“Used Spells for Sale” appeared in the Street Magic II anthology, released on July 16th, 2024.
About “Used Spells for Sale”:
Ryann Toliver has spent the last twenty years collecting and selling used spells, while dreaming of returning to the United States, away from the choking grip of Naples’ preeminent family, the Ricchetti family.
When the head of the Ricchetti family’s daughter is murdered by a wrongly combined spell, everyone looks to Ryann, including the Family itself, as she is the only known used spell merchant in the city. Ryann must figure out what really happened before the Ricchettis decide to settle matters their own way….
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I completely junked planet Earth in the last book of my recently completed and most popular contemporary fantasy series, Magorian and Jones. Part of that destruction included the eruption of the super-volcano, the Campi Flegrei, which lies almost directly beneath Naples. I did a lot of research on Naples and that stretch of Italian coastline, so when I was looking for an unusual setting for the story for Street Magic II, Naples was an easy fit. It had all the right elements, including a primo family who controlled more than the authorities did.
–Taylen.