Innate Magic

Fay’s stirring debut and Marrowbone Spells series launch takes readers to 1950s London, where a reckless mage’s lofty ambitions land him in dire straits. Charismatic Paul Gallagher is a struggling cloth mage with a knack for imbuing garments with magic, but his humble sewing skills will only get him so far. Instead, its his curiously magnetic personality and charming pomposity that win him his connection to war hero Capt. Hector Hollister, to whom he boasts of his goal to become the next Court Magician. In all of Great Britain, only the Court Magician is allowed to wield innate magic, a dangerous skill that allows one to create other mages. The obsessive Hollister entertains Paul’s friendship, and Paul naively believes that the dashing captain could be the key to raising his station. Too late, he realizes Hollister’s true, malevolent motivations. Meanwhile, Paul harbours a deadly secret of his own. Now he must find a way out of a perilous mess of his making before it’s too late. Fay expertly crafts a delightfully adventurous tale, animated by Paul’s chance encounters and audacious antics. This promising series starter announces Fay as a writer to watch. [em]Agent: Rebecca Strauss, DeFiore and Co. (Nov.) [/em]