Subversive (Clandestine Magic #1) by Colleen Cowley-Review & Guest post

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 27, 2020.

In an America controlled by wizards and 100 years behind on women’s rights, Beatrix Harper counts herself among the resistance—the Women’s League for the Prohibition of Magic. Then Peter Blackwell, the only wizard her town has ever produced, unexpectedly returns home and presses her into service as his assistant.

Beatrix fears he wants to undermine the League. His real purpose is far more dangerous for them both.

Subversive is the first novel in the Clandestine Magic trilogy, set in a warped 21st century that will appeal to fans of gaslamp fantasy.

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REVIEW: SUBVERSIVE is the first instalment in Colleen Cowley’s multi-genre CLANDESTINE MAGIC /paranormal/ UF/ Gaslamp fantasy series focusing on wizard/omnimancer Peter Blackwell, and store clerk/suffragette Beatrix Harper.

Told from dual third person perspectives (wizard/omnimancer Peter Blackwell, and store clerk/suffragette Beatrix Harper) SUBVERSIVE follows in the aftermath of thirty-three year old, Peter Blackwell’s return to his hometown of Ellicott Mills, a return that finds Blackwell hiding in plain sight since Ellicott Mills has not had a wizard in a number of years. Needing an assistant, Blackwell forces Beatrix Harper into a contract, a contract that will bind our couple in everyway possible but Peter Blackwell is on the run, and his return to Ellicott Mills coincides with the suffragette movement of the Women’s League for the Prohibition of Magic, a league that wants to curtail the use of magic, as well as the wizard’s who push back. With Beatrix Harper by his side, Blackwell quickly discovers that all is not well in Ellicott Mills, including the mysterious appearance of another wizard, and the possibility of a mole in the Women’s League organization. What ensues is the acrimonious but forced relationship between Blackwell and Beatrix, and the potential fall-out as magic no longer appears to be the domain of only men.

SUBVERSIVE is classified as ‘Gaslamp Fantasy’ – a sub-genre of both fantasy and historical fiction with elements of steampunk and the paranormal. The story line is set in an alternate 21st century, one in which the rise of feminism and equal rights has only just begun, and women are still considered second class citizens with no power, no magic and no rights. For decades wizards aka men, have controlled the world, using magic and the elements to increase their power and domination but subtle cracks begins to fragment their authority, and a magical weapon commissioned by our story line hero is needed to regulate the users of magic.

Colleen Cowley pulls the reader into an imaginary, enchanting and intriguing story of discrimination, magical power, fate and fear. An enemies to lovers, forced proximity relationship between a wizard whose secrets are dangerous and dark, and a woman who only wants the right to be considered his equal. The premise is fascinating; the characters are colorful and energetic; the romance is complex as the attraction may not be natural or from the heart.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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Helping out your imagination with some hard facts

Colleen Cowley

Even fantastical stories about wizards running America can benefit from some research.

That’s what I figured as I wrote a trilogy about that idea, anyway. The Clandestine Magic series opens in 2020, but it’s such a warped timeline that it feels more akin to the 1910s, complete with suffragist-like women. So there’s plenty of history to tap.

At heart, the novels are about Beatrix Harper, one of those activists, and Peter Blackwell, the wizard who upends her life. I wanted an immersive world for them, though. And that’s where research came in handy.

One gold mine for writers and readers alike: the Library of Congress’ website, where you can spelunk through history from your couch. Their collection of photographs is amazing, and it’s a great way to get a mental picture of places and people at a certain time.

Much of my trilogy is set in a fictionalized version of historic Ellicott City, Maryland. Very conveniently, the Library of Congress has photos of its picturesque Main Street and homes, so I could see what it looked like decades ago. (Many of the photos are copyright free. Very useful for, you know, sharing with people on your author website.)

Also very conveniently, the LOC has photos of all sorts of people, taken in all eras since the camera was invented. I had a lot of fun matching photos to characters, especially since many of the real women fought for equal rights in our timeline.

But there are so many other ways to get inspiration. Listening to Martin Luther King Jr.’s collected speeches, for instance. (The women in the Clandestine Magic world have similar aims, one good reason for me to pay careful attention, but more importantly: Everyone should listen to his speeches, and not just bits and pieces of “I Have a Dream.”)

I read a lot, too, of course, but I didn’t find out the craziest part of the women’s suffrage story until just recently — after I’d already finished writing the series. The 19th Amendment, the one that gave women the vote, was almost undone after the last required state approved it. As this New York Times piece puts it: Opposition forces, seeing a chance for a redo, “tried to persuade legislators with cash bribes, job offers, blackmail and bare-knuckled threats.” It got even wilder and more ominous from there.

Lesson learned: Nothing is more fantastical than real life.