Lord Finnegan's School for Gentlemen Wizards
YA Historical Fantasy
The Regency Era charm of Jane Austen meets the comedic shenanigans of She's the Man with a loveable cast of queer characters. This project features a headstrong, ambitious heroine similar to FIRE BECOMES HER and a magical boarding school setting similar to THE WITCH HAVEN.
Sixteen-year-old Briar Thomson hates that girls aren’t allowed to practice magic in public. Magic requires incredible emotional control and extensive knowledge of Latin, but Briar is smarter and more level-headed than any man. She longs to use her magic for more than just washing, and mending, and cooking—she wants to go to Lord Finnegan’s School for Gentlemen Wizards. But they only accept boys. So when her brother declines his invitation to Lord Finnegan’s and runs off to London to take up with a dangerous wizard called The Praetor, Briar impersonates him. If she can win the school’s annual dueling tournament, she can prove that she’s as capable at magic as any man.
To qualify for the tournament, Briar must navigate society balls, magical cricket matches, boys’ dormitories, and worst of all, falling for Lord Finnegan’s nephew. She just wants to hunker down to her studies without getting caught. That is, until boys start dropping out of school to take up with The Praetor and using emotion obstructing drugs. To prove herself to the wizarding world, Briar must uncover the truth behind the drug before its users can exploit it to beat her in the duel and take over the school—but if her real identity is discovered, her magic will be stripped away for good.
City of Shades
YA Fantasy
A smart, sarcastic heroine like THE VAMPIRE ACADEMY'S Rose Hathaway meets the murder and mystery of A DARK AND HOLLOW STAR with a gritty urban setting and supernatural cast that readers of CITY OF BONES will love.
Ember is an expert at reading auras and throwing knives, but saving the city from evil witches? She's pretty sure that's not her job. As the best in the business at the House of Hues, her aura reading ability allows her to assess her targets’ emotions and gives her an advantage over her fellow oppressed humans. But Ember doesn't want anything to do with revolution. That is, until her girlfriend Mila, is killed by witches and her brother Darion mysteriously disappears. Spiraling into an isolated depression, Ember quits her job and rejects all interaction with her magic. That is, until she meets inscrutable monster huntress, Indira.
When Indira reveals that Mila’s murder is more than it seems, Ember learns of Mila’s involvement in the rebellion against the tyrannical Witch Queen. Realizing that she may not have known Mila as well as she once thought, Ember joins forces with Indira and her eccentric team of rebels to find the truth behind Mila’s murder.
At first, Ember is only after justice–she wants to find her brother and get some answers. She isn’t interested in revolution. However, as the rebels pressure her to take a stand and Ember’s relationship with Indira becomes more complicated, the lines between the hunt for justice and the fight for revolution start to blur. If Ember doesn’t put aside her desire for revenge and help the rebels overthrow the witches, she risks losing Darion and allowing the humans to be wiped out for good.
About the Author
Connect with Mackenzie on social media:
YA fantasy author Mackenzie Lyn Marr (she/her) lives in Northern Virginia where she is also a pianist and teacher. She discovered a love for words as a little girl writing Nancy Drew fan-fiction, and now loves bringing her own strong heroines to life on the page in stories full of magic and mystery. Her writing is a love letter to messy, neurodivergent girls who want to save the world. When she isn’t writing, she can be found exploring the outdoors, drinking copious amounts of tea, practicing yoga, or snuggling with her two black cats. Mackenzie is currently seeking new representation.
Projects:
LATTES AND LOVE POTIONS
YA Contemporary Fantasy
(Currently Querying)
Set in a Stars Hollow inspired town, this project combines the witchy contemporary vibes of THESE WITCHES DON'T BURN and the sapphic rivalry of THE DOS AND DONUTS OF LOVE with the queer self-discovery journey of LOVELESS. This project is packed with potions, tarot, astrology, and cats!
Teen witch and barista Jolie Sullivan is spending the summer working at her mom’s Arizona small town magical coffee shop, crafting love potions, and spinning fanciful daydreams about Pax, the most perfect boy in her coven. This summer she’s determined to finally get his attention. But when a new witch family comes to town and opens a competing coffee shop across the street, Jolie meets their daughter, Levi. The girls immediately fall into a rivalry of dangerous proportions and one of Jolie's pranks goes awry, accidentally injuring Killian--Sutton High School's resident vampire.
Despite the coven and the vampires agreeing to maintain their centuries long truce, Jolie is convinced that Killian's wrathful parents are after her. When Pax, her family, and the coven don’t believe her, instead assuming that Jolie is living in one of her usual imaginative fantasies, she decides to face the vampires herself. Only, she can’t do it alone. If Jolie wants to keep her new relationship with Pax from crumbling, help the coffee shop stay afloat, and save her coven from being killed by vampires, she’ll have to work with the only person who believes her. Unfortunately, that happens to be the person she hates most—Levi.