Casey Wolfe – Beyond the Blurb – Representation For All Series
A Mage’s Power (Inquisition Trilogy #1)
Built on the bones of an ancient city, modern-day Everstrand is where master mage, Rowan, has set up his enchantment shop. When not hanging out with his werewolf best friend, Caleb, or studying, he dabbles in herbology and the controversial practice of blood magic. A prodigy who has already earned two masters, Rowan’s bound and determined to reach the distinction of grandmaster, a mage who obtains a masters in all five Schools of Magic.
Shaw works for the Inquisition, the organization charged with policing the magical races collectively known as magicae. Recently, it has come under scrutiny as magicae begin to disappear and reports of violence increase. With secrets of his own on the line, Shaw is willing to risk everything to find out just what is going on behind all the locked doors.
When Rowan and Shaw are entangled in each other’s worlds, it becomes evident that their hearts are as much at risk as their lives. They must find the truth and stop a conspiracy before it’s too late.
Beyond the Blurb
Beyond the blurb, tell us about your series. What is the genre? If a romance, is it HEA or HFN?
The Inquisition Trilogy are contemporary fantasy books. They are set in a different world, named Eiocha, but in a modern setting that looks rather similar to our own in regards to technology and advancement. At the same time, there is magic and fantasy/paranormal races all living together. One of my favorite things when writing the series was figuring out how magic would have changed how society progressed and what new things that would have created.
While each book has its own contained plot, the trilogy as a whole has an overarching plot. These are not standalone novels. And, like my motto says: Everyone deserves a happily ever after, so you know that it ends with a nice HEA.
What are the main themes? How about the tone?
Main themes include found family and healing. Each of the main characters have various things from their past they are either already healing from or will start to heal from over the course of the books. Some of it is trauma based, with multiple characters dealing with PTSD.
Despite that aspect, and the challenges both political and social the characters are dealing with, they aren’t dark books. There are sorrowful, serious moments, and even some violence, but the overall tone is kept rather light. Many awful things may happen around and to them, but the deep friendship and bonds they all carry help to elevate things and keep things from spiraling into eternal angst. Humor and fluff are two things that always win the day for me.
What was the biggest challenge while writing?
In my infinite wisdom, I decided to write all three books at the same time. A big challenge was keeping time straight and having continuity throughout all three books. Actually writing out a timeline of events really helped in that regard.
Is this a type of story you’ve written before?
I am all about paranormal and fantasy, so doing this was like coming home after having my debut novel be pure contemporary – a genre I’d never tackled before.
What inspired you to write this series?
I’m a huge fan of fantasy in general, but especially so when it’s something other than classic high fantasy. I love to read and watch how magic can be worked into contemporary, sci-fi, and historical settings other than your atypical medieval one. There wasn’t really any one inspiration for the series. It was done more as a love letter to the genre, inspired by various video games, movies, and books.
How do you go about character creation?
I have a character bio form I fill out for all main characters. I don’t necessarily fill in everything, but it makes a good starting point. It also helps me keep track of things as I start to flesh out characters as I write. Especially handy when you’re writing a series with 8 main characters.
Do you have a favorite side character?
As an overall series, I think I’d have to go with Hale. He’s the very best vampire daddy (take that as you will, haha). Individual books? A Mage’s Power (book 1), I think I’d go with Quail, the eccentric mage that never failed to make me laugh. A Vampire’s Redemption (book 2) would have to be Snowbird, an interesting vampire who was a tribute to an old highschool friend that had passed while I was writing the trilogy. An Elf’s Fate (book 3) goes to the bad boy elf, Kolvar. Cause…well…bad boy elf.
Are you the type of writer that plans everything out or do you fly by the seat of your pants? Some combo therein?
Combo. I write out as much as I can into an outline. The outline will grow and change as I write, but I like starting from at least some basic idea of what I’m doing. Not that it ever stays that way.
Do you write in order or skip around?
I write out of order, which makes the aforementioned outlines all the more important. I just write what is of most interest at the time.
Be honest. Do you control the plot, or do your characters take over?
I will not pretend to be in charge of anything.
Have you learned anything while writing this series?
I may or may not have looked up the logistics of making alcoholic blood (hey, there’s vampires involved here). There were quite the interesting Reddit threads on the topic and I ended up learning a bit about various brewing processes.
What do you plan to write next?
I have a few things in the works and unsure where my muse will finally land. I have an alternative history, steampunk-esque story that I’ve described as “Mortal Engines meets Bioshock meets Waterworld.” Then there’s an F/F Sherlock Holmes which I’ve been wanting to write for about five years and finally started to pen now that all the Holmes stories have hit public domain. Oh, and the prequel story to the Inquisition Trilogy I swore I wouldn’t be working on so soon, but here we are. Which will be the next release? Your guess is as good as mine.
Casey Wolfe is a self-described history nerd, film buff, avid gamer, and full-time geek.
They prefer being lost in the world of fiction—wandering through fantasy realms, traveling the outer reaches of space, or delving into historical time periods.
Casey is non-binary, ace, and disabled, writing about their many experiences in fictional form.
Representation For All
Author Identities: Non-binary, asexual (demi and grey), polyromantic, disabled, chronically ill, mental illness (including PTSD), Pagan
Characters They Write About: Disabled, mental illness (including PTSD), gay, lesbian, bi, poly, ace, trans, non-binary, genderfluid, BIPOC
Where to find Casey:
