Juliet Kemp – författare

You know something''s wrong when the cityangel turns up at your door

Magic within the city-state of Marek works without the need for bloodletting, unlike elsewhere in Teren, thanks to an agreement three hundred years ago between an angel and the founding fathers. It also ensures that political stability is protected from magical influence. Now, though, most sophisticates no longer even believe in magic or the cityangel.

   But magic has suddenly stopped working, discovers Reb, one of the two sorcerers who survived a plague that wiped out virtually all of the rest. Soon she is forced to acknowledge that someone has deposed the cityangel without being able to replace it. Marcia, Heir to House Fereno, and one of the few in high society who is well-aware that magic still exists, stumbles across that same truth. But it is just one part of a much more ambitious plan to seize control of Marek.

   Meanwhile, city Council members connive and conspire, unaware that they are being manipulated in a dangerous political game. A game that threatens the peace and security not just of the city, but all the states around the Oval Sea, including the shipboard traders of Salina upon whom Marek relies.

   To stop the impending disaster, Reb and Marcia, despite their difference in status, must work together alongside the deposed cityangel and Jonas, a messenger from Salina. But first they must discover who is behind the plot, and each of them must try to decide who they can really trust.

Book 1 of Juliet Kemp''s gripping new Marek series

The "absolutely gorgeous" cover artwork is by renowned artist Tony Allcock

Never trust a demon...

...or a Teren politician

Although the city-state of Marek is part of Teren, the Thirteen Houses and Guilds have long been protective of their de facto independence. So Marcia, Heir to House Fereno, expects the annual visit for the Council opening by the Teren Throne''s representative to be nothing more than the usual symbolic gesture. But this year the Lord Lieutenant has been unexpectedly replaced. As Marcia is showing the new Lieutenant, Selene, the view from the top of Marekhill, she suspects that Selene has her own agenda. After all, Teren has politics too, just like Marek.

   In Marek, magic is mediated by the cityangel. But elsewhere in Teren magic is enabled by bloodletting. A Teren magician will invoke a demon to do their bidding and bind them with blood. But demons are devious and will take advantage of any flaw or loophole to avoid being bound. An unleashed demon is dangerous and sure to create havoc, and the Teren way to stop them involves the letting of more of the magician''s blood - often terminally. But if a young magician is being sought by an unleashed demon, their only hope may be to escape to Marek where the cityangel can keep the demon at bay. Probably.

   Once again Reb, Cato and Jonas must work with Beckett to deal with a magical problem, while Marcia must tackle a serious political challenge to Marek''s future. But of course magic and politics never seem to remain separate for long, especially when Teren politics are involved.

Book 2 of the Marek series

Once again the cover artwork is by renowned artist Tony Allcock

Hope alone cannot withstand a rising flood

A darkness writhes in the heart of Teren.

 The Academy is unleashing demons on dissenters, and refugees rush to leave the capital with nothing but their lives and a hope.

 That hope brings them to the city of Marek, Teren''s only major port, which harbours dreams of independence. But Marek is not as stable as it seems.

 Marcia, Heir to House Fereno, has spent the last two years fighting to keep Marek safe and prosperous - but with child, her relationship in ruins and the increasing threat of Teren to worry about, can she find her way through? The printing houses of the city run rabble-rousing polemic, penned by an increasingly frustrated majority who feel left out of the rule and riches of Marek. They demand change, and Marcia can''t help but agree with much of what they''re saying.

On the other side of the bridge, the tiny group of Marek''s remaining sorcerers must negotiate their way through troubles of their own. Cato, Marcia''s exiled brother, and Reb, her ex-lover, are trying to train a new generation of sorcerers and both are having problems. Jonas simply won''t take ''no'' for an answer from Cato; and Reb''s two students feel held back, both know that change, and strife, may be coming - and neither are ready to deal with it. But Reb cannot bring herself to move faster.

 Between them, the five sorcerers alongside Marek''s cityangel can expel a single demon. But Teren has many, and other fears loom on the horizon. Out-of-season storms rampage across the Oval Sea, threatening trade - and Jonas'' family, out plying the trade winds - and the unseasonable weather threatens Marek itself.

Menaced by the distant capital, by dissension from within, and even by nature itself - will the rising flood lift all boats?

 Or will they be capsized?

Book 3 of the Marek series

Cover art by Tony Allcock