Kyle Robert Shultz.

The Beast of Talesend (Beaumont and Beasley, Book 1)

A detective who doesn’t believe in magic and who is famous for debunking it ends up magically transformed into a monster. He joins forces with an eccentric enchantress in a quest to restore his humanity.

The Afterlands are a parallel universe where fairy tales all really happened, roughly two thousand years ago. The “modern” world is built upon the aftermath of all those stories. The Beaumont and Beasley series takes place in the early 1920’s E.A. (Ever After), and Book 1 is set in the city of Talesend (the Afterlands’ version of London). The Afterlands’ equivalent of the UK is the United Kingdom of Camelot.

The city’s main attraction is the Museum of History, where you’ll find various artifacts left over from fairy tales. Few of them are actually magical, of course, but the original Mirror from the story of Snow White is on display there. It will only speak to people who have magical abilities, but trust me, a conversation with it isn’t worth the price you’ll pay.

Stay out of the city’s less savory districts. There’s a thriving black market in magical artifacts in Talesend’s underworld, and the people who trade in such things are generally quite ruthless. The ordinary people of Talesend may not believe in magic, but the criminals know it’s realーand they’re not afraid to use it.

For the most part, Talesend cuisine isn’t very different from what you’ll find in the England of our world. However, there is a certain cafe whose existence is known only to a chosen few, where inhuman creatures hiding amongst ordinary humans go to get more “specialized” foodstuffs. Not recommended unless you have a taste for basilisk spleen.

Guns are the most common weapon. The more magically-inclined use firearms that fire enchanted bullets, causing miniature blizzards, lightning storms, vaporization, temporary transformation of the target into a duck, etc. Other enchanted weaponry is common in the Talesend underworld as well: brass knuckles that impart temporary bad-luck hexes, crossbows whose bolts can swerve to find their targets, and knives that put people under sleeping curses.

Automobiles are a recent invention, but are rapidly becoming commonplace. Zeppelins are also used frequently. The odd horse-drawn carriage can still be seen once in a while, but they’re slowly falling out of favor.

You’re unlikely to encounter anything besides ordinary humans and animals in Talesend, as most magical species are either in hiding or presumed extinct. There are legends of monstrous wolves who roam the streets at night, but no definitive proof has ever been found of their existence. It’s as if they have some supernatural power that prevents people from gathering information about them.

Magic has little influence on the everyday lives of Talesend’s citizens. Most people don’t believe it exists. But sightings of monsters and bizarre phenomena are becoming more frequent every day, causing some to wonder if magic is returning to the world.

Since it’s the 1920’s in the Afterlands, there is no particularly advanced technology. However, more and more people are secretly using devices that fuse “modern” technology with magic.

Motion pictures are the latest fad in recreational activities. They’re silent, however…and quite frankly, they’re not very good by 21st-century-Earth standards.

The calendar is the same, and Christmas exists in the Afterlands. (As does Santa Claus.) Aside from that, Talesend celebrates two local holidays: Excalibur Day (April 17), a commemoration of King Arthur’s reign; and Hyde’s Night (November 5), a remembrance of when the nefarious Mr. Hyde’s plot to destroy the city was thwarted.

Narratianism is the most common religion in Talesend. This is virtually identical to Christianity, except that God is also referred to as “The Narrator,” a being who spoke the entire multiverse into existence. There is also a cult called Arcanism, dedicated to the worship of magic itself. Followers of this faith tend to be fanatical and dangerous.

Like England, Camelot is a constitutional monarchy. The current queen is Guinevere III, who recently took the throne at age seventeen. The people of Camelot are fiercely loyal to her. The Prime Minister, Everard Dwight, is less popular, as he’s rumored to have connections to Talesend’s organized crime.

Despite the fact that most people in the Afterlands don’t believe in magic, superstition is far more prevalent there than it is in our world. They have a thing about mirrors in particular. Don’t break any mirrors. You’ll end up a pariah, and I can’t promise there won’t be some magical consequences as well.

My mother’s family has a European background, so I’ve drawn from that to some degree in creating the culture and atmosphere of the Afterlands (given that they are, in essence, an alternate Europe).

None, really. I just write to entertain, not to make statements.

I began writing in my early teens after being bitten by a radioactive book. As a Christian, I strive to write fiction that is entertaining and wholesome, but devoid of overt “messages” or agendas. I live in the wilds of southern Idaho, removed far enough from civilization to keep humanity safe should any of my rough drafts break through the electric fence. Aside from writing, my other passions are worship music, digital art, horseback riding, and raising miniature sheep.

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