Everyday Magic

One of the questions I get asked most often is where I get my ideas from. The response “everywhere” tends to be met with baffled bemusement. But as an urban fantasy author, my mind is forever straddling the thin line between magic and mundane. There are times when I’m completely oblivious to my surroundings, lost in a world of my own making, but when I do pay attention, there’s no telling what will catch my eye.

My Wilde Investigations series is set in a version of modern-day London. The City of London borough is a magical haven called Old London in the middle of a metropolis of humans. This choice was deliberate, for I wanted the setting to be familiar, even if nothing is quite what it seems.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the world building has been turning recognisable locations into something strange and mysterious. Thus a modern shopping centre next to St Paul’s Cathedral became One Magic Change, where armoured Paladins patrol the floors, the food court sells belladonna ice-cream and witch bubble tea, and Mages entertain the crowds with colourful illustrations.

The Guildhall, which once housed the courts of the merchant class, is now the seat of the High Council of Mages, who rule Old London. Mirroring the courts at the Temple, I chose it as the location of the Brotherhood of Justice, the Paladins who are the keepers of peace and justice.

But as with the real world, there is a darker side to Old London with high profile thefts, magical murders, and dangerous beings lurking in the shadows. If you have magic, there are those who would seek to take it from you.

While the world I’ve created is rich and layered, it has grown gradually out of the plotlines of the early books and by letting my imagination run wild while visiting London. For example, I wanted a magical library somewhere in my setting and I love the Royal Exchange building. In the real world, it houses a range of high-end boutiques, including a small Fortnum and Mason shop. As a nod to this, the magical library is overseen by a librarian called Fortnem, together with his spirit raven, Masson.

I hope details like that will delight readers who visit London or know the city well. They are also important elements for ensuring that my books are enjoyable when read more than once. There is nothing more thrilling than discovering something new in the early books of a series when you return to them with the knowledge of what’s to come. One of the benefits of having had the series outlined since I wrote the second instalment is ensuring that I can begin laying the groundwork for future books well in advance. 

The question “what if” is one of the greatest tools a writer can have. What if a justice system was based on a celestial being looking into a person’s soul to determine guilt or innocence and what if someone had found a way to fool such a system?

As soon as I had figured that out, I knew I had to write the story, and thus both Fallible Justice and Wilde Investigations were born.

What if someone could make imagined situations and rehearsed conversations become reality? What if on the night of Samhain, when the veil between the worlds is thin, something with a sinister agenda crossed between worlds into Old London?

This magical question of “what if” applies to characters as well. What if a woman could see the weave of life and death in the natural world and draw power from it? Thus Yannia Wilde, a Wild Folk PI and my main character, was born. What if a Bird Shaman who claims kinship with crows and ravens attracts pigeons everywhere he goes? Karrion Feathering became Yannia’s apprentice and five books in, he still hasn’t found a way to keep the pigeons away.

What if someone with power over plants could create a garden far in Old London’s past, feeding the magic that keeps it alive and turning it into a power-generating symbiosis between a woman and her plants? Lady Bergamon’s garden, which is certainly bigger on the outside, is perhaps the most magical setting in my books and the one readers are drawn to the most. I love hearing from readers who say they’ve scattered flowers or herbs in a bowl of water to try to capture some of the magic from Lady Bergamon’s garden.

While I spend a great deal of time searching for inspiration for my books from everything around me, the stories and characters I have created have intermingled with the real world. Whenever I smell wood smoke, I think of a Hearth Spirit sitting in a shadowy corner of a pub, ready to offer cryptic advice to Yannia.

If I find a pigeon feather on the lawn by my house, I automatically glance around in search of Karrion. Everything in the natural world, be it the delicate scent of elderflowers or the ivy coiling around trees reminds me of Lady Bergamon and her garden. In this fashion, I find tiny bits of magic everywhere. All I have to do is keep my eyes open and my mind ready to be amazed. Turning words into magic is the best part about being a writer.

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Laura is the author of the Wilde Investigations series; paranormal crime novels set in modern-day London, but with magic, murder and general mayhem. Though originally from Finland, she is currently living in Hertfordshire with her two dogs. When she is not writing, editing or plotting, she works as an accountant. With two degrees in archaeology, she possesses useful skills for disposing of or digging up bodies, and if her internet search history is anything to go by, she is on several international watch lists.

 

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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17986279.Laura_Laakso

 

ROOTS OF CORRUPTION

On the night of Samhain, the veil between worlds is at its thinnest, and ancient magic runs wild in Old London.

When Lady Bergamon is attacked in her Ivy Street garden, Wishearth turns to Yannia for help. Who could have the power to harm Lady Bergamon in her own domain? While Yannia searches for the answer, nature herself appears to be killing Mages in Old London. Yannia and Karrion join forces with New Scotland Yard to solve the baffling Mage deaths. But wherever they turn, all the clues point back towards Ivy Street.

Yannia’s abilities are put to test as she races to save Lady Bergamon’s life, and prevent further murders. But with the lines between friends and enemies blurring, she must decide who to trust and how much she’s willing to sacrifice for Old London and its inhabitants…

The third in Laura’s Wilde Investigations series

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