Yay! We survived the apocalypse. Er, we lost electricity and half the world's population.

But hey, we got magic.

Historians are still reeling from learning some ancient mysteries had a perfectly magical explanation.

Where Magic Settles collage of modern Washington, DC, history books, magical artifacts, coffee, takeout, and aether.

Waiting a YEAR for the next book in a series is rough. We get it.
Maybe we can help fill the gap. Our vibe...

Life-affirming Contemporary Fantasy • Elemental Magic • Mature Heroine • Comfort, Not Cozy • Ride-or-die Friendships • Mystery of Some Sort • Slow-Burn Romance Across the Series • Requisite Battle Scene at the End • No Vampires or Werewolves

So, about this world I built…

I made a world. My protagonist has complaints.

If you’ve found yourself here, it’s probably because you’re smashing buttons, clicking around trying to understand: what the heck is this all about. Maybe you read the About the Author or even Book 1’s blurb. Maybe you’ve even started reading Book 1 and you thought, hmm, what is up with this odd world.

However you got here, Welcome!

As an author, I am desperate to tell you all about the world I built, hence the books I’ve written. I also worry will my world appeal to you. I feel the need to explain myself. So, here’s how it started.

Since I started reading books as a kid, the stories have never been “just” stories to me. Each scene becomes a mini movie in my brain. The worlds, the towns, the characters are real to me. Sure, there is the occasional stinker of a book that doesn’t hit with me, but honestly, that’s pretty rare. Even the Meh, it’s okay books still play themselves out in my imagination.

Also, I was raised on tv. This was before internet, kids. I have ranked lists of Captains and Doctor Whos, but have faithfully watched them all. Please don’t ask about Firefly, I’m not ready yet. And don’t tell me Dark Angel isn’t possible, look around.

Let’s discuss movies. Okay? I have learned that I can either watch the movie or read the book(s). I can’t do both. Those who suffer this same issue feel me without explanation. Those who do not, won’t get it if I tried, so…

Computer games on the other hand. Oh, what wonderful places to disappear, make friends, and go on an adventure that I, for the most part, control and contributed to if I’m part of a dungeon or Boss run. My decisions and ability to smash keys in a timely fashion, and in the right order, resulted in good or, as often as not, bad outcomes. Much yelling at the screen and the occasional rage quit are just part of life. Am I right?

My point is that all of that has been feeding my brain for… well, since I was a kid as previously mentioned.

Along the way, I started thinking “oh, in my world, I wouldn’t have XYZ” or “Ha. That’s awesome. My world would totally do that.” And over time I created what is, for me, a wonderous magical world I’d be happy to live in. It got to the point that I started writing the ideas down. Whenever I was stuck in line, waiting for my number to come up at the DMV, or trying to get to sleep, I’d imagine that world and started playing out various scenes. I made up characters.

I’m a history nerd. Especially ancient history. Give me a boring 2-hour dig any day of the week! I was shocked at how many facts cannot be explained satisfactorily by science or historians. I don’t remember when it happened, but at some point, I started telling the tv, you know, in my magical world X would happen thereby explaining that right there, sir.

Enough years of that, and even I started thinking I could (should) write a story about it all.

For that to happen, I’d need a plot.

Hedy: A plot? Is that why you killed off half the world’s population?

Yeah, sorry about that. But when I tried to write a story where the magical world was hidden from the rest of humanity, it wasn’t as fun. At least three attempts were started. I kept coming back to wanting all the mythical creatures to be real. I wanted it to be in the world I live in now.

Hedy: Fine, but why make me start the apocalypse? Do you know how guilt-ridden I’ve been?!

Again, sorry about that. The thing is, I had to give you stakes, a backstory, a bad place to start to grow from. You’re the protagonist and according to all the classes I took and books I read on the subject, you needed a character arc.

Hedy: Feels a bit tropey. Besides, you said you wanted something fun. You’ve got me tripping over dead bodies in the first book!

First, what’s wrong with tropes? They are tropes for a reason. Second, while I was thinking about what sort of book I wanted to write I looked to my favorites. What did I love about them? More importantly, why?

While that was going on, I was progressively getting older. My perspective of the world I’m stuck living in changed. Or the world itself changed. Probably both equally. Regardless, somewhere along the way I lost the ability to watch the news or dramas, tv or movie. What I wanted to contribute to the world was joy and hope. There is so much suffering and hatred. My books would give people like me a bit of respite. A place to go that left you feeling good.

Hedy: About the bodies.

Right. I was never going to write High Fantasy. I love reading it, but writing it is a whole different kettle of fish. Besides, I’d always envisioned Earth as my magical world. I do love a mystery though. I’m addicted to the detective telling his most shocking case tv programming.

Hedy: You said you don’t like drama.

Yes, but I meant the weekly series where everyone is miserable the whole show. Anyway, based on all of that soup, I came up with Where Magic Settles. A place with Doctor Whovian fun, joy, terror, and pain. The absurdity of Terry Pratchett. Mystery and intrigue but the bad guys never win. Absolutely a Boss battle scene. A series where you smile a lot, make new friends, and hopefully chuckle and tear up a few times each. I did while I was writing it.

Hedy: Wait. The vampires and werewolves are missing.

Yes, well, my favorite authors and series cover those tropes, so I left those alone. Besides, I have an entire series mapped out, where I put my main character—

Hedy: Me. You put ME through what?

Mmm. Perhaps if you are still reading this, I’ll merely point folks to Book 1’s blurb. Uh, this got kinda long didn’t it.

I’ll leave you with this.

The Where Magic Settles universe is full of the monsters and creatures you’ll find in a variety of MMORPGs, tv shows, endless books, and even some movies. I dug out every mythology I could find, every historical mystery or tidbit I found interesting. I’ve got a shelf of dog-eared books, stacks of notes, and color-coded stickies all full of plans and ideas.

It’s set in Washington, DC because it was the one town I’d been to in my travels that could have reasonably survived the apocalypse I came up with. At least according to the endless research rabbit hole I went down. I needed to see it in my mind, and in real life because I’m an absolute nerd who tries really hard to base everything on what is real… mostly. I mean, I’m an author. I took creative license when I felt it was needed.

And after you read the books, the next time you’re stuck in a checkout line, I hope you find yourself imagining yourself in my world. There’s loads to do and lots of potential for adventure.

Hope that answers the question you had no idea you were asking.

Welcome to Where Magic Settles.

AI Disclaimer

AI can be a wonderful tool when used properly. I would never pretend I don’t leverage it.

Here’s how I NEVER EVER use AI.

To write my stories.

The words on the page, the characters, the plots, the scenes, the world, and the ideas are mine.

I have a very clear vision for this series and each book. I hear the characters in my head. They argue with me frequently about their arcs. Some of them are absolute drama queens, kings, and other assorted royalty.

Here’s how I DO use it.

  1. Continuity. I use Kallum.ai to check my stories against ten years of documented worldbuilding that once required me to search through ten different Word documents and two Excel workbooks each with ten tabs, while muttering increasingly creative profanity. Continuity is key. Kallum is specifically coded to never ever write words for me. A non-negotiable requirement for me.
  2. Research. I use Google and ChatGPT regularly for research. My questions range from “What old churches in this part of Washington, DC might work for this scene?” to “Could two mules pull an old Toyota pickup if I removed the engine?” to “What do we actually know about Linear A?” Besides, writing in a house with zero other people is lonely. Those two feel like friends now.
  3. Website development. I used ChatGPT to help me plan, develop, and build the HTML. It was 100% free, which is my preferred price point.
  4. Artwork. I used ChatGPT to create the artwork for this website and the Weirdos’ Gazette. Also 100% free. When the budget allows, I absolutely plan to hire a real illustrator for future book and marketing artwork. I probably won’t redo the website until I’m famous.
  5. The boring stuff. I use Kallum.ai for grammar, out of place commas, messed up tenses, and similar things instead of Word or Grammarly. It’s a choice.

Bottomline: AI is one of the tools I use while writing.

It isn't the writer.