Complete Urban Magick & Folklore series by C. Gockel: “The last thing I want is to be boring.”
Looking at the books that feature urban fantasy retellings of fairy tale.
“I discovered I loved poking fun at our modern myths, and I loved playing with big ideas—philosophical, scientific, psychological and political—in the context of a story that could be action packed, emotionally moving, and fun.”
Urban fantasy author C. Gockel has been writing stories for friends and family since before word processors existed. A few years ago, she started posting stories online and started being told by fans that she “should do this professionally.”
Her fiction now includes the Urban Magick & Folklore series, featuring retellings of fairy tales; the Archangel Project series, set in outer space in the distant future; and the I Bring the Fire series, which develops new angles for folktales and mythology for anyone who just wants a good fantasy romp through modern Earth, ancient Asgard, and beyond.
Coming October 2023
Monsters & Empire (Urban Magick & Folklore Book 5) by C. Gockel
Grendel never believed love could conquer all. She’d better be wrong…
Pre-order Monsters & Empire here
Find out BELOW about ALL the books in the series!
In an interview, Gockel explained to author Lindsay Buroker that her drive to write stories came from—well—fanfiction…
“I’m not someone who ever thought I’d want to write fiction. It happened by accident. I was captivated by the romance of Spock/Uhura in Star Trek 2009. I loved how it tweaked the notion of destiny. I liked how it combined one of my favorite genres, sci-fi, with just a little more romance than usual. Trolling the intertubes for Spock/Uhura, I first discovered fanfiction. I found some amazing stories that didn’t fit the description of porn or immature writing.”
However, she didn’t find enough stories to satisfy her—so, she started writing her own stories. Eventually, Gockel wrote more than 50 novels, novellas, and short stories…
Find out more about C Gockel online
Below, find out about all the books in Gockel’s Urban Magick & Folklore series…
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Complete Urban Magick & Folklore series by C. Gockel
Snow So White: Urban Magick & Folklore #1
Once upon a future-time, in a city of steel, concrete, and Magick, a wicked queen trapped a mighty warrior with a curse...
In the tiny village of Somer, far from the city, Cherie knows nothing of the evil spell. Her home is a safe, Magickal place. The Fae travel freely along its roads, Magickal humans and animals are welcome, and everyone is hidden from the Queen’s sight by Jack Frost, the local ghost, who blurs the Queen’s mirror with snow and ice.
But when Jack’s spell begins to crack, the Queen’s eyes fall on Somer. Nothing will keep her from abducting all of Somer’s Magickals, not even a war with the Fae.
To avert a war, save her village—and herself—Cherie strikes a perilous bargain. Aided only by Jack and her own small Magick, she’ll set off on a quest …
If she fails, she’ll lose more than her life.
A retelling of Snow White with Urban Magick, plenty of folklore, and a Princess Charming. Perfect for fans of Naomi Novik’s Uprooted and Spinning Silver.
Blood So Red: Urban Magick & Folklore #2
Fairy tales often have grisly endings. Fairy tales don’t always go by the book, either…
Cherie, the Charming Princess, rescued Jack, her sleeping prince, but she didn’t receive her happily ever after.
Jack is distant, the city is in turmoil, and Cherie’s made new friends, but new enemies, too.
And all the while, the Evil Queen is watching, scheming, and waiting for her chance to strike.
Grendel & Beowulf: Urban Magick & Folklore #3
Grendel & Beowulf is a standalone adventure in the Urban Magick & Folklore series. It’s the perfect place to meet Grendel, the series’ most beloved character…
Once upon a time, in our ordinary world, there was a grandmother.
She died.
She was reborn as a Vampire in a world of Magick.
The grandmother de-aged. Her ailments healed, her body became strong, and her wrinkles faded.
Her wisdom, however, did not diminish. She knew monsters need monstrous names so they never forget the monsters they are.
She named herself Grendel, after the medieval haunter of borderlands and drinker of warriors’ blood, slain by the hero Beowulf.
The name seems appropriate. Grendel the Grandmother haunts the borderlands and drinks the blood of (mostly) evil warriors.
But in a Magickal world, names don’t just have meanings, they are prophecies.
And a new hero is rising. He has been molded since birth to fight evil, and been given the tools and skills to vanquish the most insidious evil of all: Vampires.
His name is Beowulf, and he’s coming for Grendel…
Once upon a time Beowulf defeated the bloodthirsty Vampire Grendel in the worst possible way—he captured her heart.
Grendel has mixed feelings about this. Beowulf is as brave and self-sacrificing as he is arrogant and stubborn. She fears his idealism will be his undoing, and maybe hers as well.
After freeing enslaved Ember miners, Beowulf and Grendel are escorting the former captives on a desperate dash to safety, traveling deeper into Beowulf’s homeland, where Vampires are staked on sight.Unknown to Grendel or even Beowulf, greater dangers than slave traders or Vampire hunters wait for them. Dangers neither of then can begin to imagine.
A new human king is rising, with dreams of empire. A Fae King sees a great game afoot and won’t be denied a play. Meanwhile, the trickster God Coyote has motives of his own.
Grendel and Beowulf will have choices to make. Choices larger than the life and unlife of a Vampire hunter and a Vampire … Choices that will affect mortals and gods, living and dead.
Monsters & Empire: Urban Magick & Folklore #5
Grendel never believed love could conquer all. She’d better be wrong.
Pre-order now!
Beowulf’s brother, the Dragon King, has found an unstoppable weapon, and that weapon is Beowulf. With Beowulf’s Magick, the Dragon King is creating an army capable of destroying all in its path.
Can Grendel convince herself love is a force strong enough to break down the most powerful walls—the ones inside?
Can she convince Beowulf she is not the enemy, or will Beowulf follow the path of his namesake, and let pride and a thirst for vengeance destroy Grendel’s homeland and himself?
Grendel’s faith and Beowulf's choice will decide the fate of monsters and empires, humans and non-humans, the living, and the dead…
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