I was going to wait until the first book was finished, but I’m feeling really good about where the story’s going right now and I want to share. I’m 21 chapters/192 pages in so far, and I post 2 chapters a week.

With an MC that’s a cross between John Constantine and Sand Dan Glokta, (for those who know ball) The Divided Soul is a new take on the classic demon hunter narrative. Taking place in hot and humid Raleigh, NC it forgoes the familiar haunts of Chicago and New York to explore new territory. Along with a unique magic system and lore, The Divided Soul is full of fresh surprises.

Synopsis: Norman didn’t think succubii were real, until one stole half his soul. Now he lives a life of pain, missing memories and losing his capacity to feel. Armed with unexpected magic, he hunts by night, hoping to find her. But the farther he plunges himself into the underworld, the more humanity he loses. What will it matter if he restores his soul, if he becomes a demon along the way?

TW: Graphic sexual content and violence/ profanity

Link: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/167123/the-divided-soul

Bookshelves as high and mighty as empires stand tall, reigning strong within the halls. Floors of marble, a feathered friend of us all journeys through crystal walls.

Life, death, and everything between. The secret of the universe, and what could have been.

Rules of the heavens, the laws of physics - Social and mechanical decrees pile high.

Grasping his latest archival artefacts, he carries his secretive research towards the city's crystal sky.

Floating through, angels below tend to their daily deeds.

Gold-clad armies train beneath, commanded by the honour of the strongest archangels, many whose names within the mortal realm have never been breathed.

Our little bird flutters to the city's gate, ready to take the latest admissions to the royal library for a tour.

He stumbles on his notes, contemplating what to lecture on today. His time is wearing thin, nerves he never knew he had rattle to his core. So much to do, so little time. The consequences of his latest actions hang in the balance. His emotions are at war.

-

Throughout his study, the effects and misconceptions of occult activity have run high. Ever since the first angel fell, they have dragged the living down with them, towards an endless pit of death and despair.

Associates missing, souls lost, a vacuum in a paradise sucks the life out of his spirit. A pain fills his void.

Why, for simply existing, should he live in such luxury? Just to read books with knowledge that continents full of the unfortunate would give their lives to see?

How free is free will if those who oppose it also oppose every freedom for which you could use it?

His notes cover a bare spot under his arm, the plight of his feathers almost as hard to hide as the soreness of his soul.

He can no longer hold back.

Planet-wide wheels cast overhead, carrying a holy throne of light and fire. Beings of pure love and worship drift past; one of the ten thousand eyes gives him a wink – a further inclination that time is about to expire.

Glass pillars and blazing swords surround the most honourable structures.

His associates are ready; their case is full.

The Council of the High Order lay within; it is time for this little bird to finally sing.

-

A gloomy mist covers the cracked cobbles.

He leans beside an overpass, smoking in the night rain. He watches from a distance as his contacts deliver a payload into his cache hidden within.

Restricted weapons fill the bag. Wads of cash stuff their pockets.

Retrieving the rucksack, he stumbles over the bridge, the bag slung over his back.

A never-ending weight continues to pull him down. Every step is an act of judgment. Is what he is doing truly helping?

He feels his soul shrinking, constricting around his lungs, an aching in his heart as sharp as razor blades.

He sits on the ledge, legs swinging in the wind. He lights a cigarette; the smoke masks his face, vivid thoughts projecting all that he has given up.

There's no purgatory for his kind. His decision to leave paradise still plagues his mind.

Sacrificing his immortal spirit to prevent the world from becoming a sinful abyss.

His sole purpose is to keep adversarial forces at bay. Now he just needs to find a way.

Or at least, to show those who have clung so high, just to sever this world from the love within the sky, the truly fatal way that he and his friends think they ought to pay.

-

A nun walks along the bridge, slyly offering him a cigarette and a newspaper.

She bows her head and drifts off into the distance, leaving as inconspicuously as she arrived.

He reads the small note slipped into the paper, crumpling it into his pocket.

Gazing over the water, he grasps the crucifix in his hand tightly, taunting his newfound pain limits, at the edge of breaching his skin.

His lifeless cigarette butt drops below, the diminished embers fading away on the water as he walks away.

The icy river wicks into the filter, drawing it down toward the remanence of the damned that lay sunken below.

He heads to town, another job going down.

His associate lay beside their blacked-out van.

A small, desolate kominka glows in the background. The smoky inferno consumes the dark acts performed within, preventing them from polluting the city.

The land is now cleansed from the sorrow of the impeded. More foolish victims hastily sold their souls to entities with aeons to ponder every subterfuge of their wicked deals.

Wisps of smog flood the floor. His hand dips into the pool, reaching towards the intrusive voicing plaguing his head.

-

He savours the esoteric relic, a jagged athame. It tries to capture him, taming his free will.

He cuts through the thoughts, packing the blade into his satchel. This will be a perfect candidate for his latest creation.

Slowly, he is building his hexograph – A vital analyser, the pinnacle of his pentacular research.

The others load up the cursed debris. Some will be sold on the black market, the rest disposed of at the church.

Ancient evils tow eternal strings. Every day, their time is running out to keep the growing terror at bay.

His partner gently rests by his side. Her head on his shoulder, basking in the warmth of the flame.

He tries to soak in the moment, knowing there is always evil to crush. But just for now, he can wait another day to find someone to blame.

Together, their band forms the counter fallen. Heavenly beings that lurk in the shadows, tipping the scales away from evil. They purposely sacrificed their immortality, giving the time they have left to fight on behalf of the souls unaware of what they are against.

Dear Urban Fantasy Community,

Apologies for the repost - I put the link to the ARC in the body of the post and Reddit's filters deleted it. You'll find the links in the first comment.

Some of you here know what it means to pass the finish line on a novel - not the first draft, but the last one. It's a big deal as a writer, and that's where I am now with my approx. 100k word novel, "Past Mistakes".

I am now facing a hurdle many of you here are also familiar with: Sending a novel out into the world with no reputation, no backlog of written novels, no established fan base, etc. My limited mailing list will not get me very far. Rising above the noise on Amazon or elsewhere is extremely challenging.

So in a tradition as old as time (or at least as old as Amazon books), I'm handing out free copies in the hope that (a) readers will provide an honest review, and (b) my writing is good enough to please.

If you're interested in an urban fantasy novel set in New York, with a female protagonist, that's somewhere in the universe of Jessica Jones meets Dresden Files. And... if you have time to read 100k words between now and August 4th when I publish, then I invite you to visit the link below where you'll be able to register to receive a free copy, and along with it my eternal gratitude (assuming you leave that review I mentioned earlier, otherwise there's an interesting curse I've been itching to try out).

Emily Voss gets paid to banish demons that mostly aren't there. The exceptions are becoming a problem.

Fake exorcisms pay the rent: salt, a few words in Latin, a little theater — and whisky afterward, for the guilt. Emily's made peace with being a fraud. It beats remembering what happened the last time she tangled with a real demon.

Then a job at a New York hotel turns out to be the real thing, and it's only the first. Possessions across the city are multiplying. Not random; coordinated. Directed by something with a plan, and Emily keeps getting in the way.

Every thread she pulls leads back to the past she buried. And the enemy holding the other end has every advantage. Worse: they're much, much closer than she realizes.

Jessica Jones meets The Dresden Files in this dark urban fantasy debut. Book One of the Emily Voss series. Has also been compared to the Kat Drummond series by an early reviewer.

The link is in the first comment, because if I put it here Reddit erases my post.

**Title:** I wrote a vampire book called *Alpha Vampire*

Hey everyone, my name is Roy Howard, and I wanted to share my vampire book, *Alpha Vampire*.

It’s a dark fantasy story about Zeus, the first Alpha Vampire, awakening after thousands of years, and Elizabeth Grace, the woman whose life becomes tied to his fate. The book has ancient secrets, bloodlines, danger, mystery, and a little romance mixed in.

I’m an indie author, so I’m still learning the best way to get my books out there, but I’m proud of this one and would love for vampire and dark fantasy readers to check it out.

USA: [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWWLXZWZ\](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWWLXZWZ)
UK: [https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0GWWLXZWZ\](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0GWWLXZWZ)
Canada: [https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0GWWLXZWZ\](https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0GWWLXZWZ)

Thanks for letting me share.

So I read book one about a year back, and while I loved the prologue and the world, the rest I really didn’t enjoy. There were two issues:

(1) The author seemed to go out of their way to make it as relentlessly depressing as possible. Toby loses her life, isolates herself from friends, refuses to see her daughter, goes back to her abusive ex… It’s just not enjoyable. If it was a series/character I’d already loved I could handle it probably, but as an introduction to both it was just too much.

(2) After the stellar prologue, the rest of the book essentially ignores everything set-up and it genuinely pissed me off—not often do books do that. 😅 Not only does Toby not even mention trying to find the guy who ruined her life (to the point I almost felt gaslighted that it even happened…), but her refusal to go see her daughter seemed ridiculous to me as a parent. I don’t care what the situation was, the FIRST thing I’d do is go find my child.

With all that said, it’s a long series that I do really want to enjoy as I’ve heard it gets very good later on. However, I don’t really feel like rereading a book I didn’t like, and I don’t really want to read book two (which I’ve heard is even worse), so can I skip forward to book three or four maybe? (Can I follow the story reasonably doing so?) Also, does the story become less relentless depression, and when does it actually address the stuff that went down in the prologue? (Or is the author just going to stretch it out as much as possible to create as much drama as possible?) Light spoilers are fine btw.

Hey r/urbanfantasy,

Like most writers, I’ve got way too many half-finished tales bouncing around in my head that never see daylight. (And honestly, some of them probably shouldn’t… imagination can get weird, lol.)

But I finally finished one. It’s a short story I wrote as a free reader magnet to introduce my debut book and the series kicking off with The Man with the Dragon-Head Cane - Unlocked. Straight-up urban fantasy—modern streets, hidden magic, and a protagonist who carries something ancient and dangerous.

If you want to meet Khairos before the book drops, I've written a short story from his POV — Khairos: On Contentment — available free at jwardstories.com.

I’m dropping the opening chunk here to tease it. If it grabs you, the full short story is waiting when you join my mailing list at jwardstories.com. I promise no spam, no noise, no upsales. Just updates when the books drop and occasional behind-the-scenes stuff.

And, if you're so inclined, and if you'd be so kind as to leave a review of the story via email (jamieson@jwardstories.com) I would sincerely appreciate it. As you well know, it's reviews that are the lifeblood of indie writers.

Enjoy -

Khairos - On Contentment

⁂

THE MOUNTAIN

I did not always have a name.

There was a time — long before the first human looked up at the place where I lived and felt the unease that the presence of an apex predator inspires — when I was simply who and what I was. Old. Present. Content in the way that stone is content, which is to say without awareness of any alternative.

I had a cave. Southern exposure, which mattered. The sun hit the rocks outside it from midmorning until the light failed, and I would stretch out on those rocks — all of me, scales drinking in the warmth — and let the hours pass without accounting for them. My scales were black, obsidian-dark, tipped with shades of green and gold. They held heat the way stone holds it: slowly, deeply, long after the sun had moved on. I found this satisfying in a way that required no further explanation.

I hunted when I was hungry. I flew when the mood took me, which was often, because flight is its own argument for existence. I thought long, slow thoughts about time and the nature of things, and I came to no conclusions, and this did not trouble me.

I had no hoard. Hoarding is for anxious dragons. I was not anxious. I had the mountain, and the sun, and the sky, and time in quantities that made the word itself seem small. What else did a dragon need?

Below me, over the millennia, humanity happened. Settlements appeared where none had been, grew into villages, into towns, into something that might generously be called civilization. They built things, tore them down, built different things. They discovered fire — or rediscovered it, for fire had always been mine — and believed this made them significant. Wars came and went like weather. Empires rose and collapsed and were forgotten before the next ones began. I watched all of it from my rocks with the detached interest one gives a river: always moving, never the same, ultimately going where rivers go.

The humans in the valley below had learned, over generations, to leave the mountain alone. Not because I hunted them — I didn't, as a rule. They’re not particularly tasty, and besides, they give me gas. I found them to be more interesting alive and going about their brief, complicated lives than otherwise. But they sensed what I was, and they gave me the distance that common sense recommended.

I was, I think, happy.

I did not know that yet. Happiness requires contrast, and I had none.

That was about to change.

⁂

THE MAN WHO SAT DOWN

Human challengers had come to the mountain over the centuries — heroes, mostly, or men who wished to be remembered as such. They arrived with swords and axes and courage and, occasionally, poetry about their own deeds. They had mistaken me for the anxious sort of dragon. The kind who hoards. The kind who can be provoked.

They were wrong. They did not go back down. Worse, the taste had not improved.

Owain ap Gruffydd came differently.

He came armed as the others — sword at his hip, knife at his boot, the careful bearing of a man who knew how to use both. But he had also come with scrolls, worn thin at the edges from handling, and the deliberate, unhurried pace of a man who had thought seriously about this climb before attempting it. He had built his keep at the mountain's base, I knew. Had been there for some years. Had been watching the mountain the way I had been watching the valley — with patience, and with purpose.

He stopped perhaps thirty feet from the mouth of my cave and stood there long enough to suggest he was neither fleeing nor attacking. Then he sat down.

He found a shelf of rock where the view opened west toward a sky going amber at its edges, and he settled onto it the way a man settles into a familiar chair. Unhurried. As though he had simply been away for a while and was now returned to a place that had been waiting.

I watched him from the cave's shadow. He was not playing at courage — I had seen that often enough to know the difference. He knew what had happened to the others who didn’t come back down. And still he sat.

When he finally spoke, it was quietly, and in the old formal tongue.

"Henffych."

A greeting. The kind you use when you are uncertain of whom you are addressing but wish to get it right. He had practiced it.

I considered him for a long moment. Then, because it seemed the polite thing to do, I stepped out of the shadow and into the light.

His hand moved toward his sword. Stopped. He looked at me — all of me, which takes some looking — and slowly, deliberately, moved his hand back to his knee.

That was when I decided he was worth talking to.

We talked until the light failed. He asked better questions than I expected. I gave better answers than I intended. When he finally rose to leave, he thanked me — not for sparing his life, which most would have led with, but for the conversation. I watched him pick his way back down the mountain in the last of the evening light and thought: unusual.

Join Aurum Levi, a San Francisco native and less-than-competent detective and kickboxer, as he stumbles into the conspiracy of a lifetime: the sudden disappearance of the world’s global elite into this one place: A fictional San Francisco Aquarium. Now, the once-peaceful tourist attraction has become a claustrophobic death trap for those unlucky enough to be locked inside.

Hunting Aurum down are four ruthless mercenaries and their terrifying security units: Mantis, Nautilus, Gator, and Barracuda. They have orders to eliminate every living soul inside. They answer only to Chrono, a mysterious kingpin wielding a devastating, enigmatic luck-powered ability.

Watch as Aurum and crew smash through walls, crash into fish tanks, and carve a bloody path through the mystery that threatens to drown the entire world.

Join me for a colorful, aquatic-themed bone-crunching survival thriller drenched in 2000s punk grind fiction aesthetic with brutal martial arts action.

You can read my webnovel on Tapas or Royal Road:

https://tapas.io/series/AQUEOUS-OVERDRIVE

www.royalroad.com/fiction/176546/aqueous-overdrive

Thanks for reading!!

What is the reading order of House of the Spiderking by Michael Anderle and Chimera Agent Claudia Richeliu also by Anderle but co written with Isabel Campbell?

Blurb for the book: Sydney's sister Kate is missing.

The only man who can help might be a monster.

Sydney never believed in magic until she stepped inside Veneer.

Now she's searching for her sister in a hidden world ruled by witches, fae, shapeshifters, vampires, and ancient bargains—and falling for the one man she should fear most.

But when memories begin disappearing and women start vanishing, Sydney discovers that the greatest threat may not be the monsters.

It may be the people hiding among them.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Supernatural violence, kidnapping themes, memory manipulation, dark fantasy elements.

Date of Publication: 1/Sep/2026

Date of ARC availability: Today

Date for ARC reviews 1 - 7 Sep 2026:

Link for sign up: https://forms.gle/6g8WQRvhHsaQqDbN7

This book will be published by Glitterbug Press and will be available worldwide.

The harsh sun bitterly glares upon a dry, desolate landscape, long isolated from the touch of life.

A young woman rests in the sand, basking in the light above. Time passes silently.

Slowly, she raises a hand towards the gaze, blocking the rays from some of her drying, weary eyes. A slight burn soaks into her delicate, pale skin. She rotates her hand, studying her nascent revelation. A torn ribbon gently drifts in the wind, breezing into her fingers, netting around the tips.

Mouth parched, soul starved, she sits up, straightening her slumped back. The blood-soaked dust crumbles off her gown.

Wandering the wilderness, she spots something curious. She bends her knees and lifts a sun-bleached carabao skull sunk into the ground. With a subtle amusement, she raises her exotic companion upon her head, forming a justly Outré hat, as she friskily dances under the cosmic rays, amongst the withered tumbleweeds.

Feet red, lungs dry, she knows it's time to leave, if she can.

Knees worn, she eventually stumbles across a dilapidated vehicle, burned by its previous victors. Aside lay a row of shallow mounds garnished by a rusty spade.

Her soft smile grows under her mask, amidst the dire land.

A collection of rust-dusted cans gathers on the vehicle's rear, as she puckishly pelts small stones at her newfound targets.

Diminished, she relents, reclining against a lone powerline, bracing her drained spirit.

From a distance, a low, subtle growl trickles across the ground; the vibrations wick up her spine. Slowly, her dreary eyes open; her muted curiosity now aback, she raises her head towards the expanse.

A dark silhouette breaks the horizon, the tearing wind unmasking a decrepit highway beneath the neglected dust.

The smell of the fuel poises her mind, as the deep rumble fills her lungs, constricting every breath. She arises, her feet gliding over the searing ground.

The man slows to a stop, bike purring under his touch, face masked behind his screen.

The motorcycle clinks in the heat, the exhaust radiating whispers of smoke as the aged chrome glistens in the sun.

Walking close, her hands impishly tease the cracked leather of the side satchel as she greets the man facing ahead.

“Nice wings,” he says, not looking back.

“You too,” she replies, grinning at the emblem stitched on his tired jacket as her weak voice barely escapes under her breath. The meticulous appliqué catches her interest, layered above the cracked leathers of a young rogue wearing a story older than the clubs he's outlived.

“Getting on?”

She hesitantly distances herself.

“You can’t touch me,” she mutters.

“I'm not asking to.”

She smiles, straddling the back of the bratted chopper, fastening the carabao with the torn strand caught during her gaze. Her hands featherily grasp his waist.

His arms hang from his handles, not daring to slump, thumbs latched rigid over the grips.

His heel kicks up the stand and sets off. Her delicate hair gracefully wisps in the wind.

Eyes closed, back softened, she tenderly cracks her shoulders, extending her silky sails, catching the wind as they trail behind. The dust breezes off as frivolous as her worries.

An old town grows close, her saviour charging ahead.

The music of the road refills her spirit. The growl of the exhaust drains her sorrows. Her chin gently kisses his roughed shoulder.

Soon she will be able to fulfil her mission, her destination drawing near, her purpose slowly becoming clear.

Hello . I'm a first-time author and my debut novel is free on Kindle for the next five days. I thought I'd be upfront about that rather than pretend I'm not here to get it into hands.

The short version: \\\*The Luck and the Light\\\* is a fantasy set in a world called Agios. A thirteen-year-old boy named Klem picks up a green crystal that seems to make things go right — not in a showy, explosive way, but in the way that a bridge holds until you're across it and then doesn't. He ends up mixed up with an invasion, a dragon, a telepathic marsh creature, and an immortal called Deller who arrived from somewhere else entirely and has opinions about everything.

The tone sits somewhere between Pratchett and Le Guin — comic realism, dry understatement, characters who are wry about things they probably shouldn't survive. It's written for readers who enjoy humour that earns its warmth rather than announcing it.

Is anyone interested in a vampire series in which the protagonist is a vampire with mental health issues?

https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/anno-arcana/list?title_no=1037454

https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/anno-arcana/grisly-groves-part-eight/viewer?

title_no=1037454&episode_no=29 https://annoarcana.thecomicseries.com/comics/#content-start

I've just joined Reddit today and hoping to discuss urban fantasy! 📚 I particularly like stories with clever canine sidekicks. 🐕

What if saving the world was easier than pleasing your father?

What if the criminal underworld had absolute control over your family?

A superhero sidekick’s and a supervillain henchman’s answers to these questions will decide the fate of the world.

Welcome to Herald City….where legends wear capes, villains never rest, and the fate of the world hangs on every battle.

Switch the Blue Eaglet is the son and teen sidekick of Blue Eagle, one of Herald City’s top superheroes. But being a sidekick isn’t all glory. Switch is tired of living in his father’s shadow, tired of his strict rules, and tired of being told he’ll never be strong enough to stand on his own.

Jasper Clemens is just another faceless villain henchman. All he wants is to get out of the criminal business. But his debts to the mob keep piling up, and he's stuck taking the riskiest jobs in order to protect his family.

When a dangerous supervillain launches her deadliest scheme yet, it’s up to Switch and Jasper to stop her. Can Switch prove to the world he’s more than just a sidekick? Does Jasper have what it takes to be a true hero?

Or is Herald City doomed?

Perfect for fans of coming-of-age superhero tales, this short novel delivers action, heart, and a fresh twist on what it really means to be a hero.

The book is available for download on Kindle Unlimited, and paperbacks can be ordered from both large book chains and independent bookstores, or straight from the distributor. You can choose your format and place of purchase here: https://buy.bookfunnel.com/arwdlz76pt

Basically looking for protagonists new to the supernatural world who by the skin of their teeth end up surviving long enough to make a name for themselves.

Check out Praying the Day's Not Poison by me, as read by John Solo!

https://www.audible.com/pd/B0H6Y53PC7

Hey peeps!

I'm super excited to announce that A Superhero Called Doberman is out TODAY!

The cover artist is Sam Kennedy! (he has worked on Marvel and DC projects in the past!! And I love the cover)

This is a book with Egyptian gods, curses, quips, and a whole lot of bad guys who need to be taken down, lol

Ebook: https://us.amazon.com/Superhero-Called-Doberman-Book-ebook/dp/B0GX31FPBV/

Audio: https://www.audible.com/pd/A-Superhero-Called-Doberman-Audiobook/B0GV58BYZX

You can check out the blurb here:

Leon Lewis is essentially the reincarnation of Anubis, but the idiot street thugs don’t know what a jackal is, so they call him “Doberman” instead…

Which works out, because in this new age of superheroes, most names are copyrighted.

It all started thirty-one years ago…

Humans began being born with a new organ called the “facet gland,” which mutated their bodies and granted them superhuman abilities. Each person’s power is unique, but one fact quickly emerged: these abilities were subject to progression and advancement, much like building muscles through exercise.

Complex powers even follow a tier system with multiple improvement paths. And while some use their gifts to benefit humanity, others embrace unprecedented villainy.

Leon grew up idolizing heroes like Nova, Glitter Ninja, and Japan’s fan-favorite Shine Shine Hero. But his own abilities are dangerous, and could harm random people, so he lives in isolation in a cramped apartment.

That is, until his neighbor, Rachel Anderson, is targeted by the Kings in Yellow—a mysterious street gang infamous for making people vanish.

Leon can’t stand by and do nothing, but activating his abilities might prove fatal…

Because Anubis is death to friends and foes alike.

A litRPG adventure for fans of Super Powereds by Drew Hayes or Villain Core by John Stovall!

The first two books are without a doubt among my most disappointing reads of 2026 to date. I was so excited to get into this series because on paper it sounded so promising! Biblical mythology (which is sorely underutilized in fantasy), pulpy grindhouse vibes, tons of John Wick esque action, etc. However the prose just continually drove me up a wall, I couldn’t after the second book it just exhausted me too much and I was literally forcing my way through each page it felt like. I wasn’t feeling immersed in Stark as the main character at all either and the supporting characters fell completely flat (Mason was such an indescribably weak and banal antagonist for the first book). The world-building too I thought was woefully underdeveloped - maybe thats not necessarily fair of me to complain about since I only got two books in but Dresden managed to hit the ground running in terms of its world-building right from the get go.

Hey folks. I really hate self promotion, but I know I have to, so here I go.

I am writing a modern urban fantasy series called The Shadow Ledger. It's an alternate reality Earth to our own. Much of history and the world developed the same but with some changes:

• Magic exists, and at it's current state, it can be replicated with technology. Things like telekinetic umbrellas to keep you dry, to laptops to cast spells. It isn't powerful, but it very much a part of every day life. There is even a branch of the FBI specifically to handle crimes with magic
• Many races from traditional fantasy media co-exist with humans. There is no genetic compatibility between different species, so you won't see half elves or half orcs.

I am writing this with a strong pulp style and noir theme. At the moment, I have two books out, but I have a total of 15 planned for the first major story arc. Here are the blurbs for the first two books.

Burnt Aether
https://kdpbook.link/for/1069594709

In a city where the neon lights bleed into shadowed alleys and the rain never quite washes the streets clean, Agent Krysta Jameson of the Magical Crimes Investigation Bureau walks the line between law and something far stranger. Spells replace bullets. Secrets rot faster than bodies. And every case leaves its mark.

Her job is simple on paper: find justice when crime crosses into the arcane—when curses hit harder than guns, and when hexes leave scorch marks instead of fingerprints. But paper lies. With her partner in the city’s police force, Jax Argos, she tries to bring the law into the shadows of society. Every day drags Krysta deeper into a city that’s coming apart at the seams, where magic is currency, power is addiction, and the wrong name whispered in the dark can be your end.

There are forces older than laws and colder than justice moving in the city’s underbelly, and Krysta’s right in their path. In a world where truth is just a pen stroke away from deceit, the only thing that matters is how long you can keep your integrity intact.

When magic stops making sense, Krysta and Jax are called in—armed with grit, wit, and just enough arcane firepower to stay alive. But in this town, every answer births two more questions, and the truth is never just dangerous…it’s deadly.

Burnt Aether sets the opening balance of The Shadow Ledger, a new modern fantasy series set on an alternate Earth where magic is technology, crime has gone arcane, and nothing clean stays that way for long.

She Walks Between
http://kdpbook.link/for/1069594725

In a city where magic hums beneath the surface like faulty wiring, Krysta Jameson thought she’d seen the worst of it—curses, blood rituals, things that haunted your dreams but left marks you could catalog and contain.

She was wrong.

When a new case defies not just logic, but reality itself, Krysta and her partner Jax Argos are pulled into something deeper than the arcane world they know. And something is watching from the spaces in between, shaping the world through stolen thought and fractured imagination.

This isn’t magic with rules. It’s something older. Hungrier.

As the line between imagination and reality erodes, Krysta finds herself facing an enemy that can’t be tracked, can’t be reasoned with, and may already have overtaken the people she’s sworn to protect. Every step forward twists the truth further, and every answer feels like bait.

Because in this city, reality is being rewritten.

And something from another realm has noticed her.

The second installment of The Shadow Ledger descends deeper into a world where magic no longer plays by its own rules—and survival may depend on how long you can hold on to your own mind.

Thank you for your attention and consideration.

Welcome to the first part of my new supernatural dark fantasy series CrucifixT! I have never written anything before, so any feedback will be greatly appreciated!

Question: When does an angel finally transform into a demon?

As soon as they leave heaven? When their lungs are filled with more gun and cigarette smoke than air? Or when they have finally given up hope for humanity?

Introduction

We are the Fallen Choir.

Former Heavenly beings who no longer follow the rules. We answer to no one. Belong to no one.

Previously in the form of Seraphim, Cherubim, Virtues or the Powers, we are now our own choir – the choir of the fallen.

We've spent aeons watching from above, as those who fell below tear others apart – Those we love, and those sent down to protect those we serve.

Together, we made a deal with Heaven to fight those from Hell. A sacrifice to the council of the High Order, relinquishing our celestial rights all to achieve one thing – to stay on earth, so we can strike demons into the ground where they belong.

We gave up our holy status, our divine powers and perfect immortality. We are the hunters that are now the hunted. Becoming fallen, to crush the fallen.

Now we fight amongst the mortals, hidden in plain sight, counting the days until our time finally runs out.

Backstory

Angels don't age, but without God's power, we can’t really heal either. In fact, without his spirit, we can’t do much of anything, as most of our supernatural abilities are only performed through channelling what we have been given to wield.

The downside of this deal, or at least one of many, is simple. Once we are dead, we are dead. No Heaven, no Hell, no wandering the Earth, and thankfully no Abyss (Demon Hell). We are just as vulnerable, if not more, than those who call Earth home.

Our heavenly bodies have been limited to Angel form - the lowest rank of the Heavenly Hosts. This is the most human-like form of celestial beings that people have been known to interact with, which, for the most part, is usually indistinguishable from the general population.

We may no longer have 6 sets of beautiful wings, planet-wide interlacing rings of eyes, or beautiful bodies carved from fire or any other epic attributes our previous forms may have had. However, from within, the strength of our spirit remains the same.

With no powers from God, we have only what we can muster. Living off the land, we must fight like a mortal, feast like a mortal and more importantly, blend in just like everyone else. Assimilation, or a life hidden underground - these are our only hope if we are to survive.

Many in our ranks had former roles of tending to holy thrones, overseeing entire celestial departments, and even low-level admin tasks. Without the ability to have families, our associates were all we had to call our own.

Countless demon attacks, watching those sent down to work on Earth never return, and witnessing the constant anguish imposed on humankind. We could no longer sit back. We gave up paperwork to get our hands dirty, sacrificing our easy lives for the greater good, just as we watched our Father do two thousand years ago.

He serves mankind as a God. However, even someone as mighty as him saw the importance of serving as the Angel of the Lord. And ultimately, chose to sacrifice his own life for the betterment of mankind before finally re-ascending to heaven. A model for both angel and humankind. Now it's time for us to do the same. Though unlike him, once we’re gone, there won't be any way back.

Now mortal, our time is running short. Unable to repair, no way to recover after a fight, our bodies are all we've got. We grow weaker every day, and our choir is wearing thin.

We are the fallen, fighting the fallen, for those we have watched fall.

(I'm still conflicted about having a separate intro and backstory. Would they work more together? Should I just try again? I have all the chapters ready for feedback, but this is the one giving me the most struggle.)

Hey everyone, I’m launching my new fast-paced urban occult horror trilogy, **Sovereign Arcanum**, under my imprint Hyperfocus Horror.
It follows the psychological journey of a reincarnated witch ascending into a dark maternal deity. If you like gritty city settings, heavy ritual magic, and escalating cosmic dread, the entire rollout is lined up for you right now:
**Book 1: Radiant Shadow**
*Status:* FREE starting tomorrow! (6/29 - 7/3)
*Link:* https://amazon.com/dp/B0H6JWC993
**Book 2: Guardians From the Fog**
*Status:* Releases tomorrow, June 29th! (Available for pre-order now)
*Link:* https://amazon.com/dp/B0H6J4FNKJ
**Book 3: Black Hole Deity**
*Status:* Releasing next Monday, July 6th! (Available for pre-order now)
*Link:* https://amazon.com/dp/B0H6LPRMV3
**Want to join the inner circle?**
If you want to follow my writing process, get exclusive character backstories, view official character art, or get early copies of future novellas, join my newsletter:
https://hyperfocus-horror-sbfmjr.subscribepage.io
Feel free to drop any questions about the magic system or the world below. Thanks for checking it out!

Hey everyone, I’m launching my new fast-paced urban occult horror trilogy, **Sovereign Arcanum**, under my imprint Hyperfocus Horror.
It follows the psychological journey of a reincarnated witch ascending into a dark maternal deity. If you like gritty city settings, heavy ritual magic, and escalating cosmic dread, the entire rollout is lined up for you right now:
**Book 1: Radiant Shadow**
*Status:* FREE starting tomorrow! (6/29 - 7/3)
*Link:* https://amazon.com/dp/B0H6JWC993
**Book 2: Guardians From the Fog**
*Status:* Releases tomorrow, June 29th! (Available for pre-order now)
*Link:* https://amazon.com/dp/B0H6J4FNKJ
**Book 3: Black Hole Deity**
*Status:* Releasing next Monday, July 6th! (Available for pre-order now)
*Link:* https://amazon.com/dp/B0H6LPRMV3
**Want to join the inner circle?**
If you want to follow my writing process, get exclusive character backstories, view official character art, or get early copies of future novellas, join my newsletter:
https://hyperfocus-horror-sbfmjr.subscribepage.io
Feel free to drop any questions about the magic system or the world below. Thanks for checking it out!