A Queer Trade
A Charm of Magpies World, Book 1
Apprentice magician Crispin Tredarloe returns to London to find his master dead, and his papers sold. Papers with secrets that could spell death. Crispin needs to get them back before anyone finds out what he’s been doing, or what his magic can do.
Crispin tracks his quarry down to waste paper dealer Ned Hall. He needs help, and Ned can’t resist Crispin’s pleading—and appealing—looks. But can the waste-man and the magician prevent a disaster and save Crispin’s skin?
A 16,000 word story set in the Charm of Magpies world, and a prequel to the novel Rag and Bone.
It can be found in print as part of my anthology A Pocketful of Lies
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Cover art by Catherine Dair
Audio narrated by Matthew Lloyd Davies
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Occult horror
“This combination of magic, mystery, and mayhem will have crossover appeal for fans of several genres; an exciting new voice in the paranormal world.”
“Charles begins a new gay Victoria fantasy series with this short but colorful novel […] Sexual tension between the men is sizzling…”
“The dialogue between the heroes is fun and intense… The building steam combusts into heat that sizzles right off the pages.”
“The Magpie Lord has everything I could possibly want from a m/m romance. It has a historical Victorian setting, it involves magic, one of the two heroes is short, skinny, and booksmart, and above all the main characters are presented as real, multi-layered people in a real relationship.”
