dead men fall from the sky... Tangled Web (Deadly Curiosities #3) by Gail Z. Martin

"Urban fantasy is magic in the real, current day world, from visions to ghosts to 8oo-year-old vampires. And nobody makes it as real as Gail Martin.Her characters are well rounded and realistic, the action is tense from the first line and the climax will have you leaving permanent grip marks on your Kindle. I can't recommend this series enough." - Laurie, Goodreads

Description:

Cover Artist: Lou Harper

Keeping Charleston—and the world—safe from supernatural threats one cursed object at a time!

Cassidy Kincaide runs Trifles & Folly in modern-day Charleston, an antiques and curios shop with a dangerous secret. Cassidy can read the history of objects by touching them and along with her business partners Teag, who is a Weaver witch and Sorren, a 600-year-old vampire, they get rid of cursed objects and keep Charleston and the world safe from supernatural threats. 

When zombies rise in Charleston cemeteries, dead men fall from the sky, and the whole city succumbs to the “grouch flu,” Cassidy, Teag, and Sorren suspect a vengeful dark witch who is gunning for Teag and planning to unleash an ancient horror. Cassidy, Teag, and Sorren—and all their supernatural allies—will need magic, cunning, and the help of a Viking demi-goddess to survive the battle with a malicious witch and an ancient Norse warlock to keep Charleston—and the whole East Coast—from becoming the prey of the Master of the Hunt.

GUEST POST

Mixing Myths 

Tangled Web is the third novel in my Deadly Curiosities urban fantasy series, set in Charleston, SC. In the series, main character Cassidy Kincaide is a psychometric—someone who can read the history and magic of objects by touching them. She owns Trifles and Folly, a 350 year old antique shop that is a cover for an alliance of mortals and immortals that keep the world safe from supernatural threats. 

One of the things I love about the Deadly Curiosities series is how much fun I have mixing real history, legend and myth to create fiction. I draw from a variety of different traditions for the way magic works in my world, and a varied range of mythology to create the paranormal villains. I find that the legends and folklore monsters people have believed in for centuries are much scarier than anything I could come up with on my own! My goal is to draw on the source legends/lore/myth in a way that is respectful of their origin while giving those elements a reason to be present in modern day Charleston, and providing a little twist that makes them my own. 

The Southern Gothic genre has a lot of rich tropes, like decaying old mansions, black water cypress swamps, family secrets, tragic deaths, hidden murders, and cursed objects. Urban fantasy generally draws on tropes like magic, vampires, shapeshifters, hidden societies, and supernatural danger, all of which lurks beneath the surface in our everyday surroundings. I really love mixing the two genres together! 

Charleston has a rich history to mine for fiction. I often describe it as a glittering city built on rivers of blood, because its wealth was made possible by the work and suffering of enslaved individuals. For all its beauty, the city has a dark past of duels, pirates, blockade runners and slavery. That is prime territory to mine for plot threads, character backstory, and paranormal elements. It’s so much fun to dig into real history and find hidden gems that I can use to make the story feel real and give depth to characters and setting. 

I pull from a lot of different mythologies, because Charleston has always been a crossroads for the world given its long history as a major port. Voudon (some call it Voodoo) figures prominently in the books. Charleston was one of the biggest ports for slave ships, and those individuals brought their beliefs and traditions with them. Some of those enslaved individuals very likely practiced Voudon, and went from Charleston to New Orleans. Likewise, weddings and business deals brought people and their servants from New Orleans to Charleston. So it’s entirely possible that Voudon would have been secretly practiced in the ‘Holy City’. Hoodoo (root work) is also grounded in African beliefs and traditions, and is well known in the Lowcountry area of South Carolina. 

Likewise, Charleston’s early residents would have brought their legends and myths with them from England, Scotland, Wales, and Germany. Sailors who visited far-off ports surely returned with stories of strange things they had seen and heard, and lore from distant places. In Tangled Web, a family curse, a crossroads deal, and a centuries-old vendetta bring Cassidy and her friends face-to-face with an ancient Norse warlock, and the legend of the Wild Hunt. 

For me, the key to mixing myths is to do good research, understand the context and intent of the stories, and adapt them while retaining connections to the original legends. If I use a magical or religious element from another culture, my practitioner is from that culture to remain respectful to the source. I make sure my magic has rules and limits and remains internally consistent. Likewise, I want to weave the story around myths and legends so that while you might not think of those elements as true, within the story, you believe. 

Blending legends, history, folklore and myth helps me create textured, detail-rich, plausible fictional worlds with a deep sense of otherworldly and supernatural elements. You might want to read with the lights on! 

by Gail Z. Martin

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About the author:

Gail Z. Martin writes urban fantasy, epic fantasy and steampunk for Solaris Books, Orbit Books, Falstaff Books, SOL Publishing and Darkwind Press. Urban fantasy series include Deadly Curiosities and the Night Vigil (Sons of Darkness). Epic fantasy series include Darkhurst, the Chronicles Of The Necromancer, the Fallen Kings Cycle, the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga, and the Assassins of Landria. Newest titles include Tangled Web, Vengeance, The Dark Road, and Assassin’s Honor. As Morgan Brice, she writes urban fantasy MM paranormal romance. Books include Witchbane and Badlands.

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