Praise for Modern Magic
“I love it! The magic framework is well worked out, the writing
is apt, and the crises are scary . . . . this is a fun novel.”
-Piers Anthony, NYT bestselling author
“I enjoyed [Modern Magic] . . . . quite cute, fast-paced, and
well-written. Very well done.”
-Rob Knowles, SFWA author of numerous award-winning short stories
“Modern Magic is well-written, with great characters and an
excellent handling of action and suspense. I literally found it hard
to put it down . . . and many, many lines made me laugh.”
-Leah Cypess, author of “Shalott's Inn” and “Dead
Silent”
“An episodic tale with an overlying story arc that delivers a
climactic payoff . . . . it will no doubt be enjoyed by casual and
hardcore fantasy fans alike.”
-Dennis R. Upkins, author of “Stranger Than Fiction” and
“It's All Greek To Me”
“Awesome. Love the complete tie-together. [. . .] Thanks for letting
me read this. [. . .] You bring the action to a head, play 'hide the
villain' with aplomb, and give us a nice wrap-up.”
-Timothy Webster
“I really liked the story, the twist about [excised],
but also the rest. I found it really exciting, well-paced and well
written.”
-Regine Becher
Read more user reviews on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, LibraryThing, or any other book review site. Or search Google for the many positive reviews in book blogs.
Modern in almost every way
John and Liz Prospero come from a long line of magical renegade hunters. John’s one of the strongest sorcerers his family has ever produced. Liz is a sport, born without magic. Which one was lucky?
You’d think Liz at least could live a normal life. But for a Prospero, confronting renegades is normal. Wherever she goes, her magical heritage follows, and it usually brings danger along for the ride. Oh, and don’t forget keeping half her life secret from all her friends.
John always knew he was expected to become a warrior, but that doesn’t mean he has to like it. Working all day and fighting crime nights and weekends can wear a guy out. Especially with magical crime rising sharply, and fewer sorcerers willing to take on the renegades.
One man has a plan to bring sorcery and modern justice together, but can it work? Does it go too far, or not far enough? How can anyone decide, when no one knows what the problem is?
John and Liz each play a pivotal role in finding and defeating the underlying villains, during a decade of adventures which transform modern magic in the U.S.A.
[Read the Online Stories]
[Buy Modern Magic now on Amazon]
Modern Magic
The first five parts are available online. Depending on how you count, that's five out of twelve episodes, five out of fifteen stories, or about a third of the book.
Why five? Because I wanted to give you a good-sized sample, but also a reasonably satisfactory self-contained reading experience. Although the central threads are developed in the first five, they're not as unavoidable as they become later. If you read the first five and decide against buying the book, you can write your own happy ending fairly easily. A few early threads are wrapped up, so the fifth should give you some story closure if you decide not to buy.
If you're seeing or hearing this, it means your web browser won't let you use this particular JavaScript. Since the spoiler hiding won't work for you, here's a nice, simple list of links to the stories currently available:
Enjoy. And sorry about the JavaScript thing, but some search engines penalize sites which use more traditional spoiler methods.
The rest of the episodes are in the Modern Magic book, available through Amazon and elsewhere.
Graduation Day
-
17-year-old Liz attends John's college graduation, despite her ferocious avoidance of magic. A threat to the ceremony's keynote speaker leads to heightened security. The experience awakens every memory of feeling second-class, and culminates in a screaming match with John.
Squabbles are forgotten when the entire ceremony is taken hostage. Since the villain has access to the school's magical power reserves, there's nothing any sorcerer on the outside can do. How can a couple of kids defeat a powerful and experienced sorcerer bent on destruction?
- "I was fascinated by your story 'Graduation Day' and could not put it down until I finished." -Roselyn Silverman
- "I really liked looking at magic from the standpoint of your mundane narrator. It's a unique perspective and sets Liz up as an outsider - but the twist is, she's alien because she's normal. Nice." -Jayne Morgan
Flying Solo
-
Two years later, John, just turned 21 and still in grad school, is dispatched on his first hunt for a renegade sorcerer—alone. With most of his magical experience limited to academia, he's secretly frantic about screwing up.
His worst fears are almost realized when the renegade takes Liz hostage and seizes all his magical tools. Outgunned and confronting a dangerous sorcerer face-to-face, John has only minutes to defeat the bad guy and save his sister's life.
- "I think you are developing the characters well. They had strong personalities in the first one and they have continued on in the second. The story flowed well and was interesting . . . The story has kept my interest and left me wanting more." -Cheryl O'Keefe
- "I am really loving what you're doing with this story. This is chapter two and I'm even more entranced and can't wait to see what happens next." -Denny Upkins
Family Secrets
-
Liz' quiet mundane life is disrupted by a threat from a mentally troubled relative. Her family close ranks to protect her, but she's more concerned about her boyfriend learning about magic prematurely.
A trap springs when John arrives. Liz is left unharmed, while John is missing and in grave danger. Can she find and free him in time, while keeping her boyfriend away from knowledge of magic?
- "I liked this episode very much, to the point where finding anything to complain about is irritatingly hard." -Karl Hasselstrom
- "I liked this story even better than the second one. Sorry I couldn't find more things wrong . . . I did enjoy it a lot and I look forward to the next installment." -Paul Baughman
Family Tree
-
John, still in grad school, is madly in love with mundane Melanie when he meets long-lost second cousin Paul. Twists and turns lead to a heartbreaking denoument.
- "I loved this story. My favourite so far; and the best written. It has a tight plot with lots of action, unexpected twists and turns, fantastic characters: everything needed for a good solid mystery story." - Jamaal-Sean Pemberton
- "Each chapter gets better and better (this one being no exception) and I can't wait to see what happens next with John and Liz." -Denny Upkins
Trust
-
Liz, now in New York City, stumbles across Lily, a runaway from a community of sorcerer isolationists. Lily is seeking her nephew, who was abandoned at birth because he was mundane. Liz summons John to find the baby and aid Lily's escape from the isolationists.
John guards Liz and Lily's escape, but is outnumbered and in great danger. With no time to plan, he makes a grave error in judgment which will haunt him for the rest of his life.
Liz decides that she must trust her boyfriend, Jason, with knowledge of magic rather than continue to hide such an important part of her life from him. Shell-shocked John must trust his girlfriend, Magdala, to help him face his inner demon and finish the mission.
- "I liked this chapter a lot . . . Your imagery is fantastic, particularly during the fight scenes . . . I thought that your portrayal of the boyfriend struggling to come to grips with the extraordinary will compete solidly against many, many lackluster competitors." -Brian McKenzie
- ". . . the connections you've maintained throughout the stories are there, showing us how they've changed, grown, how [their] lives have been shaped. I enjoyed this story, just as I have all the others, of them all this is my definite favorite [so far]." -Jamaal-Sean Pemberton
- "Just excellent. I have no improvements to suggest." -Karl Hasselstrom
That's it for the free ones, folks. I hope you enjoyed them. If you did, you might also enjoy my other work, which includes a few historicals of the Modern Magic world as well as unrelated things.
Want to find out when I publish new things? Join the announcements list or subscribe to the RSS feed to get an automatic notice.
