Read about our new series from Tim Susman. Book 1 of The Calatians is now available.
The Calatians are a race of animal people created by magic in the early 1400s. In 1620, the Church of England decreed that the Calatians possess human souls, and thereafter they were treated somewhat better, in that they could not be killed indiscriminately. Around that time, England’s sorcerers found that they could use Calatians in rituals to increase their power, which allowed them to summon demons. Though the French, Spanish, and Dutch also made this discovery soon after, England enjoyed military superiority for a decade, and the role of the Calatians in this was not forgotten.
In 1815 in the Royal Colony of Massachusetts Bay, Calatians can’t own property, though many are allowed to rent houses and shops for a pittance. They are tolerated as neighbors, but rarely seen as equals. The American Colonies themselves, forty years removed from a failed revolution put down by England’s sorcerers, are growing restless again.
And then, in May of 1815, Prince George’s College of Sorcery (in Massachusetts Bay) and Prince Philip’s College of Sorcery (in Georgia) are destroyed overnight–nearly. The White Tower of Prince George’s school survives, inexplicably. But most of the sorcerers and all the apprentices are killed. Desperate, the school advertises for a new group of students: they will take “anyone.”
Kip, a fox-Calatian who grew up in the shadow of the White Tower longing to know its secrets, sees his opening. He and his best friend Coppy, an otter-Calatian, meet Emily, who is trying to be the first woman sorcerer. Together they will try to learn the mysteries of the White Tower, which are deeper and more numerous than they can possibly imagine. And there’s still a mysterious enemy lurking in the shadows, to say nothing of all the very un-mysterious enemies they will face every day.
The first book in the Calatians series, The Tower and the Fox, has just been released in June 2017, illustrated by Laura Garabedian. It is on sale here on our website and on Amazon. (E-book versions will be on baddogbooks.com in July and all other retailers in August.) Three more books are planned.