How to Catch a Magical by Samuel Thews
Publication date: October 5th, 2013
Synopsis (according to Goodreads):
If you want to catch a Magical, you have to go about it the right way.
You have to have the right tools, the right training, a certain disregard for danger and a flair for the dramatic. Oh, and it helps if you inherit your father's wicked bounty hunter skills, which give you superhuman reflexes and senses.
It's really hard without the last one.
Andromeda Nyx has all the skills to be a successful bounty hunter. But after five years of training and catching nothing but Flicks--the lowest-level Magicals, the kind that think it's funny to steal just one sock from a pair and hide it somewhere in the garden--she's itching for bigger game. When her mentor says going out on her own to catch a Sprite is too risky, she decides to freelance. When the Sprite she catches turns out to be a messenger, Nyx is chosen as an ambassador for the bounty hunters and must travel to the decrepit world of the Magicals, Himnara.
While there, she is informed of a plot by Arcanus Emerson Kain--the leader of a rogue sect of Magicals--to invade Earth for a seemingly bizarre purpose: he wants to steal people. Along with her mentor Ridge, Nyx must find a way to stop Kain before his power becomes too great.
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Excerpt
I awakened to the patter of rain on windows in a dimly lit room. I don't remember when the voices stopped, but they were gone. That's all I cared about.
My head swam when I tried to sit up--actually, it felt like a mad elephant was dancing in my brain--and so it took me a moment to make out that I was still in the headmaster's office. Perched on the couch, I listened to the rain while I waited for the dizziness to fade.
When I finally stood, I noticed several things about my surroundings. I don't know how or why I picked up on these things; they just came to me as I took in the room. For one, the window to my right was ten paces away. I could reach it in a blink without even trying. Then there was the desk on the other side of the office. It was too far to run to in a pinch, but with a quick dash and a jump I could swing off the low-hanging chandelier and land just behind it for safety. I spotted a crystal paperweight on the desk and knew it was just the right thing to divert a Sprite's attention.
What a Sprite was, I didn't know (beyond the name of the soft drink) but that paperweight would do the trick.
Just then my hand shot out from my side unbidden.
I sensed it more than saw it, and before I could even blink I had snatched the small object that flew at my hand right out of the air.
I turned as a familiar grunt emanated from the shadows by the door.
"Your reflexes have improved. Good."
My head swam when I tried to sit up--actually, it felt like a mad elephant was dancing in my brain--and so it took me a moment to make out that I was still in the headmaster's office. Perched on the couch, I listened to the rain while I waited for the dizziness to fade.
When I finally stood, I noticed several things about my surroundings. I don't know how or why I picked up on these things; they just came to me as I took in the room. For one, the window to my right was ten paces away. I could reach it in a blink without even trying. Then there was the desk on the other side of the office. It was too far to run to in a pinch, but with a quick dash and a jump I could swing off the low-hanging chandelier and land just behind it for safety. I spotted a crystal paperweight on the desk and knew it was just the right thing to divert a Sprite's attention.
What a Sprite was, I didn't know (beyond the name of the soft drink) but that paperweight would do the trick.
Just then my hand shot out from my side unbidden.
I sensed it more than saw it, and before I could even blink I had snatched the small object that flew at my hand right out of the air.
I turned as a familiar grunt emanated from the shadows by the door.
"Your reflexes have improved. Good."
Praise for "How to Catch a Magical"
"Samuel Thews writes a rousing tale of magic, bounty hunters and war. I suspect that I like my teenage heroines to always be confident and either compassionate and positive, or cynical, violent and jaded."
"Andromeda is a complex character, as are her Father and some of the others in the story. My favorites, outside of Andromeda, was Whitchurch. He was a charming, crazy and wild old bounty hunter that Andromeda meets in an enemy prison. Between his wit, his skills, his experience, his brilliance and his caring, he is just a wonderful person. The nude fishing and other zany things make him a bit crazy."
About the Author:
Samuel Thews has been writing stories since he was old enough to hold a pencil. As a child, he reveled in the stories of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Brian Jacques and other fantasy authors. A life-long reader, he is a fan of J.K. Rowling, Neil Gaiman and mystery author M.C. Beaton. He has also read Les Miserables not once, but twice. Unabridged, of course.
Although his educational background is in science and law, it is still the magical and fantastical that excites him. He enjoys writing stories for his daughters, who will hear one bedtime tale and ask that it be turned into a book. Writing with a whimsical style, he seeks to evoke the light, refreshing reading experience found in fairy tales and cozy mysteries.
A native of North Carolina, he currently lives in a rural part of Orange County with his wife, three children and their ever growing menagerie.
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