Asylum Tales series

## Genre Information

Urban Fantasy
Paranormal Romance

 (Series Content Ratings Click on Explicit Ratings for details.)

## About the Series

* **Genres:** Urban Fantasy / Paranormal Romance
* **Theme:**
* **Narrative style**:

## Series Description

**Buyer beware**... Looking for a tattoo—and maybe a little something extra: a burst of good luck, a dollop of true love, or even a hex on an ex? Head to the quiet and mysterious Gage, the best skin artist in town. Using his unique potions—a blend of extraordinary ingredients and special inks—to etch the right symbol, he can fulfill any heart's desire. But in a place like Low Town, where elves, faeries, trolls, werewolves, and vampires happily walk among humanity, everything has its price. No one knows that better than Gage. Turning his back on his own kind, he left the magical Ivory Tower where cruel witches and warlocks rule, a decision that cost him the right to practice magic. And if he disobeys, his punishment—execution—will be swift. Though he's tried to fly under the radar, Gage can't hide from powerful warlocks who want him dead-or the secrets of his own past. But with the help of his friends, Trixie, a gorgeous elf who hides her true identity, and a hulking troll named Bronx, Gage just might make it through this enchanted world alive.

## Books in Series

**Asylum Tales series**:

1. Angel's Ink (The Asylum Tales series Book 1) (2012)
2. Dead Man's Deal (The Asylum Tales series Book 2) (2013)
3. Demon's Vengeance (The Complete Final Asylum Tales) (2015) - Contains 3 novellas
	* 3.1. "Demon's Fury" (2014)
	* 3.2. "Demon's Vow" (2014)
	* 3.3. "Inner Demon" (2014)

#### Shorts, Novellas, Anthologies and Guides

* Bound to me: An original Dark Days story (Dark Days series #7) (ISFdb)
* 0.5. "Asylum Interviews: Bronx" (2012) (100 pages)
* 0.6. "Asylum Interviews: Trixie" (2012) (100 pages)
* 1.5. "Of Monsters and Men" in Blood by Moonlight (2012)

## World Building

### Supernatural Elements

Witches, Warlocks, Wizards, Magic Tattoos, Elves, Faeries, Trolls, Werewolves, Vampires, Satyrs, Shape shifters, Supe drugs.

* **Fix**: high-end drug, one of the few potent enough to affect the larger creatures such as trolls, ogres, and minotaurs....A few dealers had found a way to mix it with cocaine so that humans could use it.
* **Lorialets**: AKA as Lunatics - Moon gazers, dreamers, poets, musicians, seers of past and future
* **Svartalfar**: dark elf
* **Ivory Towers**: gleaming towers that stretch above the clouds, made of white marble and granite—warlocks and witches live in them, being at the top of the Supe power chain

### World

Set in what appears to be an alternate Cincinnati that is now called Low Town, this world teems with supernaturals, including witches, warlocks, trolls, elves, vampires, shape shifters and more. Most of the action takes place on mortal Earth, but the realm of the underworld is accessible to supernaturals who have the right connections.

At the top of the supernatural power structure are the warlocks and witches, who live in the Ivory Towers. "Each continent was dotted with gleaming towers made of white marble and granite that stretched above the clouds. These were the elusive Ivory Towers, their exact locations known only to the witches and warlocks who lived in them." (Angel's Ink, p. 6)

At the bottom of the social structure are the humans, who coexist with the supernaturals as best they can. Humans do business with supernatural merchants and service providers, and some get mixed up in illegal activities involving supernaturals. One of those law-breaking activities is the use and distribution of Fix, "a high-end drug, one of the few potent enough to affect the larger creatures such as trolls, ogres, and minotaurs....A few dealers had found a way to mix it with cocaine so that humans could use it." (Angel's Ink, p. 11)

The witches and warlocks came to power after the Great War, which took place in the mid-1800s when the witches and warlocks tried to subjugate the human race and all of the supernatural races. Here is a quotation from one of Drake's web-site "extras" that explains what happened: "Not only did [the witches and warlocks] want the total subjugation of the races, but they needed to insure a new generation wasn’t being born that might be sympathetic to the cause of the non-magic folk. As a result, thousands of children between the ages of seven and twelve were killed over the next five years. Any child that exhibited even a glimmer of magical aptitude was hunted down and slaughtered. After five years of failing to protect their children, the human race was the second (behind the elves) to sign a treaty with the warlocks and witches, establishing a tense peace and a new ruling system that left ultimate power in the hands of the warlocks and witches. The other races soon fell in behind the humans, officially ending the Great War on December 21, 1877." At this point in time, everyone fears the warlocks and witches, and when one of them appears on the streets of Low Town, people run for their lives.

### Protagonist

Gage Powell
a warlock-in-training who was so disgusted by the arrogance of the warlocks and witches that he escaped from the Ivory Tower. He was then expelled by the Ivory Tower Council and ordered to refrain from using magic, except for self-defense. As time passed, Gage's definition of "self-defense" broadened to the point that now he uses magic much more than he is allowed. Just to be sure that Gage doesn't go too far astray, the Council has assigned a Guardian to punish Gage when he crosses the magical line. That Guardian is Gage's nemesis, Gideon, who starts out as a bitter enemy but then becomes Gage's semi-ally and frenemy.
Gage makes his living running a tattoo parlor called Asylum, where he mixes magical elements into the inks that he custom blends for his customers. In his heavily warded basement, he hoards a secret collection of powerful and illegal herbs and artifacts that he rarely uses for fear of detection by Gideon and the Council.
## Book Summaries

1. Angel's Ink (2012)
Looking for a tattoo—and maybe a little something extra: a burst of good luck, a dollop of true love, or even a hex on an ex? Head to the quiet and mysterious Gage, the best skin artist in town. Using his unique potions—a blend of extraordinary ingredients and special inks—to etch the right symbol, he can fulfill any heart's desire. But in a place like Low Town, where elves, faeries, trolls, werewolves, and vampires happily walk among humanity, everything has its price. No one knows that better than Gage. Turning his back on his own kind, he left the magical Ivory Tower where cruel witches and warlocks rule, a decision that cost him the right to practice magic. And if he disobeys, his punishment —execution—will be swift. Though he's tried to fly under the radar, Gage can't hide from powerful warlocks who want him dead-or the secrets of his own past. But with the help of his friends, Trixie, a gorgeous elf who hides her true identity, and a hulking troll named Bronx, Gage just might make it through this enchanted world alive.
2. Dead Man's Deal (2013)
The dark and dangerous follow-up that continues the adventures of a magical tattoo artist begun in Angel's Ink. In a world where elves, faeries, trolls, werewolves, and vampires swim free in a sea of humanity, sometimes you need an edge. Looking for a little love? Need some luck? Desperate for revenge? Gage can give you what you need. The most talented tattoo artist in town, he knows the right symbol and the right mix of ingredients and ink to achieve your heart's desire. One tattoo is all it takes. But remember, everything has its price. Gage learned that lesson long ago, in ways he'd rather not remember. But the cruel and powerful wizards in the dreaded Ivory Towers he escaped aren't about to let him forget. Though Gage has managed to stay out of sight, he can't outrun the past forever. The wizards know Gage is using forbidden magic, and they intend to punish him for his transgressions. Too bad if innocent humans and monsters-entire cities-get in the way. They will quell a nascent magical uprising and Gage will be the sacrifice they need. First, though, they have to find him.
3. Demon's Vengeance
The Complete Final Asylum Tales(2015) :Collection, Omnibus edition that Contains the final 3 Novellas
Powerful warlock and tattoo artist Gage has managed to escape the magical Ivory Towers who terrorize the rest of humans and monsters—but at a price. Now he must join forces with his nemesis, Gideon, to stop an entity that is using forbidden Death Magic to commit gruesome murders across the nation. And if that's not keeping him busy enough, an investigator recruits Gage to help her track a killer ... who might be targeting tattoo artists.
3.1. "Demon's Fury" (2014) - Novella
3.2. "Demon's Vow" (2014) - Novella
3.3. "Inner Demon" (2014) - Novella