Urban Fantasist Roll Call!

The main conflict is a magic civil war that tears America apart

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Sounds neat. How is you planning going? I would love to hear more about this.

DigitalGhost said:

My current project is a novel called Parasol Road, set in an alternate version of our world where magic is commonplace and controlled by the government. The main conflict is a magic civil war that tears America apart. I'm still in the planning stages and I think it's going to be really long (not good for a first novel, I know!). No publishing credits whatsoever to my name yet, though I'm hoping to change that pretty soon.

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I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone, I've been writing something similar to this!

Mine focuses on an alternative world (like everything is basically the same except that magic was always hovering in the background of our world until the Salem Witch trials). In mine the magic isn't controlled, but it's definitely oppressed. Mine doesn't have a civil war, but is in war over the subject of magic and rights. The war isn't necessarily the focus though. Mine is heavy on romance and YA. I have a bit of a dystopian version of America now that I think about it.

Lots of stories like ours though when you think about it. I wish you good luck on yours.

Hey All! I guess I'll pipe in. I write YA and my new series is a sort of urban/dystopian fantasy. I'm having so much fun writing it and can't wait to see if I can sell it before it's too late.

For now, it's titled GOLDEN. It takes place on manhattan 300yrs or so after the world has come to a sort of end. Here's a blurb in character voice:

Females aren't normally Blades. We're meant to love and nurture, to bond the tribes together. But I can't be soft and welcoming. I can't say sweet words and make men simper. I'll never love. My body isn't pure anymore, and my soul certainly isn't. Since I was little I've been haunted by visions, I've had to rely on drugs to stay sane. But now the drugs aren't working anymore. I'm cursed with the poison inside me. It's too strong, too hard to hold it all down. I'm sure I'll be swallowed by it soon.

Areana is an assasin, cursed by the fact that she's also a half-breed (half fae and half human) hampered by magyk. The Court beneith Central Park won't claim her, and neither will the humans in the city. Until the day one of the Court comes into the city in secret and ends up saving her life, only to be discovered as a creature beyond anything imagined. One of The Fallen. Ancients said there had been seven. Shooting stars that fell to the earth and poisoned everything living. A creatured rejected by the God of Heaven and cursed by the god of Earth. And now he's suddenly linked with Areana, telling her she is something completely different than she had been told. The visions aren't a curse, they are a Key. And once unlocked nothing will ever be the same. In Heaven or on Earth.

Sorry it's so sketchy, but I'm still working on it. Hope it makes sense.

Anyway, I'm a little worried cause I've been working on the idea for two years now (had to take a break for chemo in there) but now a million angel books are hitting the YA shelf. *sigh* I can only hope mine is unique enough to rise above the rest and that the editors don't reject it in hand because of that.

You can read the first chapter here if you're board: http://www.shadowofthewood.com/id75.html

Oh wow, our own subforum! Hooray! I've been kinda on hiatus online until recently, which is why I missed this until now. I love all fantasy, but urban fantasy definitely has a special place in my heart, and has for quite some time.

My name is Kasey Mackenzie, and my debut urban fantasy, Red Hot Fury, will be published by Ace Books in June. So far I've sold 3 books in the series and am working on book 2 atm, but I hope the series does decently enough that they will buy more in the series. I have various other urban fantasy books in different stages of completion, including a finished YA urban fantasy featuring a djinn protagonist. Also a finished angel/psychic UF called "Where Angels Fear to Tread"--really bummed me out when I saw that my publisher is putting out a book with that title already! Ah well, I need to re-work that one anyway. My agent thought it was a little TOO dark.

Honestly, I'm such a glass-half-full sorta girl, I can't explain why I write so dark! =)

Richard White said:

Thanks! May I quote you the next time I run into the SFWA author at Balticon who told me I WASN'T a real author because I wrote "tie-in crap".

I restrained myself from kicking him really hard in a very private place.

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You're nicer than I am...Though I'm sure there are people in the SFF world who would say the same thing to everyone who writes UF...I've heard some doozies about that one!!!

Also a finished angel/psychic UF called "Where Angels Fear to Tread"--really bummed me out when I saw that my publisher is putting out a book with that title already! Ah well, I need to re-work that one anyway. My agent thought it was a little TOO dark.

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Hee... the UF I'm currently shopping around to agents is called "Where Demons Fear to Tread".

Finally shouting out...I have a UF titled "Birth of a Vixen". Though I've already sent out some queries for this ms, I just posted a new query in Share Your Work about it. To quickly overview the plot...its about a fledgling vampire, Angela Vista, whose sire possess her from beyond the grave. To make matters worse the gang of assassins she travels with altered Angela's body to look like Thais' old one. While searching for a way to be free of Thais a war breaks out between a vampire sect, Cabal Ministry and an underground movement set on bringing vampires out of the proverbial coffin. But when the gang is killed by members of the Cabal after being hired to kill Lucian, the leader of the rogue army, Angela becomes a spy for Lucian in hopes of extracting her revenge. Then it goes all crazy from there.

I am also working on a witchy UF titled Dream Prophet. And am outlining a fae UF.

I swear, writing a book is more addictive than Lays potato chips. Betcha can't just write one. lol

Hey Folks! I can't believe I didn't find this forum sooner. Bah!

I'm working on two UF's now and have one completed. The completed book is as follows: A woman is running for her life from an immortal man who is under the delusion that he's a vampire. It's a little serious, very dark, and whole lot of funny.

The other two I'm still hashing out.

Cheers!

Ok, finally saying hi in here. Hi.

I write Mirrorfall, which I serialise online over here on what's about a weekly schedule, though it's really "when the chapter is done" which is sometimes several chapters a week.

What kind of UF is it?
Strange. Ok, firstly you've got the protagonist (Stef) who is...pretty much a hopeless geek, abhors social contact, spends all of her time online, and makes a living hacking/doing code monkey jobs. She can't shoot straight, and she may or may not be kinda reckless and get herself killed (basically with the logic of "it seemed like a good idea at the time..."). (But it's ok, she gets better).

The masquerade is pretty much in effect - the fae aren't in government, or publicly acknowledged, and the world at large is unaware. It doesn't stop them from being everywhere though - heck, I've even got a diminished god working at a burger joint.

There's a system of faerie courts and whatnot, my favourite among them being Madchester (the court of the mad), and a refuge for all manner of crazy people, appropriately enough, right below Manchester. And the court of the Lost, who, among other things, supply "imaginary" friends to kids in bad situations - or steal them away if the situation is really bad.

The main focus though is on the characters who work for the Agency. The Agencies are basically the gods' way of getting around their non-interference policy (or their "we're too lazy to interfere" policy >_>). They created the Agencies, and the Agents, which are admitted basically high-high-tech magitech program people (the gods in my 'verse being analogous to something like the Q from Star Trek, hyperadvanced/evolved beings).

So yeah, I've got magic-agents sitting around clearing cached data, going to YouTube in their heads, getting software updates, and going to see a tech when they need something debugged. Oh, they also glitch, but the less said about those the better.

...I just realised how long this intro is, so I'm gonna shut up now.

Hey Guys!

I'm in the finishing stages of polishing up a UF novel with a sci-fi twist. It features an imperious anti-heroine who finds out her favorite uncle (who's conveniently young and attractive) is suffering from sort of a genetic mutation that-while killing him-gives him supernatural powers.

My query is posted at QLH if you want to tear it to shreds. I'd be super-psyched if you did.

It's great to be here!

skray said:

I'm in the finishing stages of polishing up a UF novel with a sci-fi twist. It features an imperious anti-heroine who finds out her favorite uncle (who's conveniently young and attractive)

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Dammit, it's probably just because I'm really tired, but my brain jumped immediately to incest with that. >_> (I'm not a weirdo, my brain just goes strange when I'm operating on little sleep).

I just started my first urban fantasy novel, and I like to think it's totally unique and different from every one out there.

So add me to the roll call.

HI everyone,
this is kind of hard for me, I'm new to this place.

I've written ever since I can remember, and I've always had this huge imagination, always escaped to my own little world ever since I was little. I started writing my first Urban Fantasy Young Adult novel when I was... let's see... I was 12 when I started, it was aroud October of 2004. I'm 18 at the present time and I finished the story in 2006, then I rewrote everything because I was not happy with how it was put together. It wasn't until early 2007 that I knew I had finished it and that it was time to try to get it published. I always knew it was going to be a tough job, but I had to stop. I began to suffer from an epileptic disorder. I had no idea what it could be, it was a strange seizure disorder that doctors could not figure out. It wasn't until 2008 (when I had sort of learned the patterns of the seizures) that my doctors told me exactly what is was. It was Cortical Dysplatia (I hope it's spelling is right...) I was taking medication that got me depressed (one of the side effects, it seems) and all that could keep me from being swallowed up by the sadness was the thought that I had this book, that I had to publish it.

In october 2009 (ironically enough, 5 years after the idea of this book's conception) I underwent brain surgery to remove what was causing my seizures. I've had 3 surgeries since then, the last one was in february of this year. (The other 2 had nothing to do with the brain surgery, but keep in mind a surgery is still a very delicate procedure that causes a lot of stress). A few months back I went back to the book, to polish it to the best of my abilities and now I'm starting the journey to publishing again.

I know a lot of personal stuff there, but the book is just linked to my soul it seems. I'm glad I'm in a place where others take writing as seriously as I do.

I've got a WIP that I guess should probably be considered UF- though a more complete description would be 'pseudo-futuristic alternate history crossover pastiche urban fantasy spy story'.

Basically, it takes place in a world where fiction is fact. In other words, most stories actually happened. So, we've got secret societies of wizards, the gods once walked the earth, and there have been a couple alien encounters- the most famous of these being the Martian Invasion of 1898, as recorded by H.G. Wells. But pretty much all of my characters are original (if related to existing ones). There are only two major characters who I didn't invent, and one is public domain and the other isn't explicitly named as such in the text.

So, a hacker and ex-Cthulhu cultist, an unorthodox chemist, a witch, and an immortal adventurer are hired by a very shady aristocrat to assist in his investigations of the Illuminati. Oh, and they're based in Pemberley House from Pride and Prejudice (two hundred years after Mister Darcy, of course). And it all goes downhill from there. This series will eventually feature trained chupacabras, someone hijacking a Martian tripod, and a special guest appearance by Ares, the Olympian God of War.

And this is me sober. I have never developed stories while drunk, but if I did, I think my brain would explode.

LordMoogi said:

This series will eventually feature trained chupacabras, someone hijacking a Martian tripod, and a special guest appearance by Ares, the Olympian God of War.

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Sign me up for the pre-pre order...

Stormhawk said:

Sign me up for the pre-pre order...

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I'll get back to you on that.

Hi,all!


I'm working on a UF series set in the South. It involves the adventures of a bad-ass Necromancer. He encounters ghost hounds, hoodoo, phantoms, a gangster ghost named Jo-Nathan who tests his powers to their limits and Robert Johnson(G.O.A.T) makes an appearance. Picture thumping juke joints,searing blues,African-American folklore,and all the creepy things that go on at the crossroads in Dixie.

Do fire-breathing dragons wielding machine guns and with their own interplanetary ships set 20 years from now count as urban fantasy? I have wizards, dragons and elves hiding behind the scenes, fighting demons throughout the ages. If so books 1-3 are a blend of dark, epic and high fantasy and 4-5 would be urban.

Chiming in.

It seems I have a very different sense of what constitutes "urban fantasy." I've never been interested in the vampire/werewolf/faerie genre but what I have written doesn't qualify as traditional fantasy so I imagine this is where it belongs.

Here's the work, as described in the query letter that led to a very positive agent response:

Said to hold enough power to dominate humanity, the Seven Relics of the Buddha were kept hidden for over a thousand years by a mysterious sect known only as the Temple. Five years ago, rebellious factions within the Temple sought to find and unleash the Relics upon the world. Instead, the Relics vanished. Many Disciples of the Temple died. The bloody hunt for the Relics continues to this day.

Joshua Grey, a Japanese-American orphan and former Disciple once known as "The Angel of Death," wants nothing more to do with it. After years of rage-fueled vengeance over the deaths of his friends and fiance, Joshua withdraws from the world to spend his days in penance on an isolated Texas farm. He thinks he's found finally peace. But when his old mentor appears on his doorstep with a dying command, Joshua is thrown into a global race to find the Sakura Blue, one of the Seven Relics and the key to an ancient ritual that will save his mentor's soul... and possibly his own.

To find it, he must defeat a sociopath hell-bent on his own twisted vengeance. Without it, any hope of rebuilding the Temple will be lost. And to succeed, he must stay true to the Buddha's teachings. That means no more killing. Ever.


I've yet to find anything I could classify as "Buddhist fantasy" so if anyone has any reading suggestions, I'd love to hear them. And I'm very happy to have found this forum.

hoyateach said:

I've yet to find anything I could classify as "Buddhist fantasy" so if anyone has any reading suggestions, I'd love to hear them. And I'm very happy to have found this forum.

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Hmm.

Journey To The West, or the abridged version:
Monkey: Folk Novel Of China
Lord of Light
Siddhartha
Dream of the Red Chamber
Cloud Atlas

I'm claiming these all as fantasy, and I'll arm wrestle anyone who says otherwise

LordMoogi said:

I've got a WIP that I guess should probably be considered UF- though a more complete description would be 'pseudo-futuristic alternate history crossover pastiche urban fantasy spy story'.

Basically, it takes place in a world where fiction is fact. In other words, most stories actually happened. So, we've got secret societies of wizards, the gods once walked the earth, and there have been a couple alien encounters- the most famous of these being the Martian Invasion of 1898, as recorded by H.G. Wells. But pretty much all of my characters are original (if related to existing ones). There are only two major characters who I didn't invent, and one is public domain and the other isn't explicitly named as such in the text.

So, a hacker and ex-Cthulhu cultist, an unorthodox chemist, a witch, and an immortal adventurer are hired by a very shady aristocrat to assist in his investigations of the Illuminati. Oh, and they're based in Pemberley House from Pride and Prejudice (two hundred years after Mister Darcy, of course). And it all goes downhill from there. This series will eventually feature trained chupacabras, someone hijacking a Martian tripod, and a special guest appearance by Ares, the Olympian God of War.

And this is me sober. I have never developed stories while drunk, but if I did, I think my brain would explode.

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If you get published I'm totally buying that book!

My backburner WIP I think qualifies as an UF. There are were-creatures. With the typical wolf hierarchy spreading to all the different species of were creatures. They have their packs but the intermingle with the human world as if there is nothing wrong. The MC has has the illness for a few months when the story begins. She goes to find her brother who has had his illness for ten years- who is also alpha of his pack. She's the lowest rung on the ladder and in order to save what little life she has, ran. The first problem is that her brother cannot allow her into his pack because she isn't the same species and there isn't actually a group of her speices anywhere near. Her brother calls in a favor to one of his human collegues and gets her safe transportation to a big city so she could find a group. From there she has to fight to stay alive and try to find a 'family'. Twists and turns abound, of course with a little flair of insanity and romance sprinkled here and there.

hoyateach said:

Chiming in.

It seems I have a very different sense of what constitutes "urban fantasy." I've never been interested in the vampire/werewolf/faerie genre but what I have written doesn't qualify as traditional fantasy so I imagine this is where it belongs.

Here's the work, as described in the query letter that led to a very positive agent response:

Said to hold enough power to dominate humanity, the Seven Relics of the Buddha were kept hidden for over a thousand years by a mysterious sect known only as the Temple. Five years ago, rebellious factions within the Temple sought to find and unleash the Relics upon the world. Instead, the Relics vanished. Many Disciples of the Temple died. The bloody hunt for the Relics continues to this day.

Joshua Grey, a Japanese-American orphan and former Disciple once known as "The Angel of Death," wants nothing more to do with it. After years of rage-fueled vengeance over the deaths of his friends and fiance, Joshua withdraws from the world to spend his days in penance on an isolated Texas farm. He thinks he's found finally peace. But when his old mentor appears on his doorstep with a dying command, Joshua is thrown into a global race to find the Sakura Blue, one of the Seven Relics and the key to an ancient ritual that will save his mentor's soul... and possibly his own.

To find it, he must defeat a sociopath hell-bent on his own twisted vengeance. Without it, any hope of rebuilding the Temple will be lost. And to succeed, he must stay true to the Buddha's teachings. That means no more killing. Ever.


I've yet to find anything I could classify as "Buddhist fantasy" so if anyone has any reading suggestions, I'd love to hear them. And I'm very happy to have found this forum.

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I'd read that

Venturing beyond the Bewares & Background Checks forum for the first time. Excitement!

hoyateach and LordMoogi: your books sound awesome. I'd read those in a heartbeat.


As far as my books go... I'm currently querying a humorous urban fantasy, Always Read the Fae Print. Some parts are standard - you've got your warlocks and vampires and werewolves and fae and fallen gods and all those nifty things, and some less so, in that the main character is the only non-magical one in her entire family and is pretty darned bitter about that. Not to mention neurotic. Oh, and my fae are not really of the superhumanly-pretty variety. They're more like evil Dobbies. A giant obnoxious hivemind-y army of evil Dobbies. I <3 them. They're ridiculous.

The novel/series is set in Amsterdam, and doesn't take itself too seriously. I've also decided to forego the smoldering bad-boy hero and give my main character a dorky pacifist vegetarian boyfriend, instead. He's delightfully ineffective and is in dire need of a haircut.

It's intended as the first in a series that would chronicle the comeback, identity crises, and eventual downfall of the Germanic gods of old, as seen through the perspective of the ragtag group of employees of a brand-new magic restaurant. Though I have book two outlined, and a whole host of ideas for books after that - as well as the overarching storyline, obviously - I'm trying to resist working on them until I snag an agent who gives me the go-ahead. I'd hate to waste time on something that might not work out.

I also just finished - as in, Wednesday - the first draft of a novel which is technically urban fantasy, in that it's set in the contemporary US and features occultists and demons and the likes, but it probably skews closer to dark fantasy/horror than anything else.

I do have a few other more 'proper' urban fantasy-esque things in the works, though. One's a trilogy about a highly respected demon hunter who helped save the President's life from a demon attack six months ago. Unfortunately, the attack was broadcast on live TV and revealed the existence of demons to the world at large. Cue panic. This made him a target for all kinds of groups, including one who decided to blow up his house, which left him deaf and subsequently out of a job.

It looks like I won't be starting on that book for a while yet, though. I've got a YA sci-fi in the works, first.

... either that, or the Always Read the Fae Print sequel, if querying goes well. (Crossing fingers!) I have a longer pitch and the first chapter up on my blog, for those who are curious. Link in my signature.

I never noticed this section!

I'm a new unpublished writer or UF and it's so much fun!

i've got a bit of scifi in mine since there are robots and future crazy world-dom science and an apocalypse but it actually took me a while to realize i was actually writing Urban Fantasy...

When one world ends, another one notices. Unless that world is Earth and no one cared about it in the first place; and the Scientists have accidentally disrupted the fluidity of time.

Logic Istmal lived on Earth with most of her immediate family. Unfortunately for them, she and her best friend The Prophet Electronica, a 14 inch autonomous robot, were the only ones locked in her bedroom, a converted bomb shelter in the basement, when the world was destroyed.

Out exploring the new world, they meet Preacher, a former priest [spoilers deleted].

On the bright side, Logic’s older brother, Truth, who everyone always said was imaginary, and his roommate Eron are safe and sound on another world and plan to come to her rescue. If only she would just stay put long enough to be found, and [spoilers deleted].
​

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i deleted the spoiler because i like to think one day people will want to read it and be surprised...

Well, hello all. Yay for UF subforum! My summer reading list grew after scrolling through this thread!

I've written an urban fantasy about law school, preternatural humans, and a hot British actor. I'm working on a serious re-haul based on some feedback from very kind agents and editors - we'll see what happens . . .

I've started a YA urban fantasy based on an old Irish folktale, but I'm still working out the details.

Cheers!