Happy 2018!
In this first post of the year, I'm going to break with tradition of posting a snippet from an upcoming work.
My series, Magic Trackers, is still too new for me to release anything for you to read just yet.
Instead, I thought I would post some inspirations for the work and what is driving me.
What Inspired the Series
- An unfinished short story I wrote back in 2016 where a woman had the ability to enter an influence another person's dreams. It was called “Dream Patrol.” I loved the idea so much I wanted to make it into a series.
- I have wanted to write a gritty urban fantasy for a while now.
Urban Fantasy Series That I Love
I have pretty eclectic tastes, and I receive inspiration from a lot of different sources. In any of my novels you will see a lot of different influences.
As far as urban fantasy goes, these were the inspirations top of mind as I wrote the series:
- The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
- American Gods by Neil Gaiman
- The Twenty-Sided Sorceress series by Annie Bellet
- Persona video game series
- Devil May Cry video game series
- Witch Hunter Robin anime series
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The Basics
Aisha Robinson is a dream mage. She can enter your deepest darkest nightmares and use them to destroy your mind.
But she's a good mage.
She protects the city from demons born in dreams who try to enter reality to wreak havoc. She can also enter people's dreams and decode them—basically a dream interpreter on steroids.
She's built a business on dream interpretations, using her powers to manipulate dreams and dismantle nightmares.
She lives with her two cousins, Destiny and Darius—a shifter, and a wizard, respectively. Together, they go on adventures—or rather, adventures come to them…
Each book will be a standalone that is connected with all the others, kind of like the Dresden Files.
If this series is successful, I've written it so that I could go on for a very long time, maybe forever. So if you like it, be sure to buy your copy!
Click here to read the book description for Book 1 – Dream Born.
Pinterest Board
Check out my Pinterest Board for the series.
Be prepared to be creeped out a little—but in a good way!
Some Themes
This series is going to be dark, but not as dark as say, The Last Dragon Lord.
Some things I explore:
- Loneliness and isolation
- The bright and dark side of dreams
- Urban fantasy from a black woman's perspective
I wrote the urban fantasy that I would want to read.
Personally, I don't see enough diverse characters in this space. I wrote a heroine that I would have looked up to and idolized as young reader. Aisha's pretty kickass, so I know you guys are going to like her.
Magic System
Aisha's not a shifter or a spell caster, and she doesn't have true magical powers.
Inside a dream, her powers are infinite–she's practically a goddess. Outside of a dream, she has no powers at all.
That choice led to some interesting storylines because Aisha isn't like other (popular) heroines in this genre. She has to be smarter about how she uses her magic, and the clients that come to her are not who you would expect.
When to Expect It
I'm ahead of schedule right now, so I'm looking at a March release date right now.
In the meantime, join my list to get notifications when it launches. I'll have a snippet to post here next month.
