Imagine a place with buildings that date back as far as the 1700s, a reputation for haunted houses and a phoenix-like knack of rebirth after floods and fires. A place where you might see a costumed man in a haze of bubbles. Or people dressed as wizards. Or ghost tours.
Actually, imagination isn't required. This place really exists.
Historic Ellicott City, Maryland, is pretty magical. So I couldn't resist borrowing it as the setting for the Clandestine Magic series, renamed Ellicott Mills (a nod to its days as Ellicott's Mills) and reimagined as a town that never became a whimsical shopping district of some renown.
Instead, it's the birthplace of a resistance movement in an America run by wizards.
If Ellicott City was sentient, I think it would like that. It's that kind of place.
Oh, and the buildings:
They're so cool.
The arresting ruin in this photo is Ellicott City's Mount Ida, built in 1828. It's since been fixed up, but this snapshot was great inspiration for the omnimancer's mansion in Ellicott Mills. This is main character Beatrix Harper thinking about it in Clandestine, the prequel to the trilogy:
It looked like a wizard’s house—the sort straight out of a fairy tale rather than real life. The kind of wizard who might lure you in and never let you out.
(Haven't read Clandestine yet? You can get it free here.)
The trilogy itself is newly out as a box set, complete with a bonus short story. It's in Kindle Unlimited, for all you who subscribe.
For all you who don't, I've got a great deal coming next week. Keep an eye out for that email.
Have you ever been to historic Ellicott City? I'd love to hear what you thought.
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