The World of Bad Magic
Bad Magic is a historical fantasy series set in Post Civil War America, told through the eyes of Mick Kelly, a middle-aged death mage with a long memory, a dark past, and a standing promise never to use her powers again.
That promise never survives contact with reality.
Set against the haunted edges of 19th-century America, the series blends supernatural danger with real history, where magic lingers in the grit of frontier towns, the shadows of railroad cities, and the quiet places where the past refuses to stay buried. These are character-driven stories about women who have survived the worst, the ghosts they carry, and the reckonings that comes calling when bad magic rises again.
From ancient evils stirring along the Santa Fe Trail, to the whiskey-soaked saloons and backroom deals of Las Vegas, New Mexico, old aliases resurface, forbidden magic bleeds back into the world, and the ghosts Mick’s tried to outrun—some of them literal—refuse to stay buried.
Guns still matter. Horses still spook. Institutions lie for convenience. And somewhere beneath it all runs a secret magical world, enforced by shadowy government agencies trying to control and manipulate all Big Magic, the very power of life and death.
Each book pulls Mick deeper, putting her family in peril, and creating uneasy partnerships. Mick gets stuck with jobs she never wanted from people who know exactly who she used to be. The series continues west to San Francisco’s notorious Barbary Coast, where corruption is organized, magic spreads like a plague, and even veterans don’t get clean exits.
Bad Magic starts with a base of urban fantasy, adds a shot of Western Horror and finishes with just a dash of historical whimsy.
Like a good cocktail its a balance of strong, sweet and sour.
BUT these books aren’t romance-forward or cozy, and they aren’t nostalgic about the past. They’re interested in grit, consequences, and the kind of magic that makes problems worse before it makes them better.
✔ Historical Urban Fantasy
Magic woven into real 19th-century American history — no steampunk tech, no alternate timelines.
✔ Character-Driven, Gritty, and Atmospheric
A story centered on complicated women, emotional scars, and choices that cost something.
✔ Supernatural Mystery with Frontier Gothic Vibes
Magic that’s eerie and consequential; danger that’s more dread than spectacle.
✔ Action When It Matters
Gunfights, ghosts, necromancers, and violence that serves character and theme.
✔ A Mature Heroine Who’s Seen Too Much
Middle-aged, sardonic, capable, and done apologizing for who she is.
Where to start?
If this sounds like your cup of tea, or shot of whiskey, whichever the case may be, start with my first book, Bad Magic and Whiskey.