Saturday, October 3, 2015

Magic City Mayor

Just finished another proofread of my novel - that's it, can't do any more!

Here my first draft of an agent query:



(This is exactly how the story was told to be by the wizard, Souza Fortescue, who appears in my fireplace some evenings when the moon is hidden. I have not deviated at all from the facts as he gave them because that is one way to make him bad tempered – and bad things happen when he gets grumpy.)

How do you maintain law and order in a city full of wizards? The Mayor of Khaboom has his hands full at the best of times but now has a pressing problem. It was his decision to let goblins migrate to the city and now the electorate are in an ugly mood, worried about their jobs and giving the newcomers a hard time. What makes it worse for the Mayor is that a renegade wizard is plotting to use the ‘Goblingate’ problem to seize control of the city and destroy the Wizards’ Guild at the same time.

The Mayor gets sucked into a deadly trap by his unseen enemy and neither his magician allies or his mighty bodyguard can save him this time. It is only the entanglement of three ordinary citizens in the web of intrigues that offers a lifeline to the one man who can keep anarchy in check in this magic-rich world. A satyr intent on seducing a medusa, a school girl aiming to graduate from Wizard School and a rabbit trapper wrestling with his prejudices against goblins all spiral out of control in the hurricane  blown by the forces of greed and darkness.

The Mayor is under pressure to reverse his policy of racial tolerance if he wants to be elected again for a 6th straight term – do you sacrifice your principles to stay in office? The satyr, Panticles, needs to choose between reeling a big new corporate client for his boss, Kelba the Centaur so that he can make partner or follow his nose and chase the girl – his client’s niece, a rather glamorous medusa. The girl, Mea, is kicking her heels after being caught up in the death of a classmate she had a running feud with - which closes down Wizard School, leaving her to choose between finding a tutor or lend a helping hand to the many that reach out to her. As for the ordinary man on the street, Wobbly Blunt can carry on hating the slimy goblins or work with them to rescue the Mayor – a man he knows, likes and admires but seems to have badly let down human folk with his latest political strategy.

In the background lurks an arrogant, callous man, hurt by rejection by his peers in the Wizards’ Guild, now willing to commit genocide, not just for power but for the greatest prize, revenge. As Strangebrew skirts round cementing a risky alliance with the Arch-Demon, Ashgoleth, the pawns in his game fall into his dungeon trap like dominoes lined up for his grim amusement.

Can this motley assortment of citizens of this magic city overcome the challenges hurtling at them from all sides and rescue the Mayor before the city falls?


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