Inside the Magus Club: A Conversation with L.E. Sterling

Today, I welcome my friend and fellow dark paranormal romance author, L.E. Sterling to talk about her upcoming release, The Magus Club. I’m chatting with her about the world behind it, what makes it dangerous, and what readers can expect.

In fact, both of us have dark paranormal romances out this month! If you love Dark Night of the Soul, you’ll get sucked into the secrets of The Magus Club.

Michelle: I’m so excited about the launch of our books! What should readers know about The Magus Club?

L. E.: Like the War of the Brotherhood series, The Magus Club is a dark paranormal romance. It’s set in Toronto (Ontario, Canada) and tells the story of Esme Wallace, a woman who’s turned her back on her inherent magic because her life has been pretty dark. That all changes when she meets Julian Holt, a rich, gorgeous man who she begins to date. Unbeknownst to Esme, Julian is intent on bringing Esme into his ultra-secret magical circle, the Magus Club. Once she’s recruited, Julian has Esme train under his best friend, Michael, and things slowly begin to go off the rails.

Michelle: Is this going to be a standalone title?

L. E.: I originally intended this to be a one-and-done title, but in keeping with my recent track record, I’m finding sticking to one difficult, and in fact, this project has morphed into at least a three-book collection. I’m calling it the ARCANA COLLECTION, and while each book will tell its own story and can be read as a standalone title, the stories are connected to the characters in the Magus Club. This kind of mirrors the magic circles in the Magus Club—connected nodes of magic practitioners. At the moment, the next book in the collection will be set in the late 1980s, and the one after that will be set in the 1960s, so I’m anticipating a lot of fun.

Michelle: Is The Magus Club your first paranormal romance?

L. E.: ISH? My second novel, Pluto’s Gate, was a retelling of the Hades-Persephone myth, set in Montreal and the Underworld. But that was a LONG time ago- it came out with DC Books (a Montreal press) in 2013.

Michelle: Tell me about the magic in the book.

L. E.: Esme is a part-time tarot reader in the book, only she really just tells her customers happy lies, even though the cards may tell her something else entirely. But it’s through her connection to tarot that Esme is scouted by the Magus Club, which can be understood as magical nodes running underneath the seams of polite society.

The magical circles in this book are modelled on actual, historical magical circles and practitioners. The late 19^th and early 20^th century had some very famous magic clubs. One was called the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and its members included the famous poet, William Butler Yeats, Aleister Crowley, the ultra-famous dark magician, and the two people who are responsible for designing the Rider-Waite tarot deck, A. E. Waite and Pamela Coleman.

Michelle: There’s a magical training trope in here.

L. E.: Sure is. Michael is Julian’s best friend, but Julian asks Michael Esme in magic, and because of that, they become really close. In the book, magic is very intimate.

Michael is a bit of a magic nerd. He comes from a family of magic practitioners going back generations, and it shows. In his day job, Michael is an award-winning novelist.

I love how Michael seems grumpy throughout the book, and exasperated by Esme, but a lot of this is his way of coping with his feelings for Esme. In a word, their dynamic is hot and funny and sweet. And then there’s the body painting.

Michelle: When does The Magus Club come out?

L. E.: September 26. I can’t wait!

ABOUT THE MAGUS CLUB:

She’d given up on magic—but this club won’t take no for an answer

You’re invited to join the most exclusive—and dangerous—club in town….

Esme Wallace is happy to read tarot cards for Toronto’s bar scene dupes. But she doesn’t like it when the cards get too loud. When they tell her change is coming. And it does: in the form of handsome, rich Julian Holt. Esme can’t help but fall under Julian’s spell—until he inducts Esme into his ultra-secret magic club and asks her to train under his brainy best friend.

Michael Cairns acts like he detests Esme, but could he have another motive for keeping her at arm’s length? Yet, as Esme’s life begins to unravel and it looks like dark magic may be responsible, she turns to the lone club member she can trust—and the one man whose arms she shouldn’t enjoy.

Because sometimes magic crosses over. Sometimes, it wants you dead. And once you’re in this club, there’s only one way out.

ABOUT L.E. STERLING:
Inspired by a childhood roaming across Canada in a van, L. E. Sterling is the author of multiple novels spanning romance, fantasy, science fiction, dystopian fiction and YA. Holding a B.A. and M.A. in creative writing, Sterling also draws heavily on her Doctorate degree in literary magic to weave stories of fathomless depths, lyrical complexity, and arcane wonder. She lives in the French-speaking suburbs of Montreal, Quebec, where she enjoys the romantic, lost-in-translation life of an anglo ex-pat.