Guest Appearance with author Gigi Pandian

I am so excited to welcome Gigi Pandian to the blog today for The Alchemist of All Hallows Eve tour! If you have read the book, you already know Dorian the gargoyle steals nearly every scene, and it turns out his creation was not random at all, Gigi has an actual real life passion for gargoyles, right down to the one perched in her own backyard. Here’s Gigi to tell us all about it.

Talk to Me About Gargoyles
By Gigi Pandian

Before I get into why gargoyles are amazing, I should explain what the term even
means.
Technically, a gargoyle is an architectural feature on a building in which a grotesque (a
fantastical figure carved in stone) is used as a waterspout. However, the term “gargoyle”
has come to be used more broadly for all sorts of grotesques. When people think of
gargoyles, they think of all the animal-like figures on Gothic architecture.
You might have also heard of chimeras, which in a similar manner once meant a very
specific hybrid creature from Greek mythology, but the word is now more widely used to
mean any mythical creature that’s a mash-up of multiple animals.
As I began creating a character who was originally carved in stone for Notre Dame
Cathedral in Paris before being brought to life through alchemy, I liked using the widely
understood term of gargoyle. “Dorian the gargoyle” sounds so much better than “Dorian
the grotesque,” doesn’t it? In the books, Dorian declares that although he recognizes he
is technically a grotesque, he prefers the more dignified term gargoyle!
I first discovered gargoyles, grotesques, and chimeras when I was 10 years old. The
summer after I turned 10, my anthropologist mom had some book research in the
Highlands of Scotland for one of her academic books, and I was deemed old enough to
go with her. I was kid growing up in Southern California, so my mind was blown by all
the ancient buildings in Scotland, from ruined seaside castles to Gothic churches
covered with gargoyles.
I was immediately drawn to gargoyles for both their mysterious appearance and their
even more mysterious history. Scholars disagree about what they were meant to
represent. Were they there to ward off evil, or perhaps to frighten people into attending
church? So many of the stone carvers who created gargoyles expressed such a
wonderful sense of humor with their whimsical creations, so I also wonder how much of
the ornamentation of the Renaissance was simply creative expression!

Gargoyles looked down at me from their perch on these magnificent, mysterious
buildings. I was already a big fan of mystery and adventure books, TV shows, and
movies, so discovering gargoyles fit perfectly into how my imagination was developing.
Gargoyles were a perfect representation all things mysterious.
My love of mystery and all things mysterious stuck with me to adulthood. I’ve taken
thousands of photographs of gargoyles around the world, and I’m always delighted to
spot a new one. There’s so much personality in each carving. So many stories to
imagine.
My husband is the gardener of the family, but I’m the decorator, so I made sure we had
a stone gargoyle looking out over our backyard vegetable garden. And inside, we have
smaller gargoyle figurines you’ll spot peeking out from bookcases. Noticing one as I pick
out a book never fails to make me smile.
So far, none of my own gargoyles has come to life through alchemy like French chef
Dorian Robert-Houdin from my Accidental Alchemist Mysteries. Until that day, I’ll have
to settle for Dorian’s personality coming through in the pages of the books, always
insisting that I got my outline wrong and he would actually do something far more daring
to investigate the new mystery.

-Gigi Pandian, author of The Alchemist of All Hallows Eve

Okay, I did not expect to end this post wanting my own backyard gargoyle, but here we are. It is so clear how much genuine wonder went into creating Dorian, and honestly it explains so much about why he felt like such a fully realized character rather than just a fun gimmick. I love that his whole personality, opinionated, dramatic, and a little bit extra, was clearly inspired by decades of you noticing the personality in every carving you came across. Thank you so much for sharing this, Gigi, I will never look at a gargoyle the same way again.

Learn more about Gigi and her work at gigipandian.com.

Shop The Book: The Alchemist of All Hallows Eve
Shop The Series: The Accidental Alchemist
Shop My Stack: 2026 Books Read

Synopsis:

THE ALCHEMIST OF ALL HALLOWS EVE by Gigi Pandian

AN ACCIDENTAL ALCHEMIST MYSTERY

An eternally young alchemist. A gargoyle who fancies himself Poirot. A Murder House for sale the week before Halloween.

Zoe Faust has run from her past for centuries. She didn’t plan on settling down. She didn’t plan on falling for a mortal man. She certainly didn’t plan on the gargoyle.

Now Zoe, her fiancé, and her French chef gargoyle best friend Dorian have found an enchanting home with a hidden cottage for Dorian. It’s perfect for their little family. Except for one thing. Forty years ago, the night before Halloween, a woman was murdered in their dream house. Or was she?

When an enigmatic stranger arrives and insists that a mythological Irish witch holds the secret to the unsolved crime, Halloween turns deadly once more. Refusing to let Zoe lose the home she’s waited centuries for, Dorian the gargoyle sets out to crack the case.

Can an alchemist, a gargoyle, and a teashop-owning detective solve two Halloween murders before an innocent man takes the fall and their perfect home slips away?

The Alchemist of All Hallows Eve is the whimsical tenth book in USA Today bestselling author Gigi Pandian’s Anthony Award-winning Accidental Alchemist mystery series. If you love cozy fantasy, Agatha Christie-style whodunits, and found family, you’ll adore this charming Halloween mystery, complete with Irish fortune-telling recipes.

Book Details:

Genre: Cozy Mystery, Cozy Fantasy Mystery, Culinary Cozy
Published by: Gargoyle Girl Productions
Publication Date: September 8, 2026
Number of Pages: 288
Series: The Accidental Alchemist Mystery Series, Book 10 | Each is a Stand Alone

Tour Participants:

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Author Bio:

Gigi Pandian is a USA Today bestselling mystery author, locked-room mystery enthusiast, and fan of exploring ruined castles in the rain. She’s been awarded Agatha, Anthony, Lefty, and Derringer awards, and been a finalist for the Edgar. She writes the Accidental Alchemist mysteries (humorous cozy fantasy mysteries), the Secret Staircase mysteries (locked-room mysteries called “wildly entertaining” by the New York Times), and the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt mysteries (lighthearted adventures steeped in history). Gigi lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and a gargoyle who watches over the backyard garden. For bookish fun plus a free story and free mini cookbook, sign up for her email newsletter at www.gigipandian.com.