Trick or Treat with the MBRC!

It's almost Halloween which means it's time to talk about one of my favorite short stories I’ve ever written: Trick Or Treat!

Trick or Treat is a Magical Beings’ Rehabilitation Center sequel short story, so if you haven’t read about Morgan and her Chicago friends you’ll want to go finish that duology first!

OR...

Here are some reasons you should NOT read this series:

• If you liked the Magiford books but wished they had less humor then do NOT pick up this series - it has way more humor and most Champions say they think it is the funniest series I've written.

• If you only like high stakes fantasy then SKIP this series - the first book is very slice of life although the second book does have more intense action.

• If you love YA fantasy stories with High School drama then DON'T read these books! Morgan is in high school but most of the book scenes take place out of school.

If those reasons haven't turned you away yet then here is the link to get started on the complete series ebook boxset. :)

But what is this short story about? Well, part of the reason why I love the MBRC series is I get to have fun with the "magical beings" ignorance of typical human behaviors and customs. This story story shows the unexpected situation Morgan goes through when she attempts to teach her magical students the human tradition of trick or treating!

Click HERE to read Trick or Treat!

And just for fun, here's a game I posted on social media last year around this time (and I'm planning to use again this year). Last year I was super impressed at the answers the Champions came up with and I can't wait to see what the responses are this time!

Character Profile: Dracos Family

I recently found the draft version of the Magic on Main Street Character profiles. I was originally going to make them longer and write more of them but I decided to just go ahead and publish them as is rather then never share them. Important: character profile posts do contain spoilers! If you haven’t read the Magic on Main Street series yet I suggest you wait to read these character profiles until you finish!

The Dracos Family

Turned by Ambrose Dracos, the Dracos Offspring—aka the Snake-Brats—make up one of the most powerful vampire Families in the Magiford world.

Although they have each split off to found their own Family, every member chose a name that honors their Sire/Family in that each name is a variation of the word dragon.

Each of the Dracos offspring come from a different country and era, starting with Vìgì as the oldest and being a viking, and spanning all the way to Killian, who is from England and was the last of the Dracos children to be changed.

As readers, you haven’t met—or heard of—all the Dracos Offspring, but as Ambrose was a careful individual, as far as vampire Families go his is on the smaller side considering how old and powerful he was.

Considine has become the unwilling defacto leader/Sire to the Dracos Children due to a promise he made Ambrose before his best friend died that he’d watch over the Family and make sure they all survived.

As others—namely Killian and Jade—have guessed, Ambrose did make that particular request of Considine because he knew Considine’s honor would make him keep his promise, and thus would keep him alive along with the Dracos Family.

Aware this had the potential to be a miserable life—immortal with little true affection—Ambrose was betting that someone from his Family would eventually find their One, and hopefully become the tipping point for the entire Family to change their outlook, Considine included.

It is safe to say Ambrose never would have pictured Killian would be the vampire to accomplish this, but that is a bigger reflection on Hazel’s influence than it is of Ambrose’s ability to guess.

While initially the Snake-Brats might seem to have a contentious relationship with Considine, by the end of the series you can see that they actually love him dearly—even if they do feel that he makes their lives miserable.

This affection for him is what initially makes them slow to accept Jade—except for the recently punished Vìgì and the One-Influenced Killian—but when they do, it is with great respect.

Character Profile: Considine

I recently found the draft version of the Magic on Main Street Character profiles. I was originally going to make them longer and write more of them but I decided to just go ahead and publish them as is rather then never share them. Important: character profile posts do contain spoilers! If you haven’t read the Magic on Main Street series yet I suggest you wait to read these character profiles until you finish!

Considine Maledictus

Out of all the Magiford main male characters, Considine has become my favorite…because he’s just so *fun* to write!

Considine unapologetically says whatever he’s thinking. He doesn’t pull punches, he doesn’t care what others think of him, and somehow he’s such a strong person that his immortal life has made him jaded and bitter, but he still manages to pull through and hasn’t lost himself despite being one of a handful of vampires who are that old and still alive/not sleeping.

To be fair to Considine, his life is the exact opposite of what he wanted. He purposely never turned another vampire before because he didn’t want that responsibility, and then he gets saddled with watching his best friend’s offspring after Ambrose Dracos dies from a broken heart with the death of his One.

While that alone would have been enough to drive a less righteous person into giving up, Considine sticks it out—poking and prodding the Dracos children into surviving while the years drag on him.

Since Considine is a very rare vampire in that he’s so old and is still alive/awake, I wanted to explore what something like immortal life would actually mean.

This isn’t something I could really explore with someone like Noctus, because elves at large are long lived, so Noctus doesn’t experience constant pain of loss like Considine and the other Dracos vampires have. This kind of pain is uniquely a vampire problem.