tragic. His immortality is both a gift and a burden; he’s brilliant but broken, carrying centuries of loss and responsibility. He adores being present for the greatest achievements of his time(s), revels in new technology. Across both books, his arc is about learning to live with uncertainty, to love and trust again despite knowing how easily it can be lost.
The Apothecary’s Curse received a Bram Stoker Award nomination—how did that recognition shape your approach in writing Alchemy of Glass?
The nomination definitely drove me, gave me a huge vote of confidence that readers were open to stories that straddle genres and defy easy labels. It gave me permission to lean even harder into big questions, atmospheric settings, morally complicated characters.
Your work spans medical thriller, fantasy, sci-fi, and romance—how do you blend these genres without overwhelming readers?
I see genre as seasoning, not the whole meal. My novels are character driven, and genre is wherever that takes me.. If readers care about Gaelan and what he wants—whether he’s in a Victorian hospital, a modern Chicago bookshop, or a mythical glen—they’ll follow him anywhere. I use genre elements to raise stakes and deepen the mystery, but they’re never there just to show off. It’s always about the human story underneath.
As a pop-culture and sci-fi geek and podcaster, what inspired your shift from non-fiction (Chasing Zebras) to immersive fantasy-thrillers?
I’ve always been a novelist at heart. I began my first one when I was about 14 years old! And,I’ve always loved stories that make you question what’s real. Chasing Zebras, my book on House, M.D., was really about the mysteries of the human body and mind. Moving into historical fantasy felt like a natural extension—taking that curiosity about medical oddities and scientific frontiers and pushing it into the realm of “What if?” Fiction lets me follow questions no textbook can answer: What happens when science, myth, and magic collide? What does immortality do to the soul?
What one piece of advice would you offer aspiring authors hoping to write genre-blending, research-intensive novels like yours?
Be fearless about your curiosity—and ruthless about your storytelling. Research is vital—and keeps you and your characters grounded in authenticity. But you can’t let it swamp your characters. Build a great world, but only overtly show what’s necessary. Find the emotional thread that holds your big ideas together. And don’t be afraid to mix things that “shouldn’t” go together—sometimes the best stories happen in the spaces between genres.
