DEAD MAGICAL
Thank you for your support
It is everything
Status: Preparing to query
A young death examiner forced to relive victims’ final moments must master her increasingly unstable magic to defy a king who seeks to control it.
About the book
DEAD MAGICAL is a young adult fantasy complete at 71,000 words. It has the dark and humorous tones of Nettle and Bone combined with the trauma and recovery arc of The Storm Crow.
Nell is a death examiner, reliving gruesome last moments to certify a cause of death. She hates it but wants to make her beloved-yet-eccentric aunt proud by carrying on the family business.
When her aunt is incapacitated and the palace requests a death examiner, Nell finds herself threatened by the king regent to lie about a royal murder. With her powers growing out of control and no one to guide her, she teams up with an ‘expendable’ potion apprentice to thwart the palace. His strong moral compass helps Nell realise there’s more to life than death and doom. There might even be romance.
Conflicted about her powers, Nell must harness her growing magic and face her past traumas head on, all to outsmart a crooked king, uncover the truth behind the royal murder, and realise what she’s always needed to do to make her aunt truly proud.
Who this book is for
I began writing DEAD MAGICAL directly after a therapy session. I didn’t know it then, but I was letting go of my grief and accepting my anxiety. I was respecting my trauma, forgiving my past self, and choosing then and there how to take the next step forward.
And then I wrote a happy ending.
For those of you who relate, the ending is for you, too.
I’m asking for your help
A small sign of interest would be fantastic! If you’re interested in receiving a notification if this book is published, please sign up here.
Other bits
I do not use AI in my writing, editing, or any art creation. What would be the point?
This book contains representation of mental health, disability, LQBT+ communities, and gender equality. I welcome sensitivity readers although given my spam folder, I’ll have to vet these carefully.
Trigger warning for cause of death being discussed.
Read an except
Deep breath…Here we go. If you’d like to read the opening chapters, then click below.
I’ll also be posting up blog posts on the quotes and the author note soon.
And thank you. I mean it. 🍄
