Author: Erica Drayton Writes

A Brand New Serial Starts Jan 1, 2024

I am not the first to release a serial this way and I certainly won’t be the last. I have been quietly (and patiently) observing others who’ve gone before me to learn the most that I can before deciding to take this step myself. I think I’ve observed enough and the time has come for me to share a passion project I’ve been working on for the last 5 years (at least) and tinkering with behind-the-scenes.

A LITTLE ABOUT WONDERMERE

Let’s start from the epicenter and work out way out. First, it’s Wondermere Colosseum. The stage every magician wants to be on but only few get the privilege. It’s also where everyone goes for the best in entertainment. It was built for the explicit purpose of performing magic tricks and nothing more. Think of magicians as celebrities in this world.

Just outside of Wondermere Colosseum is the castle where the ruling family reside, but more on that in a later story. Even more importantly are the smaller venues and theaters where magicians practice their act in the hopes of getting the coveted invitation to the colosseum. The further out from it that you go, the less prestigious the theaters and taverns become. The poorer people live here. Our main character, Charisma, lives here, with her overworked father.

A LITTLE ABOUT CHARISMA

Our main character for this book has a secret passion of her own. One that she knows will never come true for her but it doesn’t mean she can’t dream. When no one is watching, she practices her own magic tricks! Magicianary, as it’s referred to in this world, is only practiced by men. Women prepare the props, costumes, and run the stage from behind-the-scenes, occasionally assisting on stage. If she were to be caught performing magic, it would almost certainly lead to losing her job as well as her father’s job.

A LITTLE ABOUT SLEIGHT OF HAND

A knock on the door one night changes Charisma’s life forever. A stranger drops dead on her doorstep, but not before handing her the one thing that could put her in prison, or worse, send her to the gallows; a deck of cards. See, in Wondermere, to be in possession of a deck of cards is a crime.

But the deck she was handed by this stranger isn’t your ordinary deck. It’s one she only heard rumors of existing. The first original deck of its kind. The one that caused them to become outlawed in the first place.

A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE PLOT

I like to create the questions I intend on answering straight out the gate and this book will bring about many that need answers:

Where did the stranger come from? Why did he end up on Charisma’s doorstep? And most importantly who killed him?

There are more questions, of course, but you can’t expect me to show all my cards!

A LITTLE ABOUT THE OTHER PEOPLE OF WONDERMERE

There are a few characters who you’ll meet that will get more of a storyline later on, but I want to share just a few sentences about some of them with you now:

Mrs. Pomroy – The Pomroy’s have been the caretakers of the colosseum since it was built. The upkeep and management of staff and building has been left in the capable hands of the Pomroy women for generations and the Mrs. Pomroy that we meet is a doozy. She is Charisma’s direct supervisor and mother-figure as Charisma’s own mother abandoned her shortly after birth and is believed to be dead.

Jan Maranigan – Maranigan’s Shop is the first ever shop that sold props and costumes used by magicians when it first became so popular. It has been in business for over hundreds of years, always owned by the next male Maranigan in the family. There is much to discover about Jan, the current owner of Maranigan’s. For starters, Jan is a woman but only her surviving family, her wife, and Charisma know this…

Flossie – Charisma’s best friend and all around nerd. She is book smart. Her parents wish she’d worry more about her looks and getting a husband than spending so much time learning, but that’s just who she is. She’s read every book there is to read about magicianary and considers herself a savant on the subject. She also dabbles in herbology, chemistry, and anatomy. It’s no surprise when she becomes fixated by the dead man and wants to find out who killed him as well as answer all the questions surrounding his death. Look out for Flossie because immediately following Sleight of Hand she will be at the epicenter of almost every serial in Wondermere that follows as A Flossy Mystery Series begins!

Felix – A “retired” magician who likes to keep a low profile and also Charisma’s next door neighbor. There is more to Felix than meets the eye as he is a Lyford, as in the oldest family of magicians known to exist. He’s all but disappeared from the limelight when he caused embarrassment for his family and was banned from ever performing magic on any stage. But he’s Charisma’s only hope to gain access to a part of the world of magicianary that women have never been allowed access to. Will he step back into the light to help her? That deck of cards she is now in possession of helps him decide…

Look for Sleight of Hand to take between 40 – 42 chapters/weeks to complete. There will be a few breaks where I’ll switch gears and share a piece of stand-alone short fiction that will take place in the same world.

The serial is for paid subscribers only and will be released on Mondays for the entirety of 2024.