the magician

Up on the ridge, on her belly and hidden amongst the sagebrush, Crate adjusts her spyglass. She focuses on the movements of Wolf and Syl in the valley below. It is late afternoon, nearing sunset, the sky slashed with swaths of red clouds, unfurling above like blood in water.

It’s been a hot day, and the sand is warm against the front of her body. She adjusts her hips against the soft ground and raises up on her elbows to get a better view.

She hates sand. It is insidious and resolute and everywhere. She shakes half the hills out of her boots every night.

The Magician is a completed, 67,000 word feminist eco-fantasy, wrapped in Western noir and sprinkled with horror. Set on the Plains, it is gritty American witch lit — a love letter to the bonds between women and the bond between woman and Earth.

In the clashes between the Witchborne and folk of Central Arcana, the Governor has banned all the Witchborne from the State except the Huntress, the Scourge of her generation, who must fight for her own survival while mentoring Crate, a foundling taken into the Governor’s home to serve as a companion to his daughter Syl. The Huntress is also responsible for the safety of the Governor against the threat of the Southern Covens, who spread whispers of war over the rights to their shared water supply. When a new kitchen witch joins the Governor’s staff, old secrets are uncovered, testing Crate’s faith in the State and everything she’s known so far.

The High Priestess, the planned follow-up to The Magician, will take Crate and the Huntress on a journey to uncover Crate’s potential. Along the way, there will be time for vengeance.